"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).
Pretty Face
American Head Charge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Idolize it's wet paper skin
Listen to the cast preach your life
And infest you with disease
Dress me up with a three piece tourniquet
Fuck and get under the scabs
Never trust what you cannot kill
And pretend that she respects you
Drags you all across this country
This cunt bleeding
Delivered me
The cord it stretches
Taught and only so far
Before it snaps back
Giving us relief
It's just a matter of time
It's just a matter of time
Before you fall down
And hurt yourself
Far from home
With no one's help
We will be waiting
But his eyes can't see the madness
So she can keep the rule
Formulate what will be that thing that makes me laugh
Your next manipulation
Of the all too friendless
Always seen and never noticed
Dipping my feet in pools of you
FUCK YOU
Make my face only how you like it
Why can't you smell it hide
Wreck her pussy with your fist
She'll be your minister
Violate my stiff limp body
Only to taste my glass bloodline
Shove it all behind my back
Cauterize my open wound
I never needed to leave
To find out what makes me tick
I arrived by default
My arms three grand long
But not elastic enough
To care for insects
Just beyond my reach
It's just a matter of time
It's just a matter of time
Before I pick you up
And dust you off
Kiss the eyes
That make me rough
I will be waiting
I walked beside myself
But nothing ever changed
And now I walk away
So you can take the blame
Clinical distortion
Affects the bachelor
I still can't find
a reason
To end these growing fears
The lyrics of American Head Charge's song Pretty Face depict the feelings of insignificance and powerlessness in the face of manipulation and abuse. The use of violent imagery and sexual references portrays a sense of violation and the loss of control. The opening lines, "Play your games with my limp joints, idolize its wet paper skin," highlight the singer's physical weakness and how it is being used against them. The following lines, "Listen to the cast preach your life, and infest you with disease," suggest that the singer is surrounded by people who are pushing their own agenda and are infecting them with harmful beliefs.
The song also touches on the themes of liberty and freedom, as well as the pursuit of happiness. Lines such as "Pursuit of liberty drags you all across this country," talk about the struggle for autonomy and how it can take one to different places. However, the singer seems to be caught in a cycle of abuse and manipulation, and is unable to break free from it, as depicted by "It's just a matter of time before you fall down and hurt yourself, far from home with no one's help."
Overall, Pretty Face presents a dark and unsettling view of power dynamics and the effects of manipulation and abuse on the human psyche.
Line by Line Meaning
Play your games with my limp joints
You take advantage of my vulnerable state
Idolize it's wet paper skin
You worship and glorify my fragile appearance
Listen to the cast preach your life
You believe in the false messages that others tell you about life
And infest you with disease
Their words poison your mind and soul with negativity
Dress me up with a three piece tourniquet
You adorn me with harmful accessories that suffocate and restrain me
Fuck and get under the scabs
You exploit my wounds and scars for your own pleasure
Never trust what you cannot kill
You only believe in things you can physically destroy, instead of accepting the unknown
And pretend that she respects you
You deceive yourself into thinking that someone actually values you
Pursuit of liberty
Your quest for freedom
Drags you all across this country
It takes you on a journey throughout the nation
This cunt bleeding
This woman is suffering and in pain
Delivered me
She gave birth to me
The cord it stretches
The umbilical cord is pulled taut
Taught and only so far
The extent of the cord's length is limited
Before it snaps back
But it eventually reaches its breaking point
Giving us relief
Once the cord is cut, we are free from the tether
It's just a matter of time
It's inevitable
Before you fall down
Before you stumble and fail
And hurt yourself
And suffer the consequences of your actions
Far from home
In a place that is unfamiliar
With no one's help
Without any assistance or support
We will be waiting
But we'll be here for you when you need us
But his eyes can't see the madness
You are blind to the insanity that surrounds you
So she can keep the rule
So she can maintain her power and control over you
Formulate what will be that thing that makes me laugh
Figure out what you can do to amuse me
Your next manipulation
Your next attempt to control and exploit me
Of the all too friendless
Of those who are alone and have no one to turn to
Always seen and never noticed
They are always present, but go unnoticed and unappreciated
Dipping my feet in pools of you
I am immersed in everything that you are
FUCK YOU
I despise you
Make my face only how you like it
I change myself to fit your desires
Why can't you smell it hide
You can't detect the true nature of my being
Wreck her pussy with your fist
You violently abuse and harm her genitals
She'll be your minister
She is willing to submit to your dominance and control
Violate my stiff limp body
You use my lifeless body for your own twisted purposes
Only to taste my glass bloodline
You consume my essence without regard for my wellbeing
Shove it all behind my back
You hide your true intentions from me
Cauterize my open wound
You attempt to stop the bleeding, but only cause more pain
I never needed to leave
I didn't need to go away to understand myself
To find out what makes me tick
To discover what motivates and drives me
I arrived by default
I am here by chance or circumstance
My arms three grand long
My reach is vast and far-reaching
But not elastic enough
But it still has limits
To care for insects
To have compassion for the smallest and weakest of creatures
Just beyond my reach
But unfortunately, some things are still out of my grasp
Before I pick you up
But I will still help you when you fall
And dust you off
And brush the dirt off of you
Kiss the eyes
I'll show affection to the parts of you that make you human
That make me rough
Even though you are flawed and imperfect
I will be waiting
I will always be here for you
I walked beside myself
I felt disconnected from my own existence
But nothing ever changed
But I still stayed the same
And now I walk away
But now I'm leaving that behind
So you can take the blame
And you can take responsibility for your own life
Clinical distortion
A psychological malady
Affects the bachelor
It harms those who remain single
I still can't find
I am still searching for answers
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Christopher Emery(Dirty-EE)
and to think I played keyboards on stage for this song at one point... crazy
aw55550
+Chris Emery
wonder how it was for justin and aaron with that version
Sloth Beats
You fucking rock man
Tony Heasman
Shame you left AHC
jizmoglass420
Love you Chris.
John Wayne
Chris can you do double bass
1nc0rr1g1bl3
Honestly if this was the end track of WOA I would have ZERO complaints but Nothing Gets Nothing is still a banger end track! No idea why this isn't in Spotify yet
Ana Cedron
Finally I can hear a clean version of this song
Marky Mark
damn, why wasn't this on the OG American album? first time hearing it now, I played this album to DEATH back in the 2000s
Crappytiara
SAME!!!