ICE-T's BODY COUNT Signs With CENTURY MEDIA

BODY COUNT, the metal band fronted by hip-hop legend, actor and director Ice-T, has inked a worldwide deal with Century Media Records. The group has entered the studio with producer Will Putney (MISS MAY I, UPON A BURNING BODY) to begin recording its new album for a late 2016 release. Putney also helmed BODY COUNT's last effort, "Manslaughter", which received critical acclaim for its sheer abrasiveness and unabashed brutality.

Ice-T states: "It's cool to be a member of the Century Label Group alongside such a lot of well-established metal artists.

"With our last album, 'Manslaughter', we tested the waters and got a great response from the fans and critics. Now it's time to go kill it and make a more aggressive album and keep the BODY COUNT style intact.

"Will Putney is like a member of the band and has an excellent ear. He's a great producer because he captures the true essence of our band's sound. Once we are done writing the song, it's his job to step in and make it sound better. He helps move the record in the right direction. We're anticipating working with him again.

"Once the record's done, we're going to shoot a lot of music videos and perform spot-dates on certain tests, etc."

BODY COUNT's 2014 comeback album "Manslaughter", saw Ice-T modernizing some of the lyrics, adding references to Xbox, email passwords and vegans.

"Manslaughter" sold around 3,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 102 on The Billboard 200 chart. The record arrived in stores on June 10, 2014 via Sumerian.

In an interview with Esquire, Ice-T stated about his decision to bring back BODY COUNT: "The band wanted to get back together. The band lives in L.A., and I live [in New Jersey], so Ernie [guitar] was calling me, saying, 'Ice, let's rock and roll!' I said that I didn't want to do a mixtape. I don't want to do another album unless I write the music, because on the previous album, in 2006, I kinda mailed it in. They wrote the music in L.A. and sent me the tracks, I wrote the lyrics, and I just kinda walked away. I didn't mix it, I didn't do anything to it, and the record suffered. And I didn't want to do another one unless we had a real shot at making a good record together."

BODY COUNT's current lineup includes guitarist Juan Garcia (a.k.a. Juan Of The Dead; AGENT STEEL, EVILDEAD),who made his live debut with the group in November 2013 at the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas.