Singled Out: Brian Hunsaker's Power Over You

10-09-2025

Independent rocker Brian Hunsaker just release "Power Over You", the second single from forthcoming 5-song EP, Where Dreamers Fall, and to celebrate we asked him to share the rather unique story behind the track. Here is the story:

The journey for "Power Over You" is a story about a promise kept and an idea that refused to die. The song's core guitar riff was born back in 1997, in a freezing storage unit where my first drummer and I would jam for hours. It was a powerful idea, but for two decades, it sat on an old tape, waiting. The catalyst that brought it, and me, back to life was a tragedy: the sudden passing of my best friend, Abe Schaefer. He was the one who first put a guitar in my hands-a weird, can-opener-shaped Gibson Corvus that used to be his. He introduced me to Joe Satriani and ignited a fire that led to years of obsessive practice. At his Celebration of Life, I sang a song for him, and the overwhelming encouragement I received that day sparked a promise to myself: I would find a way to make music again, no matter what.

That promise led me to my car. Fast forward twenty years to 2017. As a new father of twins with zero spare time, my Ford Freestyle became my studio for over a year. I permanently installed a mic stand through the passenger seat headrest, and every day on my lunch break, I'd get to work. Many a coworker on their smoke break would be treated to the hilarious sight of me in the backseat, headphones on, belting my lungs out to no audible music. But inside that car, a breakthrough was happening. What was once impossible for me-writing vocals I liked for my own material-now came pouring out of me like a man possessed. The entire bridge vocal was improvised and captured in a single, raw take. It was there that I finally wrote the lyrics for that decades-old riff. The opening lines-"My name once inspired awe and fear... Rising up from the ashes of myself"-were about a sorceress returning from exile, but only later did I realize they were about me, too.

I finished the draft of the song in my car in 2017, but its evolution was just starting. For a while, I held onto the finished track, hoping to sell it to a movie or a TV show. But as time went on, I realized these songs were too personal to keep locked away. I finally decided to release all my material myself, and to do it right, I knew I needed a world-class team.

That's when the final transformation began. Keyboardist Raymond Hayden turned it into something quite cinematic. Then powerhouse Swedish drummer Mats Eriksson came in and changed everything-his performance was so dynamic that I rewrote some guitar parts around it, turning the once-clean chorus into the thunderous riff you hear today. My bassist Clif delivered his best work yet, and we sent the final sessions to the incredible Matt Dougherty-whose credits include Megadeth-for mixing. To bring the sorceress theme to life visually, I was excited to use the latest tech to create a full cinematic music video, complete with ancient Egypt and an army of mummies.

After five revisions and 28 years, the song was finally complete. And the most incredible part? Even after all that world-class production, the final vocal takes and the clean guitars you hear on the record are the same ones I recorded in my car. "Power Over You" is more than a song-it's a tribute to a lost friend, and a testament to the fact that it's never too late to rise from your own ashes.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here