American Head Charge – Trepanation (1999)

July 5, 2024

Trepanation is the debut full-length album of industrial / nu-metal act American Head Charge. They were another one of those bands to quickly “forget” their original debut as soon as they got signed, and a considerable number of these tracks ended up in re-recorded form on the Rick Rubin produced The War Of Art.

It’s easy to perhaps fall into the trap over wondering which is better, this or the major label debut that followed? But all in all they are different beasts. Trepanation is looser, more agile and dare I say raw. It certainly doesn’t need to be over an hour long, and does therefore ultimately drag a bit, but this is the sound of a new band excited to get their stuff out there for people to here.

Also, bonus points to this for introducing a very confused and horrified 13 year old me to what the fuck trepanation is. Crazy shit! haha!