In the press pack that we received with “Merciless,” there was something that made me think.
“Body Count,” reasons Ice-T, “was there before all of them,” and by “all of them,” he means the bands that followed, like Rage Against The Machine and all those nu-metal artists. And he does have a point.
Reading, podcasts, and all of that should give you a different perspective on things. That’s why I’ve stayed on X despite hating Elon Musk and all he’s done to that platform. You can’t run away from things you don’t like and don’t understand.
The intro, “Interrogation,” proves the point. This is a nasty, inhospitable world that Ice depicts, a world far removed from my own. But the anger that infuses the title song—key line “I only got one life to live/got no more fucks to give”—is universal. How can you not watch the news and be furious?
It’s just the utterly relentless nihilism that comes with this too. “Purge” imagines a horrific world where all crimes are legal for 12 hours, and as ever with BC, it’s heavier than you ever think.
Death metal growls here and there, while “Psychopath” is a proper thrash affair. And if this album (and the band generally) excels when it’s expounding Ice-T’s worldview, then “Fuck What You Heard” is arguably the best of the lot.
“Live Forever” changes the vibe a bit (and it’s interesting that Ice talks about bands like Six Feet Under “finding a vibe”), and nails modern metal, while “Do Or Die” is more the urban hinterland—and the casual violence here is probably more common than I realise. What I do know is that it is made for playing live.
There’s only one candidate for the best song here—and that means of Body Count’s career. “Comfortably Numb” is a kind of cover of Pink Floyd, which deals with what I’ve talked about and being anesthetised to the violence that people live through.
That’s not even the best thing about the track, though. No. See, that guitar on it? That’d be Dave Gilmour himself.
“Lying Motherfucka” is built around an astonishing slab of a riff from Ernie C and
Juan Garcia, and the visceral rage that permeates both “Drug Lords” and “World War” is a sad, yet brutal indictment of Earth in 2024.
There are no holds barred, no let-ups, no coasting. Every word here is straight from reality.
Ice has spoken about his three careers: the actor, the rapper, and the frontman of one of the most original and important metal bands around. He reasons, “I do acting for the money. Music keeps me sane.”
“Merciless” seems to be cathartic in that respect. And although all Body Count records are superb, this might be the best—and most brutal in every sense—of their careers.
Rating: 9/10
