"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).
Perfectionist
American Head Charge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Left lacking in every tone
A distraction from truth
Hanging above your head
Misleading every minute
Distractions from truth
Stripped off of all the panic
I can't
Resist
Throwing it all away
No chains can change his words
His good side is flesh
No masks to protect faces
So, what's your motivation?
I can't
Resist
Throwing it all away
It doesn't matter anyway
These words have fallen on deaf ears
I don't do it for approval
I do it so I can stand me
Outlast the opposition
Your grand prize is silence
I can't
Resist
Throwing it all away
It doesn't matter anyway
These words have fallen on deaf ears
I don't do it for approval
I do it so I can stand me
It doesn't matter anyway (It doesn't matter)
These words have fallen on deaf ears (Fallen away)
I don't do it for approval (You don't like me)
I do it so I can stand me
Welcome. There's no. Turning. Back now
There will. Be no. Happy. Ending
Welcome (Welcome). There's no (There's no). Turning (Turning) Back now (Back now)
There will (There will). Be no (Be no). Happy (Happy). Ending (Ending)
There will (There will). Be no (Be no). Happy (Happy). Ending (Ending)
There will (There will). Be no (Be no). Happy. (Ending)
The lyrics of American Head Charge's song "Perfectionist" convey a sense of frustration and defiance towards societal expectations and the pressure to conform. The opening lines, "Misled by the minutes, Left lacking in every tone, A distraction from truth, Hanging above your head," suggest a feeling of being deceived and manipulated by time, where every passing minute leaves the singer feeling unfulfilled and disconnected from their true self. The "distractions from truth" could refer to the various distractions and superficialities that society imposes on individuals, preventing them from living authentically.
The chorus, "I can't resist throwing it all away," expresses a rebellion against societal norms and expectations. It signifies a refusal to conform and a desire to break free from the constraints that society tries to impose. The lines "No chains can change his words, His good side is flesh, No masks to protect faces, So, what's your motivation?" further emphasize the rejection of societal masks and the importance of staying true to oneself. The singer refuses to be silenced or manipulated, seeking to stand by their own beliefs and motivations, regardless of others' opinions.
The repetition of the lines "It doesn't matter anyway, These words have fallen on deaf ears, I don't do it for approval, I do it so I can stand me" reinforces the theme of self-empowerment and the idea that the singer is acting for their own sake, not seeking validation or acceptance from others. The closing lines, "Welcome. There's no turning back now, There will be no happy ending," intensify the defiance and determination to forge their own path, even if it means deviating from the norm and facing the consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
Misled by the minutes
Being deceived by every passing moment
Left lacking in every tone
Feeling incomplete in every aspect
A distraction from truth
Something that diverts from the real essence
Hanging above your head
Looming over, causing anxiety
Misleading every minute
Deliberately leading astray with each passing moment
Distractions from truth
Interferences that obscure the truth
Stripped off of all the panic
Removed from the overwhelming fear
Leaves me brightly blinded
Leaves me with a naive sense of clarity
I can't
I am incapable of
Resist
Oppose or avoid
Throwing it all away
Abandoning everything without hesitation
No chains can change his words
His expressions cannot be controlled or altered by restrictions
His good side is flesh
His true nature is revealed through his actions
No masks to protect faces
No disguises to shield one's true identity
So, what's your motivation?
What drives you to act the way you do?
It doesn't matter anyway
Regardless, it holds no significance
These words have fallen on deaf ears
These expressions have gone unnoticed or unappreciated
I don't do it for approval
I don't engage in this for validation
I do it so I can stand me
I do it to affirm my own sense of self-worth
Outlast the opposition
Endure and surpass adversaries
Your grand prize is silence
The ultimate victory is rendering them speechless
Welcome. There's no. Turning. Back now
You are now entering a point of no return
There will. Be no. Happy. Ending
There won't be a satisfactory conclusion
Welcome (Welcome). There's no (There's no). Turning (Turning) Back now (Back now)
Welcome to a situation with irreversible consequences
There will (There will). Be no (Be no). Happy (Happy). Ending (Ending)
There won't be a joyful resolution
There will (There will). Be no (Be no). Happy. (Ending)
There won't be a positive outcome
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JUSTIN FOWLER, CAMERON HEACOCK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Taylor Thompson
I freaking love the new songs so far.. Reminds me of The War of Art which was one of the best alternative metal albums ever created.
Monk3yB0t
Indeed. The war of art was a masterpiece.
Lone Wolf
those guys were one of my fav back in the day
really happy to see them back again
JD Metal
I love the fact that these guys are still out there, morphing and growing, and making fucking awesome music. I've been a fan since their inception. Good GOD this is the kind of stuff from which real Metal is made.
If nobody has seen AHC live...do it.
Thomas Dall
New Head Charge continues to blow my mind! Fucking love the new music and can't wait for the album to come out. \m/
Ty Nettleton
I can't stop listening to this. Tonic for the ears
TheFourthWhiskey
Can't wait to see them back in action and touring with Motograter of bands. Two of the best.
Sy
One of the greatest AHC songs of all time
sMEar 8
thank you for making music, has meant a lot to my life.
mudrenaline
wow! all lyric videos should be animated like this