Band:	Body Count
Album:	Merciless
Style:	Crossover thrash metal
Release date:	November 22, 2024
A review by:	omne metallum

01. Interrogation (Interlude)
02. Merciless
03. Purge [feat. George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher]
04. Psychopath [feat. Joe Bad]
05. Fuck What You Heard
06. Live Forever [feat. Howard Jones]
07. Do Or Die
08. Comfortably Numb [Pink Floyd cover] [alternate lyrics] [feat. David Gilmour]
09. Lying MF
10. Drug Lords [feat. Max Cavalera]
11. World War
12. Mic Contract

On with the bodycount.

Few bands have been as consistent as Body Count have been since they were re-activated over a decade and a half ago, releasing a string of albums that have cemented the reputation of the band beyond just being that act that did "Cop Killer". With what is easily their heaviest record to date, Body Count are out for blood, and they're Merciless.

Merciless can largely be split into two halves: the tracks that focus on fantasy, and the other half that focuses on reality. The common threads running through both is the underlying anger, and that none of these tracks are for the faint of heart. While the band delve into horror themes and imagery on the likes of the title track, the songs that hit hardest are the ones where the band holds a mirror to the world around us all - full of anger, hostility and tap dancing on a land mine - and match it with performances that nail the mood they aim to create.

"The Purge" soundtracks the namesake concept perfectly, while "World War" and "Comfortably Numb" perfectly sum up 2024. The latter in particular is the highlight of the album, the reworking of the [b]Pink Floyd[b] classic and its frankly nihilistic lyrics cutting closer to the bone than you would like. Thanks to some of the best performances by those in Body Count, they match the intensity and charged setting of the songs with performances equally as powerful.

With Body Count being no strangers to guest appearances, I'm still shocked that I'd hear a song that has both Ice-T and David Gilmour on the same track. Indeed, the use of guest artists only enhances already solid tracks, rather than compensating for compositional weaknesses. Max Cavalera's appearance on the punk-imbued "Drug Lords" gives it a rewarding energy, while Howard Jones' performance on "Live Forever" takes it to a level it couldn't have reached without him (though part of me would love to hear Ice-T try).

While Ice-T can conjure up imagery well and reflect modern society in his lyrics, he does so by, at times, sounding both clever and mangling wordplay at the same time, with "Repbludicans" and "Democrips" from "Fuck What You Heard" and "Comfortably Numb" being both overly forced, yet oddly smart at the same time. The band's most consistent record since their debut, the only tracks I could do without are "Do Or Die" and "Lying Motherfuka", which scream 'filler', especially in comparison to the songs surrounding them.

The uncomfortable truth has never sounded so enjoyable; it's true what they say, the world may be going to hell, but at least we have a kick ass soundtrack.