http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5360035.html

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American Head Charge's Bryan Ottoson found dead
Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune
April 21, 2005 CHARGE0421
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Guitarist Bryan Ottoson of American Head Charge, the
Twin Cities' best-known metal band, was found dead in
a tour bus Tuesday in North Charleston, S.C.

A band spokeswoman said Ottoson, 27, died in his bunk
between stops on the group's tour with Mudvayne. The
cause of death was uncertain, pending an autopsy.

MTV News quoted a North Charleston police source that
said Ottoson was found with a bottle of prescription
drugs and that he had consumed a lot of alcohol the
previous night. The band's publicist could not confirm
or deny that.

American Head Charge's latest CD, "The Feeding," came
out in March and made it to No. 15 on Billboard's
Independent Albums chart.

In an interview before the album's release, Ottoson
talked about how the band struggled with drug
addiction and other personal demons after the
disappointing sales of its 2001 CD, "The War of Art,"
which it made with renowned rock producer Rick Rubin.

Bryan OttosonCharles HallSpecial to the Star
Tribune"We hit rock bottom in every way," Ottoson
said.

American Head Charge rose to the top of the local
metal scene in the late-1990s with wild, nearly
violent stage shows and a hard-hitting industrial
sound. By 2001, the band had earned a coveted slot on
the Ozzfest tour and a record deal with Rubin's
American Recordings.

Ottoson joined the band after the recording of "The
War of Art." He came to the group after stints in
Black Flood Diesel and A-Pod, two other popular local
rock bands.

The other members of American Head Charge were flying
back to the Twin Cities from Atlanta and were
unavailable for comment Wednesday.

The group's tour with Mudvayne was enjoying strong
ticket sales, helped by the fact that Mudvayne's new
CD debuted at No. 1 in the nation this week. Mudvayne
canceled its show Tuesday but is expected to continue
touring.

Ottoson's death hit hard at local rock station 93X
(93.7 FM), which frequently played Head Charge's
songs. Its staff plans to have a giant memorial card
for fans to sign at this week's Audioslave and
Slipknot concerts.

"Everyone here at 93X considered Bryan a very good
friend, and we all cheered when he officially joined
the band," said marketing director Wendy Ellis. "We
would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his
mother, American Head Charge and the fans. This is a
tragic loss."

Sage Robinson, publicist for the band's record label,
DRT/Nitrus, said, "We all thought of Bryan as a
wonderful guy, a real sweetheart and a great musician.
So there's definitely a terrible sadness."

Chris Riemenschneider is at chrisr@startribune.com.

 

The Unsane Ryderz are very sad to report that American Headcharge, one of our sponsors, lost a band member and friend today.

We all feel horrible about this and send our sentiments and condolences to Bryan's family.

Rest in Peace Bryan.

Goose

 

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/150...headlines=true

 

As knowing most of the band through a close friend for many many years (Long before the Trepination CD came out) I have seen alot of the ups and downs they went through and this is a sad loss indeed. My thoughts and pryers go out to Bryans friends and family.

RIP Bryan!!!!

 

Someone once said that: Everytime an artist dies, it is truely a tradgedy....how many paintings, how many songs, how many poems are lost forever? In any case...and artist is gone...we are bummed