 
Over the past couple of months Body Count have
been teasing us with the awesome singles ‘Talk
Shit, Get Shot’ and ‘Bitch In The
Pit’, both songs were hard hitting full
of beefy guitar riffs, heavy drum beats and explicit
lyrics which Ice-T executes with pure aggression
and now the band have just released their brand
new studio album ‘Manslaughter’ which
happens to be their first studio album in over
8 years with their last album ‘Murder 4
Hire’ being released way back in 2006.
‘Manslaughter’ is easily the best
album that Body Count have ever released and also
comes as quite a surprise considering how long
the band have been away from the music scene,
Ice-T is 56 now and it seems like as he is getting
older he has more to vent his anger about than
when he first burst on the music scene way back
in the early 80’s and equally the rest of
the band equally let out their anger with some
of the most menacing instrumental work I have
heard in years as Body Count smash the airways
with their rap-rock crossover sound.
The album kicks off with the explosive lead single
‘Talk Shit, Get Shot’ which really
sets the pace for the rest of the album as the
song is proper hard hitting and see’s Ice-T
ranting about the state of the world today with
cowards being keyboard warriors having digs at
people from behind their computer, mobile phone,
tablet and whatever electrical device they have
that connects to social media and judging by the
lyrical content if Ice-T had his way he would
take out each and every one of these cowards,
instrumentally the song is mega as Ernie C lays
down some killer guitar riffs whilst Ill Will
beats the hell out of his drum kit.
‘Pray For Death’ flows in a similar
way as the opening track ‘Talk Shit, Get
Shot’ does with massive instrumental work
especially the guitar riffs from Ernie C which
sounds like a machine gun going off in places,
whilst Ice-T rants in a fast and furious way.
’99 Problems BC’ is a slight re-visit
to the original Ice-T ’99 Problems’
song, the song opens in a spoken word way with
Ice-T going all out talking his female conquests,
as the song fully gets going and the guitars hit
the song comes to life a bit as Ice-T carries
on with his mad rant, also included at the end
of the album is a rock version of the same song
which see’s the band rock out slightly more
than the earlier version.
The likes of ‘Back To Rehab’, ‘Bitch
In The Pit’, ‘Get A Job’, ‘Wanna
Be A Gangster’ are all really strong tracks
as they flow at such speed and are executed with
such aggression and the whole Ice-T lead vocals
and group backing vocals work so well in all of
these songs and not to forget the machine gun
drumming in ‘Wanna Be A Gangster’
which really shines through.
Towards the middle of the album Body Count cover
the classic Suicidal Tendencies track ‘Institutionalized’
which they have safely called ‘Institutionalized
2014” and it see’s Body Count rework
the lyrics and sing about playing Xbox, requesting
their e-mail account password and trying to eat
their lunch but having a mad encounter with a
vegan, the lyrics may not be as punk and in your
face as the original Suicidal Tendencies song
yet I can guarantee that the song will have you
smiling from ear to ear as I laughed hard on the
first listen and still have a smile on my face
now after listening to the song what feels like
50 times over , and not only are the lyrics hilarious
but the way that Ice-T lays them down in such
a forceful and aggressive way you can kind of
put yourself in the situation and imagine Ice-T
in person having these mad rants.
‘Pop Bubble’ see’s Body Count
team up with Hatebreed vocalist Jamey Jasta, and
you have guessed it the song is easily the hardest
hitting track on the album as Jamey Jasta is easily
one of the best hardcore vocalists around at the
moment and working alongside Ice-T and co when
they are at the top of their game is pretty magical
as they have a rant at former hardcore rappers
who have turned pop without naming the artists
yet making is so easy for you to figure out who
they are having a pop at.
I have to say that I never in a million years
expected Body Count to release an album this year
in fact due to the amount of time that the band
have been away from the scene I had pretty much
forgot about them until they released the ‘Talk
Shit, Get Shot’ video back in May and now
it feels like I could well be listening to may
album of the year already as ‘Manslaughter’
is outstanding, the album features 14 tracks and
runs for the best part of 50minutes and features
the perfect rap-rock crossover whilst vocally
and instrumentally packing an almighty punch whilst
the whole lyrically content is pretty hilarious
as long as you are not easily offended and don’t
take life to seriously.
5/5
Review by Trigger
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