"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).
Fall
American Head Charge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Left for the bloody at heart
Everything fades to shit
Everything tears me apart
Caustic insecurities
Surface above the withed
Every time I need
Aesthetic disguises
Underlying doubts
My direction dies
Everything right up in your face
Everything right up in front
Push me against the wall
But still you can't make me
Fall you can't make me
Fall separate your mouth
Scrape away
Prosthetic misery
Idiosyncratic pushing me to
Never hold my breath
Everything right up in your face
Everything right up in front
Push me against the wall
But still you can't make me
Fall you can't make me
Fall separate your mouth
Scrape away I don't
Like you at all!
The lyrics of American Head Charge's song Fall are a reflection of the internal struggles that an individual goes through in their personal life. The song describes a feeling of vulnerability and insecurity that eats away at the singer's heart. The opening lines, "Pathetic sympathies, Left for the bloody at heart", reveal a sense of despair that is prevalent in the individual's life. They have been left alone to deal with their problems and cannot find any solace or comfort. The line, "Everything fades to shit, Everything tears me apart" reflects the pessimism in the singer's predominant situation.
As the song progresses, the singer's insecurities rise to the surface, "Caustic insecurities, Surface above the withed" reminding us of the internal conflicts that people tend to face speculating about their own future while trying to come to terms with their present. The singer tries to find solace in their inner thoughts but is hindered by "aesthetic disguises, underlying doubts". These were disguising the innermost insecurities, weaving a web of deception that clouded their judgment.
In the chorus, the singer, even though pushed against the wall, refuses to be defeated, "But still, you can't make me fall, you can't make me fall." They fiercely stand up for themselves and demonstrate their resilient side. The lines "Separate your mouth, Scrape away prosthetic misery" carries a message that the singer will not be affected by what the world thinks of them, and that they will continue to be themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Pathetic sympathies
Expressions of pity that are unworthy or inferior
Left for the bloody at heart
Abandoned for those who are deeply affected by tragic or violent events
Everything fades to shit
All things eventually deteriorate into a state of extreme unpleasantness
Everything tears me apart
All things cause emotional turmoil and distress for me
Caustic insecurities
Negative and corrosive self-doubts
Surface above the withed
Rise to the surface despite being wilted or weakened
Every time I need
Whenever I require or desire something
Everything I want
All the things I desire or crave
Aesthetic disguises
Appearances that conceal or alter one's true nature
Underlying doubts
Unresolved concerns or uncertainties lurking beneath the surface
My direction dies
My sense of purpose or goal fades away or deteriorates
Everything right up in your face
All things that are blatantly obvious and directly confronting you
Everything right up in front
All things that are immediately present or before you
Push me against the wall
Force me into a corner or powerless position
But still you can't make me
Fall you can't make me
Despite your attempts to defeat or overpower me, I refuse to give in
Fall separate your mouth
If you want me to fall, keep your opinions or words to yourself
Scrape away
Prosthetic misery
Remove the fake or artificial suffering and unhappiness
Idiosyncratic pushing me to
Never hold my breath
Unique or peculiar factors that motivate or compel me to never stop breathing or striving forward
Like you at all!
I do not have any positive feelings towards you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Krysen Stott
This band is a mix of Sepultura, Korn, Fear Factory and Static X 🤟🏼🎸🥁
CoolMediaz
@Татьяна Кузнецова I agree. Every band does their own thing
Татьяна Кузнецова
No, dude, they are unique
River Sutcliffe
God i Love this band!!! RIP
toenboon
This song gave me tinnitus 🤘🏻🔊👂🏻
Thomas Vasquez
I'm sure time signatures make sense here but it certainly throws me for a loop.
Jared Hoeft
It's mostly just 4/4, with occasional 2/4 measures interjected in the heavier sections
Brandon gary
My favorite ahc jam
Squishy Bear
F*cking LOVE you forever !!!!
Michael Barringer
Fucking love this tune makes me angry