Body Count has found itself in a resurgence within the last few years, between the excellent Manslaughter in 2014, and its follow-up Bloodlust in 2017. The rap-metal outfit, fronted by Ice-T, has never shied away from going right for the jugular, using visceral lyrics, thrash-oriented guitars, and Ice-T’s confrontational vocal delivery. I remember hearing “Talk Shit, Get Shot” when it was released and being blown away. Not knowing anything about T’s music career at the time, a younger me hearing that the man behind Law and Order: SVU’s Fin Tutuola fronted a metal band was wild news for sure. And for said band to have a song called “Cop Killer?” Fuck outta here.
Not to be outdone, the band has a new single, “Carnivore,” and it is a heavy one. Adapting a slower, heavy hand for this track, Ice-T and Co. are out for blood, quite literally. The hip-hop braggadocio is set aside some, at least for the first couple of verses, as T’s lyrics are gruesome and blood-soaked. The bellowing of “CARNIVORE!” during the hook is begging for crowd interaction during live shows, and the hulking rhythms are practically egging a pit on to tear the house down.
March 6th, 2020 will see the album Carnivore drop via Century Media Records, with more information coming next month. Pre-orders will go live on January 10th, giving us plenty of time to jam the title track before more of the meat of the album is unveiled.
Check out the visualizer video, with artwork by Zbigniew M. Bielak, below.
