"We were definitely out of control on our first tour, Ozzfest 2001," Mr. Banks admits. "It wasn't enough to just play our music; we also had to fire shotguns on stage and throw pigheads at the crowd. Chalk it up to a desperate bid for attention." The Head Charge rap sheet - which also includes getting into bloody brawls with their fans, smashing equipment they couldn't afford to replace, reacquainting themselves with hard drugs and occasionally being locked up by the enraged fuzz - has served to obscure the fact that these free spirits play the shit out of their instruments and make brutally powerful music of uncommon distinction.
But this distorted (though hardly inaccurate) perception of the band will likely change with the release of The Feeding, a seething mass of avant metal, nightmare grindcore and moshpit rock that alternates between pummeling ferocity and passages of all-out grandeur. It's a stunning display of primally extreme music that's guaranteed to scare the hell out of your parents.
The album had its genesis during the limbo in which AHC found themselves after touring intensively behind their acclaimed 2001 debut, The War of Art, two years of prolonged exile from the road and ongoing internal tumult that found several band members in a virtual death match with their personal demons. Three guys in the band jumped into the chemical deep end and two of them went back to rehab, guitarist Bryan Ottoson ruefully recounts. "It got so bad I was nearly checked into a psychiatric unit for suicidal behavior."
Inevitably, their struggles begat rage, and that could've paralyzed them. But what sets Head Charge apart is an almost alchemical ability to transform their rage - at the world, each other and (perhaps most of all) themselves - into dark art. Hence, the worse their situation got, the more inspired they became, as singer Cock and bassist/guitarist Mr. Banks - now collaborating with Ottoson and keyboard manipulator Justin Fowler - stirred up a cauldron of new songs and brought them to seething life with drummer Christopher Emery. While the band's old label turned a deaf ear to their bold sonic forays, emerging producer Greg Fidelman, who'd engineered the Rick Rubin-produced first album, embraced the band's new material. The band managed to get out of their deal, and sign with Nitrus/DRT. "Rick Rubin was gracious enough to let us leave American Recordings without hassle. It could have been a litigious nightmare" adds Mr. Banks.
With Fidelman at the helm, Head Charge spent four months on the album, and it evidences an unlikely, previously dormant self-discipline. Tellingly, whereas the sprawling The War of Art ran well over an hour, as if they could barely control their wild-eyed impulses, The Feeding clocks in at a dense 41 minutes, the compression serving to intensify their fury. The opener and first single "Loyalty" sets the record's brutal tone, as Cock spews recriminations with frightful conviction while also revealing a scarred humanity in his natural voice, a captivating tenor that sounds like the troubled emanations of some fallen angel. "Dirty" would be an infectious, balls-out rocker were it not for Cock's Satanic howling, which transforms it into the soundtrack to an exorcism. "Walk Away" delivers a hyper-melodic, gloriously anthemic chorus, then proceeds to hack it to pieces in characteristically deranged fashion. Easy listening this ain't. And yet the closing "To Be Me" achieves something close to serenity, like the eerie calm after a thunderstorm - or a nuclear holocaust. "It's almost hopeful" Mr. Banks acknowledges, sounding like he can hardly believe it himself.
There's a line in "Walk Away" that perfectly encapsulates this tormented but inspired band: "We're dirty and hungry and bitter and tired and broke and bruised and battered," Cock shrieks in agony and defiance, adding, with all due irony, "so happy." Although Cock is the band's primary lyricist, it was Mr. Banks who came up with the words (he admits, quite unnecessarily, that he was in a bad state at the time). Mr. Banks recited the line his partner, who knew right away that it would drop right into the hole he was looking to fill in the song's crucial bridge section. "For a while," Mr. Banks says, "that's what we wanted to call the album - with no spaces between the words. It just says it all."
Also in the cosmic coincidence department is the filigreed, intertwined guitar figure that opens and closes the boldly provocative "Ridiculed," The Feeding's roiling centerpiece. The part is actually two guitars, and the parts were conjured up simultaneously by Ottoson and Cock - in two separate parts of the studio, out of hearing of each other. At the same moment, each of them entered the main room eager to play their new creations to the other band members and Fidelman. Only then did everyone realize that the two parts magically interlocked. Divine intervention. With this crew, that's highly unlikely - unless God has a truly twisted sense of humor (and with AHC there's plenty of circumstantial evidence to support that hypothesis).
Mr. Banks describes his band's dynamic as "a constant battle between Order and Chaos," and that's an apt description of the corrosive yet savagely beautiful sonic onslaught AHC delivers on The Feeding. In the end, Order prevails - if just barely - which is a good thing for American Head Charge and their ever-growing legion of fans. If Chaos had come out on top, this dangerously self-destructive but supremely talented band would've surely imploded, leaving nothing but wrecked gear, lost souls and mangled body parts. Instead, with all their limbs still attached and pulsing with the endorphins of catharsis, AHC will spend 2005 on the road - and this time, hopefully, not the road to perdition.
Bryan Ottoson passed away on April 19th, 2005 in his sleep on the band's tour bus while supporting Mudvayne. Many reports concluded it to be the result of an accidental prescription drug overdose. After being diagnosed with a severe case of strep throat, he was prescribed penicillin and an unknown pain killer. He, unknowingly, developed pneumonia and the strep throat got worse. He was found in his bunk after members of the band attempted to wake him before a performance.
Also, Christopher Emery was fired from American Head Charge onstage on the 11th of February 2006. So who is to say that Chaos isn't prevailing in the long run?
On April 3rd, 2007 American Head Charge will release a CD/DVD combo titled "Can't Stop The Machine". The DVD will feature a complete retrospective of the bands career from the early days signing to Rick Rubin's American recordings, interviews with all band member, performing live on Ozzfest 2001, worldwide tours with Slipknot, Mudvayne, Static-X, and more.
Also a look behind the scene at making both "The War of Art" and "The Feeding" Albums. It will also include all of the bands videos and a special tribute to late guitarist Bryan Daniel Ottoson. The CD will feature live recordings, remixes, and other unreleased material.
Unfortunately, due to lead singer Cameron Heacock's “inability to continue on a musical career path,” the band disbanded August 11th, 2009.
In June 2011 There were tweets on bassist Chad Hanks' twitter regarding American Head Charge reforming with a new drummer. Hanks also stated that there is a new Facebook page called American Head Charge (Official).
All Wrapped Up
American Head Charge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Saved the ones that shouldn't be
Hold on to them all so you'll
Find yourself away from me
Our lost faith strung out on a line
My most empathetic dreams of you
The sorry excuses on which we dine
Borrowed dreams of some imagined future
All wrapped up inside this borrowed hope
Don't manipulate the most
Beautiful thing you'll ever know
To the extent of saving your
Ragged torn out sickly show
Holding my head above the fold
Can't decide which side I want
I buried everything so deep in the cold
Now I stop inside of the lies I flaunt
Borrowed dreams of some imagined future
All wrapped up inside this borrowed hope
Pull it all away from me
Show me all the things I can
Never be allowed to see
Its all so far away
If you must have faith in someone
Trust that Ill push you away
If you must have faith in someone
Trust that Ill push you away
What am I if
The flies all stick to me
What am I if
The maggots live in me
What am I if
I'm closet to the stink
What am I if
You're all that's real to me
What am I?
Teach me just show me
Break everything flush it away
Teach me just show me
The starts already over
Break everything and
Flush it away
American Head Charge's "All Wrapped Up" addresses themes of separation, betrayal, and self-contempt. The song's narrator believes their ability to free those who "shouldn't be" saved from their pain is the justification for a life completely closed off from others. Nevertheless, the hypocrisy of this position is challenged as the song progresses, climaxing in the provocative question: "What am I if the maggots live in me?"
The lyrics' complexity is matched by the song's intricate structure, featuring the use of atonal guitar lines, dissonant power chords, and unconventional time signatures. The result is a sense of unease mirrored by the lyrics' themes.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm above everything else
I believe I have reached a level of superiority that surpasses others.
Saved the ones that shouldn't be
I assisted those people who aren't deserving or worthy of help.
Hold on to them all so you'll
I'm always holding on to these individuals to ensure they don't leave me.
Find yourself away from me
I want those people to leave and find a way to distance themselves from me.
Our lost faith strung out on a line
We both lost faith and became distant due to factors that brought us apart.
My most empathetic dreams of you
I dream of you often, and the dreams are usually of me empathizing with you.
The sorry excuses on which we dine
We are both eating inadequate excuses over our current state of relationship.
When all my fears tell me its true
Although I'm frightened, I know for sure that we are both going through a tough time.
Borrowed dreams of some imagined future
We are both fantasizing a future that cannot be realized since it is not ours to dream of.
All wrapped up inside this borrowed hope
We are both encapsulated within this notion of hope that we have borrowed from other people.
Don't manipulate the most
We shouldn't manipulate the most beautiful thing we have with anyone - hope.
Beautiful thing you'll ever know
The most beautiful thing we will ever come across is hope.
To the extent of saving your
I went to the farthest extent to rescue you from a dire situation.
Ragged torn out sickly show
You were in a bad state, and I miraculously got you out of it.
Holding my head above the fold
I am keeping my head up, no matter how challenging the situation is.
Can't decide which side I want
I'm confused about which way to go or what to choose.
I buried everything so deep in the cold
I've hidden everything far from public view, thinking it would be the quickest way to forget everything.
Now I stop inside of the lies I flaunt
I stop to realize how deep I've sunk into the lies I've always revealed.
Pull it all away from me
I'm asking the person to take everything away from me.
Show me all the things I can
I'm asking to see things that are impossible to attain.
Never be allowed to see
I'm trying to understand what I know I'm not allowed to understand.
Its all so far away
Everything appears beyond my reach.
If you must have faith in someone
It's suitable to believe in someone when making decisions.
Trust that Ill push you away
I believe you should trust me since I may push you away.
What am I if
I'm asking myself the question of my situation in life.
The flies all stick to me
Flies attach themselves to rotting things or places; am I in a state of decay?
The maggots live in me
Maggots live in rotten things or dead bodies; am I a walking corpse?
I'm closet to the stink
I'm closer to the virus or disease than anyone else.
You're all that's real to me
The only real thing in my life is you.
Teach me just show me
I want to learn, show me how to get by.
Break everything flush it away
Destroy everything so perfectly that nothing remains.
The starts already over
Let go of the past; time to move on.
Flush it away
Let go and forget the past, wash it away.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@plumisland1070
These guys are 💯 legit. Always will be. RIP Chad and Bryan.
@mrnewskin7831
What happened to Chad and Bryan ?
@BryanHersch
@@mrnewskin7831 drugs
@alxofficial1541
@@BryanHersch wrong. You should know what the fuck your talking about before running people's names in the dirt like a POS. Chad was battling a terminal illness. He did not die from drugs.
@synfulpinion
@@BryanHersch Chad didn't die from drugs.
@PM-ut4xs
@@mrnewskin7831 Bryan had pneumonia while on tour & it escalated. Chad died of a terminal illness. 😭
@finewine256xx
AHC has everything I look for in a band
1 jump up riffs✔
2 weird look/fashion✔
3 good music✔
@JohnWayne-vf5bs
I wish they look like more goth like Marilyn Manson
@niles8102
I grew up in the 90's but I am just now getting in to their music in 2023.
@kyleaustin3284
I've been listening to AHC for more then a decade. They still are amazing!