"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).
Dirty
American Head Charge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In this place
A pleasant threat perfect void
Stuck in modality
With all this damage beyond repair
When all our time fades away
Just like everything else
Dirt
Stay
Now just in case
Selfish trials
Keeps stopping to
Drag me down
I'm losing bliss
As if all your hands
Could keep me clean
When all our time fades away
Just like everything else
That proves that we are
Dirt
I can't see where I've gone wrong
All our times fade away
That proves that we are
Dirt
If all our times fades away
It's proof we're dirt
The American Head Charge song "Dirty" is heavy with evocative imagery and introspective reflection. The lyrics seem to be describing an individual's struggle with feelings of worthlessness and their own internal "dirtiness." The lines "It's been after me / In this place / A pleasant threat perfect void" are somewhat ambiguous, but can be interpreted as a feeling of being pursued by this darkness or negativity. The second stanza seems to touch on an element of self-preservation or preservation of identity in the face of these feelings - the singer is fighting against selfish impulses that they believe will drag them down. They seem to be losing touch with happiness ("losing bliss") and struggling to keep their head above water.
The chorus of the song is particularly powerful, with the repeated refrain "When all our time fades away / Just like everything else / That proves that we are / Dirt." Here, the singer expands on their feelings of self-worthlessness, suggesting that the transience of life and the inevitability of death means that their existence (and the existence of all humans) is inherently unimportant or insignificant. They cannot see where they've "gone wrong" - perhaps they feel that their undeserving of happiness, or that they are inherently flawed in some way. The final lines drive this theme home, asserting that "If all our times fades away / It's proof we're dirt."
Overall, the poem is a reflection on the difficult work of finding value in oneself despite internal or external setbacks. The singer of the song is wrestling with their feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness, and is struggling to keep their head above water.
Line by Line Meaning
It's been after me
I feel haunted by something.
In this place
This situation that I am in is overwhelming.
A pleasant threat perfect void
I am being threatened by something that is comfortable and familiar to me, but it is still damaging and empty.
Stuck in modality
I feel trapped in my current way of thinking and acting.
With all this damage beyond repair
I am aware that there is damage that has been done that cannot be undone or fixed.
When all our time fades away
As time passes, everything will eventually come to an end.
Just like everything else
Nothing is permanent and everything is constantly changing.
That proves that we are
This is evidence that we are insignificant and temporary.
Dirt
We are worth no more than dirt.
Stay
I am pleading for someone or something to not leave me alone.
Now just in case
I am taking precautions because I am afraid of what might happen.
Selfish trials
I am being tested or challenged in a way that feels self-serving or unfair.
Keeps stopping to
I am constantly being interrupted or prevented from moving forward.
Drag me down
These obstacles are hindering my progress and making me feel defeated.
I'm losing bliss
I am losing my sense of happiness and contentment as a result of these challenges.
As if all your hands
It feels like other people are responsible for my struggles and setbacks.
Could keep me clean
I am hoping that others can fix or alleviate my problems.
I can't see where I've gone wrong
I am feeling lost and unsure about what I have done to deserve my current situation.
If all our times fades away
If everything eventually comes to an end,
It's proof we're dirt
it is evidence that we are insignificant and temporary.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
i:æ:was here
It's been after me
In this place
A pleasant threat perfect void
Stuck in modality
With all this damage beyond repair
When all our time fades away
Just like everything else
That proves that we are
Dirt
Stay
Now just in case
Selfish trials
Keeps stopping to
Drag me down
I'm losing bliss
As if all your hands
Could keep me clean
When all our time fades away
Just like everything else
That proves that we are
Dirt
I can't see where I've gone wrong
All our times fade away
That proves that we are
Dirt
If all our times fades away
It's proof we're dirt
Ryo 36
It's been after me
In this place
A pleasant threat perfect void
Stuck in modality
With all this damage beyond repair
When all our time fades away
Just like everything else
That proves that we are
Dirt
Stay
Now just in case
Selfish trials
Keeps stopping to
Drag me down
I'm losing bliss
As if all your hands
Could keep me clean
When all our time fades away
Just like everything else
That proves that we are
Dirt
I can't see where I've gone wrong
All our times fade away
That proves that we are
Dirt
If all our times fades away
It's proof we're dirt
Jon Davis
This band is so underrated.
Brent Cogswell
Especially this album. Seen them 3 times. Hung out with the drummer and his wife when the came to maine.
Kevin Klein
Amen
Kaleb Crommett
Favorite song in middle school but this still runs through my head every once and a while. This album is incredible.
Unreliable Narrator
Same. Best album of theirs, easily. This album fucks so hard.
Jena Otbrosov
Соловье
👅
River Sutcliffe
This band needs to still b around so underrated
i:æ:was here
It's been after me
In this place
A pleasant threat perfect void
Stuck in modality
With all this damage beyond repair
When all our time fades away
Just like everything else
That proves that we are
Dirt
Stay
Now just in case
Selfish trials
Keeps stopping to
Drag me down
I'm losing bliss
As if all your hands
Could keep me clean
When all our time fades away
Just like everything else
That proves that we are
Dirt
I can't see where I've gone wrong
All our times fade away
That proves that we are
Dirt
If all our times fades away
It's proof we're dirt
Spiritus Maximus
The way that guitar sounds and melody of it.. you just don't get that anymore these days. This whole song is just awesome magic. Holy shit, good ol days.
Ken Keller
Had to stop by and drop my comment on this awesome group of humans. It was 2002 in Helsinki and they opened the show and went HARDER than the main performer, a little band you might know as Slipknot.
That speaks volumes of the energy of AHC. Goddamn what a time that was. Neck still hurts from the 'bangin.