"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).
Sung For The Suspect
American Head Charge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Crawling over her dress until
I could show you everything
But I don't have to hear the words
Cause I already feel your thoughts
So it comes as no surprise
That all the intent is real
All the suspects are right
It all falls down
Cover my eyes
Obey my ignorance
To purify you
I'll only watch you rot
Without malicious intent
Your doubt resembles someone else
Stick the needles in me
Stick the needles in
Stick the needles in
Stick the needles in
If we watch
It all come down
Breathe and let it go
Dropped and winding
Fuck your confession
Fuck your confusion
Dissolve my insides
Make it hide
Crawling on diginity
That which you do to me
Hold on forever
The fair day we
Weather
These lyrics are highly suggestive of a person's experience with a sexual encounter. The writer is fixated on the woman’s physical beauty and is overcome with the desire to explore every inch of her body. Interestingly, the lyrics give the impression that the woman is not an active participant in the encounter, which may suggest that the writer is imagining this encounter or possible voyeuristic tendencies. The line, “Cause I already feel your thoughts” suggests that the writer believes he knows what the woman wants without her having to say it. The lyrics convey a sense of control and domination over the woman, which is reinforced by the line “Obey my ignorance”. The writer believes that his ignorance of the woman's feelings makes her desirable to him. The use of the words "purify" and "rot" create an ominous tone as if whatever is happening is not good for either party.
The chorus “If we stop, It all falls down / cover my eyes, obey my ignorance / to purify you, I'll only watch you rot” is a haunting indictment on the two people's desire for this encounter, almost as if this secret must not come out or it’ll all fall apart. The use of the metaphor “stick the needles in” suggest that the encounter is as much pain and inflicting hurt as it is pleasure. The ending of the song's lyrics makes tie it all together with the lyrics “The fair day we weather”, which suggests that the writer is alluding to a secret they are both living that shall go to the grave with them.
Line by Line Meaning
I can still watch those eyes
I still remember the way you looked at me with those eyes
Crawling over her dress until
My eyes were wandering over her dress slowly
I could show you everything
I could reveal everything to you
But I don't have to hear the words
I don't need to hear you say anything
Cause I already feel your thoughts
I can sense what you're thinking
So it comes as no surprise
It doesn't shock me
That all the intent is real
Your intentions are genuine
All the suspects are right
All the doubts I have are justified
If we stop
If we pause or slow down
It all falls down
Everything collapses and fails
Cover my eyes
I want to avoid the truth or reality
Obey my ignorance
Pretend that I don't know anything
To purify you
To cleanse or free you from wrongdoings
I'll only watch you rot
I'll observe you suffer or deteriorate
Without malicious intent
I am not being intentionally harmful
Your doubt resembles someone else
Your uncertainty reminds me of another person I know
Stick the needles in me
Pierce me with needles
If we watch
If we observe or witness
It all come down
Everything will be destroyed or ruined
Breathe and let it go
Take a deep breath and release your emotions
Dropped and winding
Feeling confused and disoriented
Fuck your confession
I don't want to hear your confession
Fuck your confusion
I don't want to deal with your confusion
Dissolve my insides
Eliminate my internal pain or disturbance
Make it hide
Push it away or suppress it
Crawling on dignity
Striving for respect or honor
That which you do to me
The way you treat me
Hold on forever
Never let go
The fair day we weather
The day we face and survive the difficulties together
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steven Barry
what a voice, love AHC so much
Sharie Beth
So glad the band is back together. I'm ready to tear shit up to some new AHC xD
Bogdan55
awesome stuff!
stewieBH
i wish i could see them live with this set up :(
mma0tomars
It breaks my heart to know that this band is officially over with and I'll never get to see them in this way ever again. But I'm glad that I got to see them live when they were at their best.
numetalgirl
Awesomeness! \m/
H31y
It's a bloody shame Mr. Heacock decided to stray from the metal scene and (hopefully not) destroy a band that had so much potential..His ability to switch between vocal fries and clean vocals in the midst of improvising lyrics was absolutely overwhelming and separated the band's albums completely from their live shows. RIP old AHC, RIP Bryan Ottoson, and here's to hoping AHC will be revived to be better than ever.
italia405
I saw them in 2001 for the Pledge of Allegiance tour in Oklahoma City with Slipknot, Mudvayne, S.O.A.D, Rammstien and No One. They put on an awesome show. Wish they were still around. Wheather or not someone wants to classify this as nu metal or not doesn't matter to me. It sounds good to my ears and that's all that matters. Fuck yea!!! =)
OpieSVT
bringin back some memories!
AHCDeathSquad
AHC is back! If you've been waiting for a new album here's the place to be: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-american-head-charge-record-their-new-album
Like them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanHeadCharge