BODY COUNT's 'Merciless' Album Features 'One Surprise Guest Who's Gonna Blow Everyone Away'

BODY COUNT guitarist Ernie "C" Cunnigan spoke to France's Loud TV about the band's upcoming album, "Merciless", which is tentatively due this summer.

"I have to say we have a lot of guests on the album," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And we have one surprise guest that's gonna blow everyone away. And it's very unexpected. And I'm not at liberty to say. So, it's only gonna be one month [before you find out who it is]. So you'll find out. When you listen to the record and you see that person on the record, you're, like, 'Wow, that's way out of the blue.'"

Ernie went on to say that "Merciless" will continue BODY COUNT's tradition of including covers on almost every release. "And the cover on this album has the guest on it on the cover," he revealed. "The guest is the cover; it's his song. He happens to be on the song. So, it's him. So you narrowed it down to 50 percent. It's not a female; it's a male. So you're down to 50 percent. [Laughs]"

BODY COUNT recently 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.

"Psychopath" is taken from "Merciless", 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 will bring the band to some of the world's biggest festivals and venues, across more than a dozen countries. After returning to the States, they will perform 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".