"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).
Leave Me Alone )
American Head Charge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Always get exactly what you want
You
This is only my life that you taunt
Always giving me enough to keep me quiet
Only giving me enough to keep me at bay
Why don't you leave me alone?
I don't need you
This
Is the very thing that I disgust
Promise me again
And I hope your jaw fucking rusts
I did what you wanted didn't I?
So, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up
Why don't you leave me alone?
Always on the verge of something
Almost about to leave it all
I don't need you
Open your blessed wings
And wrap them around all your things
Keep yourself in the company of kings
Cause it's their hands' that bleed from the strings
No more
The lyrics of the song "Leave Me Alone" by American Head Charge describe a toxic relationship where one person constantly manipulates and controls the other. The singer is tired of being taunted, silenced, and used by the other person, who always seems to get what they want. Despite promises and attempts to please them, the singer realizes that they don't need this person in their life and wishes for them to leave them alone. The final lines of the song suggest that the manipulator is ultimately responsible for their own actions and consequences, even if they surround themselves with power and wealth.
The angsty vocals and heavy instrumentation of the song create a sense of tension and urgency that matches the lyrics' themes. The repetition of the line "Why don't you leave me alone?" emphasizes the singer's frustration and desire for freedom. The reference to "blessed wings" and "company of kings" adds a sarcastic tone that suggests the manipulator isn't as powerful or untouchable as they believe.
Line by Line Meaning
You
The person addressing this song is being accused of always getting what they want.
Always get exactly what you want
The person addressing this song is being accused of always getting what they want.
You
The person addressing this song is being accused of taunting the singer's life.
This is only my life that you taunt
The person addressing this song is being accused of taunting the singer's life.
Always giving me enough to keep me quiet
The person addressing this song is being accused of only giving the singer enough to keep them quiet.
Only giving me enough to keep me at bay
The person addressing this song is being accused of only giving the singer enough to keep them at bay.
Why don't you leave me alone?
The singer is asking the person to leave them alone.
I don't need you
The singer is stating that they do not need the person in their life.
This
The singer is referring to something that disgusts them.
Is the very thing that I disgust
The singer is expressing their disgust towards something.
Promise me again
The singer is being promised something again.
And I hope your jaw fucking rusts
The singer is expressing anger towards the person who made the promise, wishing harm upon them.
I did what you wanted didn't I?
The singer is stating that they did what the person wanted them to.
So, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up
The singer is telling the person to be quiet.
Why don't you leave me alone?
The singer is asking the person to leave them alone.
Always on the verge of something
The singer is always close to something.
Almost about to leave it all
The singer is almost ready to leave everything behind.
I don't need you
The singer is stating that they do not need the person in their life.
Open your blessed wings
The person is being instructed to open their wings.
And wrap them around all your things
The person is being instructed to wrap their wings around their possessions.
Keep yourself in the company of kings
The person is instructed to keep themselves in the company of those of high status.
Cause it's their hands' that bleed from the strings
The people in power are responsible for the harm caused to others.
No more
The singer is stating that they want no more of the person's influence in their life.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sr Botana
Feel the hate in the song, in the veins, in the blood
joey lovetere
I wish ahc did this song live
Patrick Alday
Sad that this album is nowhere to be found!
Professor Posthumous
Leave you alone ? Okay fair enough!
All the best xxx
Squishy Bear
FUCKING LOVE YOU FOREVER!!!!
nanabaws
Unfiltered 🖤
Luciano Puentes
💖
Timothy S
Entourage
mthw 704
You no longer go to school here.
Greg Hart
What would it take to bring this back