“We kind of go out there like a gang – it’s us against everybody, and we go out there in a gang fight. We slay, no matter what happens, and that’s it. By the time we’re halfway through the set, we’re winning them over. Let’s put it this way: We just played Donington, and that’s a metal crowd, and that was a great gig for us. That whole thing was filmed and recorded, and the song they filmed and recorded was ‘Fall to Pieces’, nonetheless. It looked great, and it sounded great, so if that’s any indication…”
— Velvet Revolver front man Scott Weiland on playing this year’s Ozzfest.
This week’s most listened to CDs by yours truly were Unearth’s “The Oncoming Storm” and WASP’s “First Blood … Last Cuts.”
Let’s just dive right in …
In 1992 one of the countries most famous rappers decided to take a stab at heavy metal. While the musicianship of the album ended up being eclipsed by controversy, that doesn’t take away from the sheer force of the debut.
The Ice-T fronted Body Count featured an assaulting force as back-up for the singer: the one-two punch of Ernie C. and D-Roc on guitars, the sick bass-riffs courtesy of Mooseman and the completely insane drumming from Beatmaster V.
The five-piece crafted a sick, twisted offering of metal, enough that everyone for Slayer fans to Biohazard fans to Anthrax fans were dying to get their hands on it.
It’s unfortunate that, at the time, the album was essentially summed up in two words: “Cop Killer.” The track caught the attention of everyone from community groups and leaders right up to the president himself, and was eventually pulled from the album in favor of the song “Freedom of Speech.”
While “Cop Killer” was a good song, it wasn’t the best. From the solid guitar work on “Body Count” to the aural assault of “Bowels of the Devil” to the crazy bass and drum work on … well, on almost every track, this is a great, overlooked album that belongs in any metal fans collection.
But don’t take my word for it:
From Rolling Stone — “…messages count less for this band than sheer physical release, and at bottom that’s where `Body Count’ really makes its mark, offering the sort of sonic intensity parental groups fear even more than 4-letter words…”
From Entertainment Weekly — “…Moronic, sexist, profane, gratuitously violent, loud and morally reprehensible–yep, a heavy metal album. But this time it’s a good one…”
And the Village Voice ranked the album #31 on its list of the 40 Best Albums Of 1992.
Check it out …
..:..Knot tour..:.. Slipknot have lined up As I Lay Dying and Unearth as openers for the band’s fall tour. This sounds like one hell of a lineup. While the group’s previous outing was essentially an arena tour, the plan for the fall is to hit multiple dates in smaller venues. Stay tuned for tour dates. Slipknot are also prepping a live album for release in October.
..:..Ozzy’s not sick!..:.. According to a post over at Ozzfest.com, the recent rash of Black Sabbath cancellations were not due to the fact Ozzy was sick. Rather, doctor’s advised the band’s front man should not be doing back to back shows night after night. I’m not sure how that will affect the rest of the tour, but hopefully that will be taken into account in the future.
..:..Poisionous Bodom..:.. A metal magazine out in Germany is reporting Children of Bodom recorded a cover of Poison’s “Talk Dirty to Me” during the sessions for its latest album, “Are You Dead Yet.” This is hardly surprising as the group threw a version of Alice Cooper’s “Bed of Nails” on its last EP and has a Britney Spears cover lined up for its next single (“Oops I Did it Again” I believe though I may be wrong). I hoping the band puts it all together for a killer cover album down the road …
..:..Chains’ tribute a hoax..:.. Probably old news by now: the recently-rumored Alice in Chains tribute album set to feature Cold, Audioslave, Static-X and members of AIC was apparently nothing more than a hoax. Someone fabricated the rumor as part of an experiment to see if they could get a music news rumor published on a established music news sites. It worked and he’s still a dick…
..:..Dickenson face plant..:.. According to The Flint Journal, Iron Maiden front man Bruce Dickinson slipped and fell face down at a recent Ozzfest concert in Michigan. Dickinson apparently galloping up one of several narrow staircases leading to elevated platforms stage right and left during “The Trooper” before the fall. I’m reminded of a scene from that Mark Wahlberg movie “Rock Star” when the main character takes a dive his first night on stage. While not the best movie ever, I found it pretty entertaining (albeit predictable).
Changes are still coming. Next week: the return of “On shelves next week” and some other stuff. Also, I’ll probably split the part from “Album of the Week” where I talk about what other people are saying about an album into its own section. Basically, I’ll pick a new disc and give you some blurbs from what other people are saying about the album. Think of it as a “Should I pick this up” type of thing.
Chances are Inside Pulse looks a little different by now too. You’ve probably seen the changes before me.
This was in last week’s column but I’ll keep it up until thing s quite down in my personal life: I’m preparing to relocate to the other side of the state. I’ll do my best to keep the column regular until I’m situated, but I just wanted to give you guys a heads up in case I disappear for a week or two. (What with moving, finding a new job and so on, things might get hectic.) Update: I have a place to live, just working on a job.
And that’s that. As always, drop me a line. Until next time, I’ll be here at Inside Pulse making sure no metal news falls through the cracks.
Take it easy…
