Body Count
Luna Park
Sydney, AU
June 3, 2017
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Body Count is quintessentially a heavy metal band with a rap mentality with their material focusing on various social and political issues, along with the credo of gang life.
Fronted by Ice-T who co-founded the group with musical mastermind Ernie C, the band has caused much controversy throughout their career – often so much that their notoriety eclipsed their musical emissions.
A shame really, as their signature dark yet groovy blend, accentuated by equal giving’s of thrash and speed metal parts and peppered with dollop of punk attitude, made for an offering that showed sincere appreciation for each of the musical styles, which in band form can be condensed to the triumvirate Suicidal Tendencies, Black Sabbath and Slayer, while creating their own distinctive style and staying true to their vision.
In a live environment, Body Count is an extension of their recordings with Ice-T MCing, holding court and lecturing, while his worthy constituents deliver sonic ammunition to fuel the machine, satisfying the niche appetites for vintage metal and hardcore.
In 2017 not much has changed for Body Count – erupting into an homage to Slayer (“Raining blood” / “Postmortem”) fairly early on in their set, they kept it heavy and raw with a punk rock approach and their frontman indulging in exaggerations and absurdity to convey underlying messages of the songs and his views on worldly affairs in a bid to infuse the preachy parts with humor.
Big parts of the audience were decked out head to toe in Body Count merchandise and felt very comfortable in the palm of Ice-T’s hand as he commanded the willing masses and reveled in exerting his showman skills, making sure that everyone had a good time.
The band meandered through their career as they covered a wide range of songs off their catalogue, making a nice spread across their entire discography and cementing their status as they bridged the gap between what initially inspired them to start going and the importance of making their stand in the world we find ourselves in these days.
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Photos by T
