BODY COUNT To Perform On 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' Next Week

BODY COUNT, the metal band fronted by hip-hop legend, actor and director Ice-T, will perform on next Wednesday's (December 4) episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon".

BODY COUNT is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "Merciless", which came out on November 22 via Century Media.

Regarding why it took four years to complete "Merciless", Ice-T told Kerrang! magazine: "We dropped 'Carnivore' in March 2020 and the pandemic dropped right on top of us. We never got to tour that album, even though we had like 40 different dates set up in Europe. Because I'm on television [as Sergeant Fin Tutuola in NBC's 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'] we only have this little two-month block where we can get out on the road. Then the label were, like, 'Give us another record!' I was, like, 'What?! You want me to just go shit out another record real quick?!' We'd just won the Grammy [2021's 'Best Metal Performance' for 'Bum-Rush'] so we were on a real high, but it was still pretty difficult to grind another album out. I needed time. When you've released an album — having written maybe 20 songs, of which 12 make it — you're all out of ideas. And you don't want to rehash those ideas again. But once we got going, we got it done."

Last month, BODY COUNT released a music video for its powerful rendition of "Comfortably Numb" featuring David Gilmour — a fresh take on the classic PINK FLOYD track that explores themes of detachment and introspection. Gilmour's seminal guitar work adds a haunting, authentic touch, seamlessly blending with BODY COUNT's signature intensity and Ice's profound new lyrics, making the track a fusion of rock history and raw, modern energy.

Ice-T commented: "For me, 'Comfortably Numb' is an introspective song — it's me acknowledging that I'm older now. I'm telling the younger generation, you've got two choices: you can keep the fire burning or you can give up. It's me trying to make sense of what's happening, but also pointing out that we're all in a place where we don't have to face reality. We've got flat-screen TVs and popcorn, and we can just sit back and watch the chaos of the world like it's a TV show. It doesn't feel real until it shows up at your door. I'm a little numb, too — we all are."

Gilmour stated: "BODY COUNT's version of 'Comfortably Numb' is quite radical, but the words really struck me. It astonishes me that a tune I wrote almost 50 years ago is back with this great new approach. They've made it relevant again.

"The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song, but I thought I might offer to play on it as well. I like the new lyrics. They're talking about the world we're living in now, which is quite scary.

"Ice-T and BODY COUNT played in London recently. Sadly, I couldn't make it, but if another opportunity came up to play with them, I'd jump at it."

Earlier in the year, BODY COUNT released the official music video for "Psychopath", its first new single since 2020's "Bum-Rush", which won a Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance". The new track, which features FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY vocalist Joe Badolato, shows Ice-T and crew on maximum killing overdrive and primed for the next chapter of the legendary Los Angeles-based band's 35-plus-year career. Longtime collaborator Will Putney (KNOCKED LOOSE, THE GHOST INSIDE) produced the song, which was released via Century Media Records.

Directed by Jay Scorsese, the "Psychopath" video pulls inspiration from fictional and real-life horrors, with references spanning from Jason Voorhees to Ted Bundy.

"Merciless" is the follow-up to "Carnivore", which was released to critical acclaim in March 2020, just a week before COVID shut the entire world down.

BODY COUNT's European "Merciless" tour kicked off on June 5 at Mystic festival in Poland and brought the band to some of the world's biggest festivals and venues, across more than a dozen countries. After returning to the States, they performed at Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky and Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California.

For BODY COUNT, it's been a history of being both respected and feared — a barbed-wire thread that stretches back to the band's origins as a project between Ice-T and Crenshaw High friend Ernie C. Their first shot fired, the song "Body Count", was a mission statement on Ice-T's 1991 "O.G. - Original Gangster". That's the blueprint they've been running on for more than 35 years.

They touched a nerve with their first, self-titled 1991 album and its divisive track "Cop Killer", which inspired hatred, fear, and paranoia, but also inspired generations of bands to follow. What they took from growing up with BLACK SABBATH and being inspired by fellow L.A. legends like SLAYER and SUICIDAL TENDENCIES has only upped the ante for generations of homies and hardcore fans.

BODY COUNT's current line-up includes surviving O.G.s Ice-T, Ernie C. and Sean E. Sean joined by bassist Vincent Price, drummer Will "Ill Will" Dorsey, Juan "Juan Of The Dead" Garcia and backing vocalist Little Ice.

"Carnivore" continued the path of its uncompromising and critically acclaimed predecessors, "Bloodlust" and "Manslaugther", in pairing Ice-T's impassioned and socio-critical lyrics with thick guitar riffs and nods to metal and hardcore greats like SLAYER, METALLICA, PANTERA, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. Guest musicians on the LP included Amy Lee (EVANESCENCE),Dave Lombardo (ex-SLAYER),Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and Riley Gale (POWER TRIP).

BODY COUNT was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, which was held in March 2021 in Los Angeles. BODY COUNT was nominated for "Bum-Rush", a track from "Carnivore".