Ice-T is cool as fuck, isn’t he? It might seem a redundant statement at this point, but the fact that the LA legend has built careers as a multimillion-selling rap star and an acclaimed TV actor, while also fronting one of the most brutish and unrepentant hardcore metal bands on the planet, is a unique achievement. What a guy. Body Count keep getting heavier and more convincing as the years pass, which is another big achievement in itself, particularly since both Ice-T and stalwart guitarist Ernie C are in their 60s. But as with their last three albums – Manslaughter, Bloodlust and Carnivore – the eighth thunderous missive from the mean streets of California goes off like a bomb.
We may be talking small margins, but Merciless is the heaviest Body Count album yet, with several moments of breathtaking savagery. Purge, which features guest vocals from Cannibal Corpse’s George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher, sounds as punishing as we should expect from a collaboration between such certified badasses. Similarly, Psychopath is Body Count at their most muscular and violent, and a cameo from Fit For An Autopsy’s powerhouse frontman Joe Bad only adds to the sense that carnage is imminent. Most riotous of all, Lying Motherfuka (‘Everythingyou fucking say is bullshit!’) is a punk-as-funk, rap metal callback to the ragged insanity of Body Count’s first album.
Elsewhere on Merciless, Body Count dip into rap metal’s endless malleability, turning a loping, boom-bap groove into a menacing slow-burner on Fuck What You Heard. Ice-T’s disdainful renunciation of America’s two-party political system can hardly fail to resonate in today’s climate of perpetual chaos. A predictably intense cameo from Max Cavalera on gnarly beat ’em up Drug Lords will have Soulfly fans salivating, and suits the overall mood of incensed rebellion perfectly, while a radical twist on Mic Contract – a track from Ice-T’s iconic O.G. Original Gangster album from 1991 – pumps fresh blood and steel into a street rap classic. Most surprising of all, Live Forever harnesses the sonorous tones of Light The Torch frontman Howard Jones to hammer home a blissfully catchy chorus hook, in between bursts of injurious metallic hardcore, during which both Howard and Ice-T seem to be having a brilliant time. The gobby bastards.
Of course, the headlines will focus on Comfortably Numb, a reworking of the Pink Floyd classic with new lyrics from Ice-T and majestic soloing from actual David Gilmour. A potential disaster, on paper at least, Body Count’s stripped-down hijacking of the song’s main riff, coupled with Ice’s thoughtful street poetry, is unexpectedly moving. As much as they delight in brute force and ignorance, these veteran militants have heart and soul too.
Body Count have always been the real deal, even back when rap/rock crossovers were widely viewed as a transient novelty. Thirty years after scaring the US with Cop Killer, Ice-T is still committed to making heavy music that cuts to the quick, gives absolutely zero fucks, and goes harder than the rest. You can see it in my eyes, I’m merciless!’ the great man bellows on the title track. Yeah, we know. Cool as fuck.
Merciless is out this Friday, November 22 via Century Media
