Sheer Cerebral Power is a 4-Piece progressive-Rock Powerhouse based in Munich, Germany but with members coming from as far and wide as Detroit and Pakistan. Crash, Hozz, Jay Jay & Azzbad are the pseudonyms the band have chosen to embody their musical characters. The virtuosic quartet have dropped a brand new single and have announce their debut album “Sucker Punch’d” – out on October 28th, 2022.
This music is a reverence of the progressive rock of the 70s, 80s, 90s & 00s. Strongly influenced by King Crimson, Genesis of the early 70s, Allan Holdsworth, Bill Bruford, John Wetton, Eddie Jobson, Rush, Tool as well as a healthy dose of Zappa.
All of SCP’s tracks are thematically inspired by Muhammad Ali and his great 1974 fight in Zaire, eliciting titles like Boma Yé, SKIP, “Sucker Punch’d” etc. and the first single “Blow” is out now with an accompanying music video, which you can watch below.
The band says this about the track: “Written in 11/8 time. This tune was inspired by watching sparring during box training. The musical inspiration is from Igor Stravinsky, Sacre du Printemps: The Augurs of Spring: Dances of the Young Girls, that is also why we used Ayssa Lopez_Martinez and Anna Gnizdiukh two highly ambitious female boxers from the Boxing Association of Munich to fight to the soundtrack. An uptempo number with an unusual double time chorus section which gets subdivided into a groovy Reggae Groove a la Stewart Copeland. A song about hope and action”.
Azzbad began the writing process in 2021 when he sat down and wrote the 15- minute suite “Sucker Punch’d Opus 1” in E-flat in 5/8 time. It forms the context of the content of this band. All the songs have irregular meters, as the rhythms of nature do not use regular beats. The music was not recorded in a copy/paste process, but within a given framework. All musicians played their voices throughout.
Tracklist:
1. Sucker Punch’d Op. 1 Eb
2. Skip
3. S.L.A.B (Sting like a Butterfly)
4. Jab
5. Hero
6. Boma Yè
7. Blow
The music is muscular, exciting, invigorating to play. The Songs are a result of the successful writing partnership of Jay Jay, born in Detroit, USA and Azzbad, born in Karachi, Pakistan. The music was written first, and then the lyrics and melodies were created. Azzbad presented Jay Jay with tracks, titles and lyrical snippets to which Jay Jay crafted corresponding lyrics and vocal melodies. Azzbad wrote finished arrangements that the musicians brought to life in the spirit of the framework set by the composer. Sheer Cerebral Power had come to life!
All the music on “Sucker Punch’d” was created with the core instrumentation. Guitar, bass, drums. The only keyboard instrument is the celesta, an instrument whose timbre the composer loves very much. All solos are dedicated to Allan Holdsworth, whose style inspires Azzbad and whose great Influence on the musician is surpassed only by John Mclaughlin, who has been like a lighthouse of inspiration for Azzbad since 1982.
The music of Sheer Cerebral Power sounds complex and accessible at the same time due to the organic combination of Irregular Meters (Odd time signatures) and harmonically very accessible chord structures. It attempts to push the boundaries of the building blocks of what constitutes pop music, taking the listener on a journey of discovery that always brings new aspects to light.
Sheer Cerebral Power’s forthcoming album “Sucker Punch’d” is a progressive rock symphony.
“Sucker Punch’d” is out on October 28th, 2022, and pre-orders will be announced in due course.
Album Credits:
Mixed by Mario Thaler
Mastered by Guido Hieronymus
Artwork by Milan Bettermann
Line-up:
Azzbad – Guitar, Celesta, Percussion,Vocals
Crash – Drums
Hozz – Bass
Jay Jay – Vocals
Weblinks:
www.facebook.com/sheercerebralpower
www.tiktok.com/@sheercerebralpower
