"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).
Violent Reaction
American Head Charge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nurse my broken wing
With all the promises
You can never honor
I just don't care enough
To react to vain attempts
Sent only to perpetuate
One's selfish little world
You'll wait and watch and still
You're only let down
A violent reaction
Struggling only to keep myself alive
Now here I stand
For nothing no one at all
I lead you down
Begging to touch you in the cold
You give me a reason
I will not be the one
Through all the nonsense
There is a constant
You won't see what I've become
You'll wait and watch and still
You're only let down
Cause this feeling
Has dawned the face of you
A violent reaction
Struggling only to keep myself alive
You won't see what I've become
Cause this feeling
Has dawned the face of you
A violent reaction
Struggling only to keep myself alive
The lyrics to "Violent Reaction" by American Head Charge appear to be about someone who is broken and wounded, both physically and emotionally. This person is looking for someone to help heal their broken wing but has been let down in the past by people who made promises they couldn't keep. The singer is jaded enough to not care anymore about people's attempts to reach out, seeing them as only selfish attempts to perpetuate their own little world. The singer seems resigned to the fact that those who have let them down won't see what they have become, only to be disappointed themselves by their lack of effort. The singer appears to be struggling just to keep themselves alive and their sense of disillusionment with the world around them is palpable.
The line "you won't see what I've become" appears twice in the song, which may refer to the singer's feeling that others couldn't understand the depth of their pain and trauma. The author of the lyrics could be reflecting on the personal experiences of betrayal or loss, which led to a state of mental exhaustion and detachment. The line "struggling only to keep myself alive" suggests that the singer is barely holding it together and is in survival mode. The repetition of the phrase "a violent reaction" appears to be a warning to those around the singer that they are at their limit and that their reaction may be explosive.
Line by Line Meaning
Lead me around
Allow me to be led by you
Nurse my broken wing
Help me heal from my emotional pain
With all the promises
Making a lot of promises
You can never honor
Unable to fulfill any promises
I just don't care enough
I lack the motivation to react
To react to vain attempts
Not interested in responding to futile actions
Sent only to perpetuate
Done only to continue a cycle
One's selfish little world
The self-absorbed reality of an individual
You won't see what I've become
You are unaware of my transformation
You'll wait and watch and still
You will continue to observe and be disappointed
You're only let down
You will only experience disappointment
A violent reaction
A strong, negative response
Struggling only to keep myself alive
Fighting solely to survive
Now here I stand
I am currently present
For nothing no one at all
For no particular reason or person
I lead you down
I guide you along
Begging to touch you in the cold
Pleading for emotional connection during difficult times
You give me a reason
You provide cause for my actions
I will not be the one
I refuse to be the source of a problem
Through all the nonsense
Despite all the ridiculousness
There is a constant
There is something that remains unchanged
Cause this feeling
Because of this emotion
Has dawned the face of you
You are the source of this feeling
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@devinikram
Lead me around
And nurse my broken wing
With all the promises
You can never honor
I just don't care enough
To react to vain attempts
Sent only to perpetuate
One's selfish little world
You won't see what I've become
You'll wait and watch and still you're only let down
2x
A violent reaction struggling only to keep myself alive - 2x
Now here I stand
For nothing no one at all
I lead you down
Begging to touch you in the cold
You give me a reason
I will not be the one
Through all the nonsense
There is a constant
You won't see what I've become
You'll wait and watch and still you're only let down
2x
Cause this feeling
Has dawned the face of you
2x
A violent reaction struggling only to keep myself alive - 4x
You won't see what I've become - 4x
Cause this feeling
Has dawned the face of you
A violent reaction struggling only to keep myself alive - 4x
@andrewmacnaughton7556
This album is amazing so underrated Cameron has a very unique vocal style and the music is baffling at times but in a great way pure bliss this!
@cameronmuise14
I'm proud to share the same name
@kevinwilson455
It's hard to describe isn't it lol
This was my jam on release, and I'm still going back for more two decades later.
I seen them supporting Slipknot for their Disasterpiece tour... they are even better live.
@andrewmacnaughton7556
@Kevin Wilson yeah man I smashed this album back in the day and still come back to it very often buzzing you got to see them mate :) I wish they would reform do you know any info about current status? As I can't find anything :(
@JohnWayne-vf5bs
Cameron he was drug addict
@ronaldrebeschinn6182
Yeah, because it wasn't promoted at all.
@Metalheadmike1211
Jeez I remember having this album when I was a kid. Can’t believe it that was already 22 years ago.
@jettgjr31
Same here man.love this album..still to this day😊
@overthrowaudio
These guys played the 2nd stage at Ozzfest 2002 and were the standout performers. No band could touch them. Their energy was unmatched.
@devinikram
Lead me around
And nurse my broken wing
With all the promises
You can never honor
I just don't care enough
To react to vain attempts
Sent only to perpetuate
One's selfish little world
You won't see what I've become
You'll wait and watch and still you're only let down
2x
A violent reaction struggling only to keep myself alive - 2x
Now here I stand
For nothing no one at all
I lead you down
Begging to touch you in the cold
You give me a reason
I will not be the one
Through all the nonsense
There is a constant
You won't see what I've become
You'll wait and watch and still you're only let down
2x
Cause this feeling
Has dawned the face of you
2x
A violent reaction struggling only to keep myself alive - 4x
You won't see what I've become - 4x
Cause this feeling
Has dawned the face of you
A violent reaction struggling only to keep myself alive - 4x