The American Head Charge Merch Blog
From Trepanation to Tango Umbrella: The Records Behind the Designs
American Head Charge made four studio albums and an EP, and some of our designs point straight back to that story. Here is a quick map of the records, and where they turn up on the merch.
Which records did they make?
- Trepanation (1999), self-released
- The War of Art (2001), produced by Rick Rubin
- The Feeding (2005)
- Shoot (2013), an EP
- Tango Umbrella (2016), on Napalm Records
Which design points to Tango Umbrella?
The USA 2016 Crest. A white shield carries the AHC initials, a red star between the letters T and U, a skull in a winged gear and USA 2016, the year Tango Umbrella came out. It was the band's first album in a decade, and fans crowdfunded the recording.
Where does the crosshair come from?
The band's own wordmark. The Crosshair Logo stacks the name in tall, worn capitals with a gun-sight target, the same mark that sits above the hooded bassist on our home page.
What about the Western letters?
Big and loud. The Star Logo sets the name in distressed Western capitals beside a white star. Stars and Stripes fills the same kind of letters with the flag and puts a battered inverted cross on the back.
And the darker pieces?
Made to be studied. The Crowned Skull Seal rings a skull in a chalice with two Latin mottos. The Skeleton Key turns the AHC initials into a key, and the VCU Skull carries a horned skull collage on the back.
One design, every garment
Every design comes on tees, long sleeves, crewnecks and hoodies, with kids' and youth sizes too.