Body Count : "Merciless"

 At 66 years of age, Ice-T decided to record an 8th album with his metal band, which worked as a novelty when their first album came out back in 1992, which is the last time I listened to the band. I did see them when they performed with Ice-T during the first Lollapalooza tour. I also like his "O.G" album where he first debuted with them. Since then it sounds like they have evolved into a halfway decent thrash band. Not the most original band riff-wise, as there is almost a straight-up Slayer riff on the first song. The reason I stopped listening to them after the first album was nu-metal and hard-core bands were soon making similar music better, and there are only so many hours in the day to listen to music, so I tend to invest that time wisely. 

Corpsegrinder is on the second song to lend some legitimacy to things. Joe Bad from Fit For an Autopsy is on "Psychopath", which is another pretty decent thrash tune. "Fuck What You Heard" is lyrically strong as it compares politics to gangs, and says they are two wings on the same bird. "Live Forever" is the first song that feels like filler and Howard Jone's vocal is pretty weak. There is a decent groove to "Do or Die". They got David Gilmour to help them cover "Comfortably Numb" which finds Ice-T randomly rapping over the verse. Gilmour just rips guitar solos, which are better heard on his new solo album. He can't save this song.

"Lying Motherfucka" is pretty much warmed-over nu-metal. Max Cavalera helps them on "Drug Lords'. The verse is more of a punk song. "World War" is an improvement over the previous songs. I think when they turn "Mic Contract" into a metal song, it was a good move and perhaps the direction they should go more often. They could do it with Ice-T's first three albums for sure. I will give this album an 8, it's better than I thought it would be for sure. 

pst594

Alpha Wolf : "Half Living Things"

 

This Australian band's name came up when doing research on the phenomena of metalcore bands that are really nu-metal bands. On the first song of their new album, it is easy to hear where this line is crossed. It is also understandable why their name is popping up on this year's rock festival lineups. They remind me of Attila. They are big dumb fun. If these guys are your favorite band you are probably the coolest kid in the trailer park. But you might also have one friend who is a Juggalo. When they pour on the speed things feel a little rushed and like they are not playing to their strength. "Haunter" has more groove, but blends the creep hop elements that make up nu-metal, until they momentum. He screams about how fucked up of a person he is, which contrasts with the more ego-driven lyrics.

They bring Ice-T on, and while I love the "Orginal Gangster" album, and his older work like "Power". It sounds dated and the last time anyone thought he was hard was before he ever played a cop on TV. It is hard to take "Cop Killer" seriously after that. His verse is really just an accent, but still hard to take seriously. There is a more melodic element to "Whenever You're Ready" which has a sung chorus, which is kinda pop punk. "Pretty Boy" has more growled and screamed vocals, that lean them in more of a metal core direction. The groove is what wins me over with it. 

They use a more mathy djent-like syncopation on "Mangekyo". I like the lyrics as I can relate to the line "What god ever gave a fuck". I feel that one.  But musically it sounds like a metal-core breakdown on wheels. There is a machine-like feel to the riffing of "A Terrible Day For Rain".  This song feels like they are playing it a little safe, and it sounds like every other band doing this sort of thing, "Feign" is a little darker, and flows better than the previous song. "Garden of Eyes" continues to work on the djent machine's grinding groove. To the point that it almost feels like dub-step in places. The vocals sound like a more feral version of early Deftones. The title track is more rapped than screamed, until the chorus. There is almost a Mudvayne element to their sound here. 

At over five minutes the last song is the album's longest. The first forty-five seconds, being the build-up into that could have been scaled back. There is a more cinematic feel to it, but it's not as hooky as most of the other songs. The sung vocals play a larger role. But they are not all that hooky. I would have been more into this when I was younger if this had come out at the same time Korn had.  I will give this one a 9, as it is a great deal of fun. Sharptone might have a hit on their hands when it drops April 15th, as I can hear where the appeal of this lies, and they are one of the more polished bands doing this. 

pst144