"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 βinability to continue on a musical career path,β 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).
Never Get Caught
American Head Charge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fill you full of reason
No windows I'll take you
To the dirty place that I love
Slipping on messes
You made when I hit you
Makes me more excitable
Pull it tight I'll see right through it
I'll never get caught
Cradle the difference in front of your fist
Force it down to bring it back up
Make them listen one more time
Wrapping you up in an American flag
I fuck you for the glory
No complaints from my friends
They keep their fucking mouths shut
I couldn't care less
About the way that you see me
Soothing I will never be
I'll always get shit, I'll always get shit
For acknowledging perversity
I'll never get caught
Cradle the difference in front of your fist
Force it down to bring it back up
Make them listen one more time
Never get caught
The lyrics to American Head Charge's song Never Get Caught suggest themes of power, control, and even abuse within a relationship. The first lines invite the listener to follow the lead singer as "I will drown you / Fill you full of reason," implying a sense of domination over someone else. This power dynamic is reinforced later with the lines "Slipping on messes / You made when I hit you," suggesting a potentially violent and abusive relationship.
The chorus, with its repeated refrain of "I'll never get caught," reinforces this sense of control and invincibility. The singer is confident that they can do whatever they want without consequence, whether it's engaging in perverse behavior or wrapping someone up in an American flag and having sex with them. The lines "I'll always get shit / For acknowledging perversity" suggest that the singer is aware that their behavior is not socially accepted but they do not care.
The final lines of the chorus, "Cradle the difference in front of your fist / Force it down to bring it back up / Make them listen one more time," suggest a cycle of abuse and manipulation, where the singer pushes someone down only to lift them up again and make sure they're listening. Overall, the lyrics paint a disturbing picture of a relationship marked by power, control, and violence.
Line by Line Meaning
Follow me now and I will drown you
Join me in this dark and twisted path, and I will consume you entirely
Fill you full of reason
I will justify my actions, and make you believe they are right
No windows I'll take you
You will be trapped with me, and I will decide what you see and hear
To the dirty place that I love
I will bring you to a place of chaos and debauchery, where I thrive
Slipping on messes
I take pleasure in the pain and destruction that I cause
You made when I hit you
I enjoy the power I have over you, and the control I hold
Makes me more excitable
The more you suffer, the more I enjoy it
I'll never get caught, I'll never get caught
I am confident that I will never face consequences for my actions
Pull it tight I'll see right through it
I am clever and can easily manipulate any situation to my advantage
Cradle the difference in front of your fist
I embrace the differences between us, and use it to further my own agenda
Force it down to bring it back up
I will take whatever I want, no matter the cost and no matter who gets hurt
Make them listen one more time
I will continue to assert my dominance and control over others, no matter how many times they resist
Wrapping you up in an American flag
I will use patriotism and nationalism to manipulate and justify my actions
I fuck you for the glory
I take pleasure in my actions, and seek recognition and praise for my brutality
No complaints from my friends
I surround myself with people who share my views and will not question or betray me
They keep their fucking mouths shut
I control and oppress those around me, forcing them to keep silent about my actions
I couldn't care less
I have no empathy, and do not care about the consequences or suffering of my actions
About the way that you see me
I am indifferent to other's opinions of me and my actions
Soothing I will never be
I thrive on chaos, destruction, and pain, finding no comfort in peace or calmness
I'll always get shit, I'll always get shit
I accept that others will criticize and condemn my actions, but it only strengthens my resolve
For acknowledging perversity
I embrace and glorify perverse and cruel behavior, and take pride in it
Never get caught
I will continue to act without remorse or consequence, confident in my ability to evade punishment
Lyrics Β© OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
V J
it's 5:11 a.m. I have this on high & coffee to wake me up . winning! ππ
Gunner Edwards
I listen to this on my way to the gym while chugging a rockstar and blowing fat ass clouds out the window going 55 in a 40 π
Thomas Bant
A good way to wake up, thumbs up
Hello World
whuuUuuUuut...i turn it up over 9,000.
Ian Salvisberg
You canβt beat Nu Metalπ€π
Venus
@ARCHIE MCCONNELL yea fuck off nu metal is coolest genre
ARCHIE MCCONNELL
BLASPHEMY :)
Gene Vestly
Guitar thieves on dope make great music
Muzik Bike
American Theft Charge
Bret Ellis
Gene Vestly haha true! And this song is very ironic π