I swear Merciless should have been out months ago, a theory backed up by the fact that the band have recently finished a massive tour. Tours are normally done after an album drops and not before! Body Count maybe aren’t having the best of luck sticking to this routine, especially given that Carnivore‘s tour was cut off before it started due to some issues in 2020.
Merciless is as abrasive, angry and no-holds-barred as you’d expect from the angry Mr Ice-T and his friends. Littered with spoken word and atmospheric acted parts which are pretty much standard BC fayre, it kicks off in a sedate fashion with bass-led piece “Interrogation”, before the rap kicks in with a stomping title track. This is definitely heavy rather than fast-paced, a definite headbanger.
“Purge” and “Psychopath” both featured on the recent tour, and are far more frenetic. The former very much based on the series of films, and the latter having a rather disturbing video you’re very welcome to go and watch. Just hurry back for the rest of the review!
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“Fuck What You Heard” is the most recent single / video (check it out below) and is an anti-political rant which takes a viewpoint I can understand, despite being from the UK not the US. Politics these days is all about making us divide and fight amongst ourselves, distracting us from the fact that they’re all just after power and money. Douglas Adams has it right – anyone who wants to be in control is the worst one for the job.
And you know what, the fact that Body Count have me ranting about that says a lot about their music. Yes, it’s angry. Yes, it’s loud. Yes it’s punk and metal and rap and perceived by many as “low brow” (not us)… but it gets a lot of points across in a manner than people can understand. Their songs may sometimes be violent for violence’s sake (who complains about getting a pit going), but so much of it has a point to make. Whether you agree with those points is up to you, though!
They even manage to throw in something a bit new with the repeated chorus in “Live Forever”. Listen to it and you’ll know what it means, an odd ripple of peace in an otherwise abrasive song that would suit the likes of Hatebreed.
In amongst all the other heavy stuff, though, is an absolute classic. After hearing it at the Glasgow show I was delighted to hear that “Comfortably Numb” would be on the album. This isn’t a good cover, it’s a great cover. Updated, adapted and (holy crap) featuring David Gilmour himself on guitar it’s the epitome of how to update a classic song.
While Merciless isn’t ground breaking it’s still a release from a band that really have no equal. You hear BC and you know it’s BC. Their song writing has always been good and they’ve continued the high from 2020’s Carnivore while still managing to throw a couple of little curve balls in.
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Merciless is out on November 22nd – pre-order now
Header photo by Kraken Media
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