Body Count – Murder 4 Hire Review
Posted by Michael Melchor on 08.23.2006
At long last.
Okay, this review has to include a disclaimer. Anyone who’s read my Double M music news columns way back when knows that I’m kinda partial to Body Count.
Long story short, I discovered Ice T when I started high school (with The Iceberg: Freedom Of Speech...Just Watch What You Say) and became a HUGE fan. Senior year, I find out he’s started his own metal band, which, in my mind’s eye, ranked right up there with chocolate and peanut butter for all-time best combinations.
The first Body Count album came out right before I graduated and it was an absolute monster. Even setting “Cop Killer” aside for a moment, Body Count was a tour de force of anger management. Ice sounded more pissed off here than on a lot of his rap records, and the band – childhood friends Ernie C on guitar, Mooseman on Bass, D Roc on rhythm guitar, and Beatmaster V on drums – backed him up with an accuracy and sensation that surprised many expecting this to be a disaster.
That having been said, the band’s output has been sporadic since. Their sophomore album, Born Dead, disappointed some fans as being disjointed. Many non-fans had their excuse to do what they’d planned to anyway, which was write off “Ice T’s vanity project” as a fluke. Violent Demise: The Last Days was a marked improvement in songwriting and playing, but, by then, the notoriety from “Cop Killer” was gone, leaving only the hardcore fans behind to enjoy it.
Nine years have passed since Violent Demise. Body Count seemed to be only a memory until, in 2003, the band got back together to write and record. Inspired by the current political climate (remember, Bush’s daddy was one of the people that decried “Cop Killer”), Body Count prepared their musical revenge despite the loss of both Beatmaster V (to leukemia) and Mooseman (in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles). Then, on the cusp of the album’s release, tragedy struck again as lymphoma claimed the life of D Roc in August of 2004.
Body Count had two choices: let the constant setbacks and age put them on the shelf for good, or shoulder on and have their voices heard in an age where any signs of dissent were, at best, unpatriotic. Given that this is the band that unleashed “Cop Killer”, there was no way Body Count was playing it safe.
Hence, after all of the struggles and losses, Murder 4 Hire was finally released this month. While hindered by production woes, the band knows there’s more than one note to play, although they still bring the rage they’ve been known for.
There seems to be a pattern to Body Count’s album openings. The first and third open with skits, whereas the second and this – the fourth – do not. Ice T does a short intro before tearing into “Invincible Gangster” right at the outset. The guitars threaten for a split second before the drums overpower them behind Ice, Trigger the Gambler and SMG relate the nihlism of life on the streets with no hope left. The album takes off proper with “The End Game”, which should earn Ice a professorship in teaching Political Climate.
“You Don’t Know Me (Pain)” sees Ice decry those that “know him” to barely any backing (he may as well be singing this one acapella) before “The Passion Of Christ” questions the existence of a higher power with power of its own. Ice has mastered the art of hauling ass in Tom Araya-fashion, but does so in without screaming, keeping it in a lower tone. An Ernie C solo that brings the lamentation home makes this track one of Body Count’s most versatile ever; there’s so much to enjoy that it’s a shame it ends at the 3:13 mark.
The band – now featuring Vincent Price on bass, Doctor X on rhythm guitar and OT on drums alongside Ernie and Ice – is capable of bring it heavy; that much is evident in their playing, giving a close ear. The problem is that paying close attention is really necessary, as, on some tracks, the band is almost drowned out due to low levels.
It’s a shame because, looking past that, the band branches out a bit past the usual non-stop violent pace. Take “Down In The Bayou”, where Body Count could have given their take on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina whining about the outcome and the treatment of those in the Ninth Ward like many of their contemporaries. Instead, Ice uses this as a great excuse to lampoon the inbred stereotype of Louisiana natives while giving some chilling reactions on how they saw the hurricane (“Yeah, I saw TV – once. Ridiculous. They looked like a bunch of monkeys stacked up down there.”)
While the production reduces “Lies” and “Relationships” to almost the same-sounding songs, the album closes with “Mr. C’s Theme”, an instrumental takeover by lead guitarist Ernie C that truly shows just how underrated he is as a guitar player and arranger.
The 411: In the age of King George II (known to us as George W. Bush), there was no way Body Count was going to stand idly by and let us become complacent in the state(s) we’re in. Had it not been for production woes, this would be a more powerful album than it already is. Saving the lack of sound quality in some areas in the fact that the band goes beyond the stereotype they’ve been labeled with, delivering humor and pathos along with the outrage that they’re already so good at.
