Oh, to have the life of Ice-T. You start off as a bona fide gangsta-rap legend; you make your money from starring in cop schlock on Law & Order for well over two decades; and then you fill your spare time in a metal band with a modestly high profile by default. The thing is, Body Count albums always feel like a highlight in the metal calendar, even if they’re nothing noteworthy, or even not very good. Why? Because that’s the effect of having Ice-T in your ranks. No matter what, there’s an unimpeded force of personality and star power at your disposal.
Keep that in mind on Merciless, where on the opener Interrogation that’s styled after a grindhouse torture scene, Ice-T, stone-faced and stern, utters the line “I’ve actually reached orgasm during torture”. That, right there, is basically Body Count in a nutshell. ‘Funny’ is the wrong word; more accurate is a character that, all at once, is so straight and stoic despite drinking in this exaggerated part. At the same time, there’s equal understanding of metal’s natural flagrance and the decades-hewn face of a street-level bruiser that make Body Count so effective. For what’s essentially a for-fun side-venture at this point, there’s still no one else who does it quite like this.
The fact that Merciless isn’t even all that special is really of no consequence. Like, yeah, it’s fine without that much of a surprise factor, but that’s a testament to the height of the floor it’s beginning on. Again, you can go a long way on just the fundamentals that Body Count have, such is the case with Merciless. Their speed and edge is equally indebted to thrash and classic hardcore, felt on Purge or Drug Lords that rage in such a pure, no-frills way. Similarly, the production from Will Putney stays just far enough out the way to not encroach in the ‘usual’ Body Count sound, just as it has on every album since their commercial peak began with 2014’s Manslaughter. It’s worth remembering that, outside of the very corner case of 1992’s single Cop Killer, Body Count are bigger than they’ve ever been right now because of this exact formula they’ve affixed themselves to for a decade. It’s not expanding into much else, but it’s not worn out its welcome either.
Complaints, then, are more perfunctory than anything else. Body Count aren’t bending over backwards to provide much in the way of newness or insight, nor are they really expected to. There is political commentary on this album, though it’s little more than ‘exposing’ (to be mighty generous) corruption on both sides on Fuck What You Heard, with some almost-there-but-not-quite coinages “Democrips” and “Bloodpublicans”. At least World War shows some consciousness of geopolitical situations right now, regardless of whether slimming it down to an absolute barebones essence of “Israel and Palestine active as fuck” miiiiight lose a bit contextual weight. Y’know, just a touch.
But let’s be as brutally honest as possible—was more expected, in any form? Did you come to this Body Count album, allured by a cover that looks like an FMV horror game from 30 years ago, with the intent of being enlightened? No, you didn’t. You came to be bruised and bludgeoned in the exact ways that Body Count albums have kindly dished out for ages, and that’s fine. The unmatched confidence from Ice-T ensures it, and stops this from feeling too much like an obvious retread. Who else would be ballsy enough to do a rap-rock rework of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb—with Actual, Real-Life David Gilmour featuring to give his blessing, no less—and have it turn out rather competent? And as always, there’s no need for Ice-T to be a ‘good singer’, not on material like this. The guy does just as good a job as brute-forcing his way forward and the instrumentals backing him do, meaning that a delivery of aggressive talking is standardly fine for what’s needed.
So, all in all, that’s Body Count, continuing not to fix what wasn’t broken for them. They remain a great band to have around on the basis of objective cool that flies in the face of innovation as a necessity. Merciless is as stock-standard for this band as it comes, which in itself is blessed with ludicrous appeal. Body Count really have cracked the code now, especially if they exist just as a vehicle for Ice-T’s sanity as he proclaims. They make the music they want, forward-thinking pretensions be damned, and continue to reap the plaudits as if they were pioneers with every new release. Long may that continue—the joy of Ice-T living his best life rubs off on you, y’know?
For fans of: Biohazard, Downset, Municipal Waste
‘Merciless’ by Body Count is released on 22nd November on Sony / Century Media Records.
Words by Luke Nuttall
