"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).
Shutdown
American Head Charge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Left on the killing floor for you
That smile as he still
Itches for killing more of you
The taste as he still
Catches me lasting to it
The recoil they still
Dream of that lasting spit
Shutdown in it
Shut my eyes only once
Brought me back up for nothing
Yet it always seems like
I live in the shit
I make it bleed
I won't ever quit
I cause the need
Lying in my bed
Telling me your scared
Of me when I'm god
Of me when I'm dead
The temptation still
Passses me lying for it only
False reminders still
Drown myself trying for it only
Reaching upwards still
Squashes me under it
Its only god still
Seizing my final breath
Are you
Shutdown in it
Shut my eyes only once
Brought me back up for nothing
Yet it always seems like
I'm drawn into it
I can't belong
Such a perfect fit
I won't be wrong
Holding on in vein
Telling me your scared
Of me when I'm god
Of me when I'm dead
I live in the shit
I make it bleed
I won't ever quit
I cause the need
Lying in my bed
Telling me your scared
Of me when I'm god
Of me when I'm dead
Love me when I'm god
Love me when I'm dead
Dead
I don't want to be shutdown
The lyrics of American Head Charge's song "Shutdown" can be interpreted as an introspective view of the inner struggles of someone who is dealing with their own personal demons. The first verse of the song can be viewed as a commentary on how the individual's desire for violence and chaos is something that they cannot escape. The reference to the "killing floor" is a metaphor that suggests that the individual's past is stained with violence and that they are unable to rid themselves of it. The repetition of the phrase "Itches for killing more of you" further emphasizes this idea and suggests that the individual is a danger to themselves and others.
The chorus of the song, "Are you shutdown in it?" suggests that the individual is trapped in their own destructive behavior and that they are unable to escape it. The line "Shut my eyes only once, brought me back up for nothing" suggests that the individual has tried to escape their behavior in the past but has failed. The repetition of the phrase "I live in the shit" suggests that the individual is aware of their destructive behavior but is unable to change it. The line "Of me when I'm god, of me when I'm dead" suggests that the individual sees themselves as both a powerful force and a victim of their own behavior.
Overall, "Shutdown" can be viewed as a commentary on how difficult it is to escape one's destructive behavior and how the person who is dealing with it is aware of their actions but is powerless to change them.
Line by Line Meaning
The trait that is still
The quality that is yet to be eradicated
Left on the killing floor for you
Left unattended while you kill me
That smile as he still
That grin that signifies his urge
Itches for killing more of you
Craves for more destruction
The taste as he still
The flavor that I still savor
Catches me lasting to it
Lures me to crave it more
The recoil they still
The violent reaction they still seek
Dream of that lasting spit
Fantasize about the aftermath of their violence
Are you
Are you being affected?
Shutdown in it
Is it making you shut down emotionally?
Shut my eyes only once
I closed my eyes just once
Brought me back up for nothing
But it did not help me recover
Yet it always seems like
But it always feels like
I live in the shit
I am stuck in a bad situation
I make it bleed
I contribute to the suffering
I won't ever quit
I will never give up
I cause the need
I am the source of the addiction
Lying in my bed
Resting in my bed
Telling me your scared
Telling me that you are afraid
Of me when I'm god
Of me when I have power
Of me when I'm dead
Of me when I am no longer here
The temptation still
The allure still exists
Passses me lying for it only
Overcomes me when I am vulnerable
False reminders still
Misleading hints still exist
Drown myself trying for it only
Submerge myself trying to reach it
Reaching upwards still
Struggling to attain it
Squashes me under it
Crushes me under the weight of it
Its only god still
It is the only thing that has power over me
Seizing my final breath
Taking away the last thing I have
Love me when I'm god
Accept me when I am powerful
Love me when I'm dead
Still love me even when I am gone
Dead
Lifeless and gone
I don't want to be shutdown
I don't want to be emotionally closed off
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN MARK EITZEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@EldritchDWX
The chorus is sublime.
@Disambiguation144
Facts are Facts
@EldritchDWX
@@Disambiguation144 this is crazy, I was just thinking about this song this morning.
@NECROMETERproject
I hear the musical talent, but it's the expression of anger that keeps me listening.
@Pruane35Forever
this music is vicious , idnit
@NECROMETERproject
@@Pruane35Forever yes it is
@leoarredondo651
My fav every morning I put this song on.for like 3 yrs RIP chad I miss you bro
@mongoosetacticool6688
Such a brilliant album musically and produced by the legendary Rick Rubin.
I have an old ticket signed by the drummer and possibly the bass player.
"Never get caught" wrote one of them.
@arielsfish
Love that song
@ShinKenX1
awesome band.. loved this album !