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Body Count - Bloodlust review



Reviewer:
8.6

119 users:
7.82
Band: Body Count
Album: Bloodlust
Release date: March 2017


01. Civil War [feat. Dave Mustaine]
02. The Ski Mask Way
03. This Is Why We Ride
04. All Love Is Lost [feat. Max Cavalera]
05. Raining In Blood / Postmortem 2017 [Slayer cover]
06. God, Please Believe Me
07. Walk With Me? [feat. Randy Blythe]
08. Here I Go Again
09. No Lives Matter
10. Bloodlust
11. Black Hoodie

Body Count is in the house.

Gee, how many reviews do you think start with that line? At least one, probably. They made it so easy, though, by using that line in every other song for a few albums. The smartest and most physically attractive among you will recall that Ice-T's hardcore outfit awoke from a long slumber in 2014, launching an assault in the form of Manslaughter that nobody saw coming. Ice wasn't finished, though, and if you thought he sounded angry last time around, you might want to grab a helmet and run for cover before throwing on Bloodlust.

Bloodlust drives home better than any album since the debut that Body Count arose out of passion, not just for heavy music, but for the social issues that concern Ice-T and flood these tracks with raw rage. Though the screws on the production have been tightened a bit too much for the good of the album, Bloodlust takes Body Count's sound in a darker, more violent direction than Manslaughter - almost as if the eschatological misery of "Last Days" received an injection of the adrenaline fueling Body Count's comeback (especially "This Is Why We Ride"). The eerie riffing in the chorus of "No Lives Matter" and haunting interlude of "God, Please Believe Me" drag the album into a dark underworld of brutal violence and unfettered hatred.

Ernie C's riffs are sharp, chunky, and to-the-point, giving Ice-T a heavy platform from which to level his cold gaze without forgetting that the hardcore side of the band needs nurturing just as much as the imagery and persona. It's impossible to understate the importance of Ice-T's charisma. Body Count would be a fun, heavy hardcore/thrash project without him, but with his confident command of the mic, delivering tales of sprawling urban decay and spiraling vengeance, this band becomes something much heavier in more ways than one. Having Max Cavalera and Randy Blythe growling away behind him on "All Love Is Lost" and "Walk With Me?" doesn't hurt one bit. Jamey Jasta's appearance on Manslaughter already demonstrated that Body Count and harsh vocals make an exceptional combination, and it's good to see the band furthering this line of experimentation.

Ice-T's spoken intro to the "Raining Blood/Postmortem" medley gives some insight to the band's origins and influences; none of his admissions come as any surprise, and the covers are pretty by-the-books, but it's good to hear some tribute paid, and boy, do they nail that breakdown. This point in the album also demonstrates pretty well how limiting the production has become; it's too stiff and airtight. It's an improvement over the band's early days, but reintroducing some of that slapstick rawness would go a long way in bringing Body Count's sound down to the level of grounded realism the songs demand.

"Black Hoodie" closes up the album with a grim callback to KRS-One and some of Ice's most venomous exhortations to date. Although the Slayer side quest is a good time and "Here I Go Again" is fun in a psychotic Alice Cooper sort of way, Bloodlust is serious business up and down otherwise.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 8
Production: 6





Written on 22.04.2017 by I'm the reviewer, and that means my opinion is correct.


Comments

Comments: 13   Visited by: 325 users
22.04.2017 - 23:56
Marcus
Doit Like Bernie
It's funny, I've never really liked Body Count so I'm only listening to this album because I can't believe they'd get an 8.6.

Btw what's the relationship between Black Hoodie and KRS-One? (haven't gotten there yet)
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23.04.2017 - 01:59
Rating: 9
ScreamingSteelUS
Editor-in-Chief
Written by Marcus on 22.04.2017 at 23:56

It's funny, I've never really liked Body Count so I'm only listening to this album because I can't believe they'd get an 8.6.

Btw what's the relationship between Black Hoodie and KRS-One? (haven't gotten there yet)

"Black Hoodie" borrows from "Sound of da Police."
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"Earth is small and I hate it" - Lum Invader

I'm the Agent of Steel.
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23.04.2017 - 03:07
Marcus
Doit Like Bernie
Written by ScreamingSteelUS on 23.04.2017 at 01:59

"Black Hoodie" borrows from "Sound of da Police."

Gotcha. Btw, I'm halfway through and really digging this. Thanks for selling me on the album
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23.04.2017 - 07:49
Rating: 9
ScreamingSteelUS
Editor-in-Chief
Written by Marcus on 23.04.2017 at 03:07

Written by ScreamingSteelUS on 23.04.2017 at 01:59

"Black Hoodie" borrows from "Sound of da Police."

Gotcha. Btw, I'm halfway through and really digging this. Thanks for selling me on the album

Cool. I'm glad you're enjoying it.
----
"Earth is small and I hate it" - Lum Invader

I'm the Agent of Steel.
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23.04.2017 - 20:51
Rating: 7
sbgmetal

Not bad actually and im surprised my boy juan garcia from agent steel wasnt mentioned in this review
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24.04.2017 - 17:20
Rating: 8
BitterCOld
The Ancient One
Will check it out, had their original 'back in the day'. some really good stuff, but they also picked up the worst traits of the genre as well, like everyone having solos, etc.
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get the fuck off my lawn.

Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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27.04.2017 - 17:15
Dungeon Shaker

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this, despite some of Ice T's incessant ramblings.
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www.thunderousvoices.com
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28.04.2017 - 01:22
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Ice T is home boy, he w3aist his life whit hip hop, he is talented metal artist, that's why he is actour.
Home boy heheh same time somehow this album has more hip hop style msg into lyrics and hop hop street life agenda into it as traditional metalhead life in home street and home state
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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28.04.2017 - 16:40
nikarg

Nice review and a better album than I expected.
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30.04.2017 - 02:55
cossaisVendeurs

Not feeling this album compared to 'Manslaughter'. Maybe I need to give it a few more spins.
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23.05.2017 - 07:18
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
I saw Body Count and I saw an 8.6 rating and I didn't have to look any further than that to see who wrote the review
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum
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27.05.2017 - 18:51
Rating: 9
mascow

You know the rating is fair the only real thing holding this album back from being a contender for album of the year is the production quality. the album in 2017 sounds like an un remastered cut of an early 90's album but is still amazing great stuff would an award winner here if the production was higher
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07.08.2017 - 02:02
Rating: 8
BitterCOld
The Ancient One
Haven't checked them out since getting their original album back when it came out. best thing about this album is that it did away with the excess... tons of solos for everyone in the band (listen to "There Goes The Neighborhood" and imagine it trimmed to just the primary riffs) and spoken intro bits before almost every song ... and just bashed out an enjoyable and intense album.

though Mustaine's intro bit is a callback that doesn't hold a candle to one Jello Biafra did (set to Black Sabbath) for "Shut Up, Be Happy" the intro track to Freedom Of Speech... Just Watch What You Say.

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get the fuck off my lawn.

Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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