"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).
Different
American Head Charge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It makes it so numb
My lower coverings
House many children
So many piercings
I can't stop bleeding
Trails are all I see
Can't help being me
So fucking different
I am so cool
So fucking different
We're all the same
So very different
So fucked up we drool
It's all the same
So many tweakings
I can't stop peaking
My fucking parents
After school meetings
I've got not future
Won't even try
I'm failing at life
Get high and then I die
The lyrics to American Head Charge's song Different seem to express the views of someone who sees themselves as apart from the norm, someone who claims to be "so fucking different." They describe the physical sensations of self-damage in the form of biting one's tongue and bleeding from piercings. The feeling of detachment from society is made clear throughout the lyrics as they suggest a lack of purpose or belonging, with lines such as "I've got no future, won't even try" indicating they may be depressed or struggling with some form of mental illness.
The song's title "Different" is possibly inspired by the idea of non-conformity- striving to be unique in a world filled with ordinary people. The song seems to be suggesting that even though we may all look the same or be from different backgrounds, we all have our faults and imperfections. The chorus makes it evident that while we may all be different, we are all the same in the fact that we are flawed, and that we all have things we are dealing with.
The lyrics also delve into teenage angst and a sense of nihilism, with lines such as "my fucking parents, after school meetings" evoking the feeling of isolation that comes with being a misunderstood youth. The drug references also reflect the nihilistic outlook, with the final line "Get high and then I die" suggesting that the singer may be self-destructive.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm chewing my tongue
I am repressing my true feelings and biting my tongue in order to fit in with society
It makes it so numb
My repression is causing emotional numbness within me
My lower coverings
Referring to the genitals, which are the source of reproduction and creativity
House many children
I have many creative thoughts and ideas waiting to be born
So many piercings
My outward appearance reflects my inner pain and desire for individuality
I can't stop bleeding
My emotional pain is so great that I cannot control the physical manifestation of it
Trails are all I see
I am consumed by my own pain and can only see darkness and despair
Can't help being me
Despite the pain, I am unable to change who I am and how I express myself
I am so cool
Despite being an outsider, I am confident in my own identity and am not afraid to be myself
So fucking different
I am unique and unlike anyone else, and I embrace this
We're all the same
Despite our outward differences, we are all human and experience pain and suffering
So very different
Although we may appear different on the outside, we share common experiences
So fucked up we drool
We are all damaged and struggling to find our way in life
It's all the same
Despite our struggles, life continues with a sense of sameness and routine
So many tweakings
I am constantly adjusting and changing aspects of myself in order to cope with the pain of existence
I can't stop peaking
Despite my pain, I continue to search for moments of happiness and euphoria
My fucking parents
My parents are a source of pain and difficulty in my life
After school meetings
Implies disciplinary meetings and tension between child and parent
I've got not future
I feel hopeless and lost in regards to my future prospects
Won't even try
I am so consumed by hopelessness that I feel apathetic towards pursuing my future
I'm failing at life
I feel like a failure in my attempts to navigate the difficulties of life
Get high and then I die
I turn to drugs as a way to escape the pain of existence, but know that ultimately it will be my downfall
Contributed by Addison H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@adamp2556
Awesome band
@rhondanolanbryant
Best show I've ever been to was Head Charge at First Ave when the lights went out!!!
@Jan-mu6vs
Fitting name...