American Head Charge (often referred to as Head Charge or abbreviated AHC) is an nu metal/industrial metal band from Minneapolis, Minnesota USA, earning nominations at the Kerrang! Awards on two occasions.
The band's sound has often been described as an "intense hybrid of the US Chicagoan industrial band Ministry and Iowan metallers Slipknot"; they contributed a cover of "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" for Anthems of Rust and Decay: A Tribute to Marilyn Manson as well as "Filth Pig" to Devilswork: A Tribute to Ministry, while they supported System of a Down and Slipknot on the Pledge of Allegiance festival tour in 2001.
History
Formation
The genesis of the band name
Early incarnations of the band sported the monikers Flux, Gestapo Pussy Ranch, and Warsaw Ghetto Pussy, although these were shortlived. The name Flux was already adopted by another band and so was dropped due to fear from copyright infringement and libel, while the latter names were abandoned within a period of six months so as not to alienate prospective label interest. "I'm a fan of 3-word names", Hanks reflected in a December 2001 Livewire interview. In reference to the current band moniker, he confessed; "It means nothing. No meaning by it. Pretty much that purpose right there."^ Although sometimes speculated that their name was taken from Adrian Sherwood's famous dub label On-U Sound act African Head Charge, which was formed in the early 1980s, it is in fact a coincidence. Chad Hanks remarked in an interview before they were signed that "It turns out that there is actually a band called African Head Charge; its so hard to be original these days."
The release of Trepanation
After settling on the name American Head Charge, the band made their debut on the underground fringes of the industrial metal scene with their 1999 album Trepanation. The personnel on this album saw Heacock and Hanks (now respectively rechristened Martin Cock and Mr. H. C. Banks III) joined by guitarist David Rogers, Justin Fowler on keyboards and samples and Chris Emery on drums.
Further exposure came through two track offerings to Dwell Records tribute albums, namely in homage to industrial bands Ministry and Marilyn Manson respectively.
Second guitarist Wayne Kile and keyboard player Aaron Zilch joined the quintets ranks during mid/late 1999.
After performing at a support showcase featuring System of a Down in Des Moines, Iowa during August 1999., Head Charge made a record deal with American Recordings.
The War of Art
[edit] Recording information
After the widespread release of Trepanation, AHC began recording their second album with the aid of Rick Rubin in 2001. The War of Art sold in the region of 12,000 copies in the United States during its first week of release in late August 2001. However, like many "heavy" bands at the time, sales of the album suffered soon after the 9/11 attacks.
Tour
American Head Charge, commencing a live schedule in support of their major label debut, began their professional touring experience on Ozzy Osbourne's 2001 Ozzfest, playing 3rd on the "Second Stage" for the entire tour. They then snagged a slot upon the "Pledge of Allegiance" festival tour, headlined by bands like Slipknot, Mudvayne, Rammstein and System of a Down. Guitarist Dave Rogers marked their concluding show of this tour in New Jersey by wholly playing the concert performance naked; this led to his subsequent arrest after the performance. In December 2001, the band co-supported Slayer alongside Ohio metalcore band Chimaira for the first two months of the American "God Hates Us All" tour. Following shows were headlined by Kittie, hardcore punk band Biohazard, and Texan stoner rockers Speedealer, preceding a 4 month Scandinavian/European/UK/Japanese tour headlined by Slipknot. Additional bands they've toured with include Coal Chamber, Ministry, Gravity Kills, Hatebreed, Static-X, Mudvayne, and Otep.
Guitarist Wayne Kile departed from the industrial outfit in early April 2002, paving the way for the induction of former Black Flood Diesel guitarist Bryan Ottoson to undertake the open position. Just 24 hours after getting the offer to join the band, Ottoson flew to Los Angeles and duly marked his inclusion to the band participating in the filming of the music video "Just So You Know".
The Feeding
After a two year hiatus, drugs had taken control of much of the band. According to AHC's MySpace article, three members of the band had become chemically dependent, with two of them going back into rehab. Guitarist Bryan Ottoson even stated that the band looked so doomed that he was almost checked into a mental institution for fear of suicide.
The remains of the band, with a couple new faces, pulled together and started writing and recording. During the demo process, "The War of Art" producer and American Recordings label owner Rick Rubin became increasingly elusive, and the band subsequently asked to be let out of their recording contract. Rubin respected their request without any legal squables. The band's producer on The Feeding was The War of Art's engineer Greg Fidelman. AHC recorded for four months, feeling this was by far their most disciplined record to date. The Feeding was released on February 15, 2005. The Feeding only spawned one radio and video single: "Loyalty".
Death of guitarist Bryan Ottoson
Guitarist Bryan Ottoson died at the age of 27 in the middle of an early 2005 tour conducted with the bands Mudvayne, Life of Agony, and Bloodsimple in tow. The musician's body was found lying on a sleeping bunk on the band's tour bus in North Charleston, South Carolina, where the group was scheduled to perform at the Plex club.
According to North Charleston police documents, scene investigators concluded the guitarist's death was the result of an accidental prescription drug overdose Police discovered a pill bottle of "numerous amounts of prescription medicine" in Ottoson's bunk. Ottoson had been battling severe strep throat with prescribed penicillin, and he was also given an unnamed pain medication. It was also stated that his overdose was purely accidental.
Band members informed police they last saw Ottoson alive around 4 a.m. on April 18, 2005, as they went to sleep before leaving Jessup, Maryland. Ottoson had consumed "a large amount of alcohol at a bar" in Jessup that evening, according to police documents. This statement is reported as inaccurate by bassist/co-founder Chad Hanks: "Bryan, myself, and our tech D-Rock walked to the bar just before last call, and we were stone cold sober. We all had two shots of vodka and one beer each. No more. No less. If 3 drinks is a 'large amount of alcohol', then apparently my mother is a raging alcoholic."
Police were called to the scene around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; Ottoson was deceased by this time. Hanks and Cheema remarked to police that "Ottoson was a heavy sleeper, and it was not uncommon for him to sleep late before a concert."
Firing of Christopher Emery
Drummer Christopher Emery was fired from American Head Charge onstage on February 11, 2006 with reasons by the band being cited as "major irresponsibility", "decreased drumming ability" and "an inflated sense of entitlement". In a joint statement via their official website, bassist/co-founder Chad Hanks and singer/co-founder Cameron Heacock revealingly stated:
"It turns out Chris was thinking of leaving anyway, although we only just found out by his posting on our website. Before the show, I pulled our guitar tech into the hallway and said 'Mark my words. If he quits, he'll blame it on the bands drug use and his inability to deal with his own drug use.' Everyone knows our addiction history. Hell, it's part of our bio. And it's common knowledge we're no angels. But Chris was one of those guys that felt like he had to go to rehab every 9 months. We're no worse than when we met him. Drugs aren't the problem. The problem is that his brain and heart were no longer in it, his responsibility level became non-exsistant, and his playing became so drastically inconsistent that I had to fire him onstage at our last show of "The Feeding" touring cycle. I had made a sign in advance that said "I'M FIRED" and held it up to him halfway through the set when I got sick of how godawful his playing and professionalism were that night. It was embarrassing and our fans didn't deserve it. He was a major factor in our pulling the last seven songs out of our set. It made me furious, and I'm glad we won't have to deal with it anymore." Chad Hanks spoke candidly about this incident on All Knowing Force.
First DVD and recording a new album
On 3 April 2007 American Head Charge released their first ever DVD, Can't Stop the Machine through Nitrus Records. Along with it came a 10 track CD with live and unreleased songs, including a remix of The War of Art single "Just So You Know".
As of July 6, 2007, having completed a 2 month U.S. tour behind Can't Stop the Machine the band are currently in Minneapolis working on their 3rd studio album. No date has been announced for the release as of yet.
Band members
Current
- Cameron Heacock - Vocals (1996 - present)
- Chad Hanks - Bass (1996 - present)
- Justin Fowler - Keyboards (2000 - present)
- Karma Singh Cheema - Guitar (2004-2005, 2007 - present)
- Benji Hellberg - Guitar (2005 - present)
- Dane Tuders - Drums (February 2006 - present)
Former
- Chris Emery - Keyboards (1996 - 2000), Drums (2000 - February 2006)
- Bryan Ottoson - Guitar (April 2002 - April 19, 2005 deceased)
- Dave Rogers - Guitar (1996 - 2003)
- Aaron Zilch - Electronics (mid/late 1999 - January 2003)
- Wayne Kile - Guitar (mid/late 1999 - April 2002)
- Peter Harmon - Drums (1997 - 2000)
- Nicolas Quijano - Guitar (2006-2007 European Occupation Tour)
- Anthony Burke - Guitar (fill-in 2006)
- Jamie White - Keyboards (1996, never recorded or played live)
Discography
Albums
- Trepanation (July 18, 1999) Independent
- The War of Art (August 28, 2001) American Recordings
- Just So You Know (EP) American Recordings
- The Feeding (February 15, 2005) DRT Entertainment/Nitrus
- Can't Stop the Machine (DVD/CD) (April 3, 2007) Nitrus
Music videos
| Song | Director | Album | Label | Additional Information |
| "Just So You Know" | Kevin Kerslake | The War of Art | American Recordings | American Head Charge's first official music video. |
| "All Wrapped Up" | Tomas Migone | The War of Art | American Recordings | Banned due to visceral images within video. |
| "Loyalty" | Mike Sloat | The Feeding | DRT Entertainment/Nitrus | First official music video release taken from The Feeding. |
| "Cowards" | Mike Sloat | The Feeding | DRT Entertainment/Nitrus | First UNOFFICIAL music video release taken from The Feeding. |
Compilation appearances
| Date of Release | Title | Album | Label | Additional Information |
| January 25, 2000 | "Filth Pig" | Devilswork: A Tribute to Ministry | Dwell | Ministry cover |
| June 6, 2000 | "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" | Anthems of Rust and Decay: A Tribute to Marilyn Manson | Dwell | Marilyn Manson cover |
| March 26, 2002 | "Seamless" (Live) | Pledge of Allegiance Tour: Live Concert Recording | Columbia Records | |
| August 25, 2002 | "Reach and Touch" (Live) | Ozzfest 2001: Second Millennium | Columbia Records | |
| August 24, 2004 | "Cowards" | UFC: Ultimate Beat downs, Vol. 1 | DRT Entertainment | First taste of The Feeding |
Rare, Demo And Unreleased songs
Demos and Rare Songs is an album that can be predominantly found through South American sourced sites. It is in no way endorsed by AHC or even regarded as an authentic/official release. It’s clear to hear the songs that went through the production stage but just never made the final cut. Opening song "Only Way Out" has a polished sound with crisp vocals as well as sound effects included too. The toned down screams suggest it arrived around the period for The Feeding and although I can’t suggest a song it could replace on the album, it’s hard to see why it did make the grade. The recording of "All Too Comfortable" stutters every few seconds but the core of the song is excellent. "17" has the intro of War of Art track "A Violent Reaction" but other than that the song structure is totally different. It, also a track from The Feeding era, sounds slightly less clean but some of the melodic moments come off brilliantly and if it sounded this good pre production, the postproduction sound could have been huge. "Run Away From Me" ventures into a very different AHC sound, it has the heavy rasp of the guitars as usual but the chorus hits an optimistic, lifting tone that exhibits Cameron’s diversity in vocals to another level. The first War Of Art session track features in "Real Life", a track that was released with the "Just So You Know" single. It’s perfectly produced and sounds like it was a high contender for the album. I’m "Not Dead Yet" is very guitar heavy with vocals almost indistinguishable but its clear enough to hear the overall grasp of the song. It lacks the punch of the previous rare tracks, partly due to its lack of mastering however it does feature a core minute that was used in The Feeding track Fiend. "Tighten The Line" and "Soft", similarly lacks that overall polished sound and doesn’t deliver anything to evoke a reaction of surprise or shock. "Smiles and Pretences", possibly the best song on the album, touches on the classic AHC industrial sound. It’s has the recipe to be an amazing live song, with heavy pre-chorus guitars that plant the seeds for an almighty circle pit. "Trained" has been put well through production stages and sounds excellent, towards the end it really delivers with a fast instrumental jam and emits the essence of an album closing track. "One Big Female Neurosis" is excellently structured and sounds very original and does ponder the question of why it was never included. Covers of "Filth Pig" by Ministry and "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" by Marilyn Manson both feature as well however Manson’s track sounds best suited to the AHC sound with Heacock’s vocals spot on. The recording of "Pourn", one of the last tracks on the album, seems to be live and although it inst too clear sounds very industrially driven with an engrossing melodic chorus.
- Only Way Out (4:13)
- All Too Comfortable (4:33)
- 17 (3:55)
- Run away from me (3:55)
- Real Life (3:53) - Released on the "Just So You Know" Single
- Im Not Dead Yet (3:55)
- Tighten The Line (4:14)
- Soft (4:07)
- Smiles And Pretenses (5:07) version 1
- Trained (5:00)
- One Big Female Neurosis (5:40)
- Filth Pig (8:16) - Ministry Cover from "Devilswork: A Tribute To Ministry"
- Pourn (2:44)
- Irresponsible Hate Anthem (3:55) - Marylin Manson Cover from "Anthems Of Rust And Decay: A Tribute To Marylin Manson"
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