Single Slam – No Lives Matter by Body Count (Bloodlust)

Body Count have a new single out now called No Lives Matter. No Lives Matter comes from Body Count’s planned release Bloodlust. Bloodlust will be released via Century Media Records on the 31st of March. Body Count are a heavy metal band fronted by legendary hip hop artist, actor, director and rapper, Ice T. Obviously, with Ice T at the helm, the vocals are nearly always delivered in an angry, rap style and often contain lyrical content to do with current political climates. Again that is similar to rap, but, musically, they play heavy metal with big drum beats and crunching riffs. Being rap and metal, there are obvious nu-metal comparisons to be made but they do hit harder than the typical nu-metal rap you would think of. I guess Body Count could be described as Limp Bizkit with balls.

Body Count formed way back in 1990 with Ice T, Ernie C on guitars, Mooseman on bass, Beatmaster V on drums and D-Roc the Executioner on rhythm guitars. Only Ice T and Ernie C remain in the band today.

Bloodlust will be the bands sixth release following on from 2014’s Manslaughter.

No Lives Matter, before even starting, is obviously going to be a politically charged statement. The song supports the Black Lives Matter movement, challenges the All Lives Matter response to that and acts as a call to arms for every person out there, whatever colour or creed. To the rich, the poor are nothing. No Lives Matter. Join together and take the power back!

Starting with a spoken word section regarding Black Lives Matter, it turns to how we are all worthless and then, with a squeal of guitars and a crash of drums it kicks in. It has a catchy, crunching riff with Ice T rapping/shouting over the top. There are some great guitar lines being played and the drum rhythm is infectious. Ice T’s style suits the music perfectly and the lyrics are both passionate and poignant. Lines such as ” The people have had enough. Right now it’s them against us” and “This shit is ugly to the core, when it comes to the poor, NO LIVES MATTER ” should resonate with all listeners.

Musically, Ernie C is a great guitarist and his different leads add a lot of power and depth to the vocals. The track cleverly also uses snippets of news reports dealing with people being shot by the police as it nears the end. It hooks back into the chorus one last time while maintaining a solid drum rhythm and strong guitar playing. It ends after that chorus with one final shout of No Lives Matter.

Musically, the song is pretty solid with a nice drum tempo and some great guitar lines backing up the vocals. The vocals are exactly what you expect from Ice T. There isn’t really a singing style to comment on or even a range but what there is in spades is passion. You feel that he means exactly what he is saying and that is important. The song works very well and is probably the best Body Count song I have heard to date.

The message of the song is the real force though here. The understanding that racism is real but, there is a bigger picture here. Above racism, there is an economic line drawn where everyone below it is a stepping stone. We are purposely segregated into colours and creeds to ensure we stay divided while the money men get rich. We need to join together as one and take the power back.

It is a powerful message inside a good song. No Lives Matter is a modern day anthem for all those who feel oppressed, depressed and forsaken by their chosen, or otherwise, leaders.

Check the song out for yourself here, on Spotify. It is also available now on all the usual streaming services such as Napster and Apple Music. Ice T also released a couple videos regarding No Lives Matter which you can watch here and here. If you like what you hear, you can pre order it on iTunes. Be sure to check out Body Count on Facebook or Twitter to keep up with future releases and other information.