AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE – The Feeding

The darlings of 2001’s Ozzfest have returned, American Head Charge offer up their second full-length release, The Feeding. AHC made their mark on the Metal Nation with their blistering first release, The War of Art, and then continued their onslaught with their insane live performances. Cultivating a love of excess, many critics wondered if this band would self-destruct before a second album ever emerged. Mr. H.C. Banks III, the band’s bassist, is quite open about the band’s inner demons, but insists the music will prevail despite the surfeit of guns, drugs, and other distractions.

The Feeding does exactly that too, it prevails as an accessible venture into brutality. After a listen, it becomes obvious that underneath the maniacal façade of AHC is a core group of very talented musicians. Setting themselves apart from many other Heavy artists, is the texturing of their songs. The ability to use many layers of sound to create that sense of foreboding and angst without just thrashing a low B and pounding the drums to a merciless degree of severity, showcases true songwriting ability. Not to say guitarists Bryan Ottoson and Karma Cheema don’t know how to lay down a vicious onslaught of heavy guitar riffs, but they also use a lot of space between the notes to create a much deeper impact on the songs as opposed to focusing on their individual playing abilities. Their texturing effects are somewhat reminiscent of what Munky and Head are doing in Korn. As a matter of fact, there are a lot things on The Feeding that are vaguely Korn-esque, although AHC sport a much more talented singer and a more traditional bassist.

It is vocalist Martin Cock’s vocal range that really propels AHC into the stratosphere of Industrial/Metal. Martin is able to growl like some haunting, loathesome demon of the apocalypse, but he is also able to carry a tune and actually sing in key. The melody and chorus on the first single, “Loyalty,” are accessible enough to crack even today’s finicky “commercial” markets. “Pledge Allegiance,” “Dirty,” and “Cowards” have the intensity and rhythm to swirl your next mosh-pit to a frenzy, whereas songs like “Ridicule” and “Take What I’ve Taken” settle in for a more subtle approach to viciousness.

Bottom line on American Head Charge’s The Feeding is that this is a band with something to say, and the more-than-capable personnel to say it. Building on the solid foundation of Heavy Metal, AHC add their individualistic identity to create a fresh hybrid of the new Metal Monster.