ALBUM REVIEW: Body Count, "Carnivore"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 06/03/2020

Label: Century Media Records

“Carnivore” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Carnivore

2). Point The Finger

3). Bum-Rush

4). Ace of Spades

5). Another Level

6). Colors

7). No Remorse

8). When I’m Gone

9). Thee Critical Breakdown

10). The Hate Is Real

Tbe Review:

Body Count and Ice-T are back with another full length, 2017's “Bloodlust” was a good album, as was “Manslaughter” from a year or two before that. “Carnivore” continues the metal and hardcore hybrid with, of course, the street level vibe and attitude you'd expect from a man first known as a rapper and then an actor.

The title track is hard as nails, “Point The Finger” is a Hatebreed-esque blast of nastiness directed against the police- presumably of the US. The production is once again stellar. Thick guitars and bass, drums compressed and brutal through the triggers. “Bum-Rush” is a revved up hip hop track, rhythmically, with plenty of wailing leads and political lyrics- the kind of thing Ice-T excels at, pretty much.

For a man in his 60s to still be this angry makes me wonder just what Ice thinks about the current Coronavirus pandemic and the injustice of it. Maybe the next album will tell us? At track 4 is a real curve ball... a cover of “Ace of Spades”! If “Raining Blood” on “Bloodlust” was triumphant, well this is pretty much the same. It helps that it's one of the best songs ever written- any genre- and also that Ice has a connection with Lemmy and Motorhead having appeared on a version of “Born To Raise Hell” for the Airheads soundtrack. The themes are right up Ice's street, so it works. A respectful and successful homage.

Jamey Jasta pops up for “Another Level” in a solid and different guest vocal, while the track is moody and dark- not all righteous fury. Next up is the Ice-T classic “Colors”- given a 2020 makeover. Many metalheads of the 90s will recall the Machine Head cover of this track as a bonus on “The More Things Change”- which was a straight hip hop cover. This is a metallic version of the same song. It's a hip hop classic and, much like the “Ace of Spades”, it works in any setting as it's a strong song!

The atonal and chugging “No Remorse” follows and is a more lunkheaded take on wilful self-determination than, say, Suicidal Tendencies would come up with. It's a rare weaker track. Amy Lee pops up for “When I'm Gone” after a heartfelt intro from Ice about the origins of the song. For me, this is not the style I listen to Body Count for- the riffage is again dull and chugging. Fortunately, “Thee Critical Beatdown” is much more like it- old school Body Count and values in full effect. It's a banger and sounds exactly how you want it to. The late-album lull is thus ended.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Body Count - "Bloodlust"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 31/03/2017

Label: Century Media Records

 

The production is superb, the performances fantastic and Ice-T turns in a stellar vocal performance.  Is this album as real as it gets? I have no idea, but it certainly seems convincing. Harrowing and enjoyable at the same time.

“Bloodlust” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Civil War (ft Dave Mustaine)

2). The Ski Mask Way

3). This Is Why We Ride

4). All Love Is Lost (ft Max Cavalera)

5). Raining In Blood/Postmortem 2017

6). God, Please Believe Me

7). Walk With Me (ft Randy Blythe)

8). Here I Go Again

9). No Lives Matter

10). Bloodlust

11). Black Hoodie

The Review:

Body Count are very much a going concern again. “Manslaughter” from a  couple of years ago went way beyond the tin-pot production values of earlier albums and delivered a muscular set of hardcore infused metal anthems.

With “Blood Lust”, Ice-T, Ernie C and side men are back in that groove again: the album is sometimes fast, often furious and packed with social commentary. A track by track is somewhat redundant here, so let's focus on the highlights and the overall theme of the album. Dave Mustaine pops up on opener “Civil War”, Randy Blythe of Lamb of God pops up for a vocal cameo later... all the tracks bristle with rage against society, authority and anything else you can name, really.

It's a dark and violent listen; “The Ski Mask Way” puts you in the mind of a violent criminal (and lists who tempts them), while Ice explains his perspective on revenge elsewhere on the record. Of course, Ice-T as a former soldier and very real gang member in South Central LA has more than a passing acquaintance with violence- albeit that those experiences are most likely decades in the rear view mirror- but it is that life experience that gives Body Count's message some level of gravitas. While I have no idea about the rest of the band's criminal past or hood credentials (Ernie C's most serious past crime is still the production to Sabbath's “Forbidden” in the mid 90's in my view!), this is Ice's show. There is not a dragon, a dungeon or a noble quest within earshot. The premise is simple: the world is a mess, poverty is the real demon, people are evil, violent, selfish and lacking in loyalty and honour.

The explanation of Body Count prior to the, it has to be said, masterful Slayer cover(s) sums up Body Count very well: the doom sound of Sabbath, the street style of Suicidal Tendencies (scary dudes for sure) and the speed of Slayer. Ice-T is not playing at doing metal; he really loves it. I've always been fond of Body Count and Ice's solo hip hop albums (particularly “Home Invasion”, if you are asking).

The final three tracks are an urban dystopian nightmare; “No Lives Matter” decries race, poverty and, more importantly, the elite in a coherent and stinging manner. The title track is simply uncomfortable listening- and most definitely not for pacifists- while the coup de grace of “Black Hoodie” gives good commentary about what exactly is going on in America with the police and black people (according to Ice-T, at any rate).

The heroes and villains in Body Count's world are often two sides of the same coin, it seems. Much like rooting for Jason in the Friday 13^th movies, you kind of want some people to “get what they deserve”- such is the appeal of gangsta rap as well as this kind of brutal metal. It's an exhausting listen and one that is a good deal more horrific than any death metal album you can care to name. At the end of listening to this record, I feel luckier than ever to live in the UK, that's for sure.

The production is superb, the performances fantastic and Ice-T turns in a vocal and lyrical performance that is a million miles away from his cosier TV appearances and persona. As real as it gets? I have no idea, but it certainly seems convincing. Harrowing and enjoyable at the same time.

“Bloodlust” is available now

 



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