Body Count was introduced to me back in the early 90ies by my older brother, and even though I felt some ambiguity towards the band back then (simpler times, when metal was the law and everything else was unthinkable to listen to), they still managed to get a lot of spins, as I liked what I heard, and found the over-the-top lyrics quite amusing.
The band and I didn’t keep in touch much after a while though, but seeing how they recently reunited and were subsequently added to Copenhell’s line-up, I couldn’t resist a walk down nostalgia lane…

“I just changed my name. My name is no longer Ice-T. It’s not Ice Motherfuckin’ T. It’s Ice Motherfuckin’ T Bitch, because nowadays everyone’s acting like fuckin’ bitches!”
- Tracy Lauren ‘Ice-T’ Marrow (vocals)

Metalheads thinking as I used to had commented wildly on whether Body Count was acceptable on a pure metal festival, concerned that the band wasn’t “metal” enough. I’d moved past such concerns though, as had many others there, and others still probably hadn’t even gone into that way of thinking to begin with.
This made for an impressively large audience standing in front of the Helvíti stage when the large band was set to play.
On the backdrop, the Body Count coat of arms was displayed; other than that the stage was quite stripped, but it soon filled with musicians. Ernie ‘C’ Cunnigan (the only one not wearing black in the band) and sampler/backing vocalist Sean E Sean, together with Ice-T, constituted the remains of the original core of the band, and bassist Vince ‘Vincent Price’ Dennis (Steel Prophet) was the oldest of the newcomers, having been in the band since before the break-up. The two post-break members were drummer Will ‘Ill Will’ Dorsey, Jr. (Laughing Colors) and rhythm guitarist Juan ‘Juan of the Dead’ Garcia (Agent Steel). Also joining Body Count on backing vocals, especially for this tour, was Ice-T’s son, Ice Tracy Marrow.

After this little introduction, I might as well admit that the show shot off with a blast! Body Count’s In The House was appropriately placed at the very beginning, coupled with Body M/F Count; a combo that really set the pace for the show! All of the band members were pretty lively, giving good performances, but the one that outshone them all was easily Vincent Price. He was completely wild throughout the entire gig, running from side to side, jumping high, playing with his pretty darn cool bass between his legs, and lots of other stunts that he thought up. Even though all of them were alive and kicking, they somehow paled in comparison to this wildman. Sean E Sean had some nice dance moves to complement the show with though, and I’m fairly certain this is the first time I’ve seen someone do the robot dance at a metal concert. For this was, truly, a metal concert.

“Copenhell, I’m not gonna lie, that moshpit looks like a bunch of pussies. Show me some action!”
- Ice-T (vocals)

While being one of the most stationary in the band, Ice-T still had a good grasp on his audience, and kept things energetic throughout, talking between songs, and often calling for audience participation in various ways – aforementioned moshpits, a sing along for KKK Bitch, a new national anthem following the recent Danish election called Cop Killer – a calling that certainly wasn’t overheard or ignored by the present Copenhell audience. In short, people had a party, and so did the band it seemed. Ice-T even invited the party to continue over at the Hades stage afterwards, where his good friend Mike Muir would play with Suicidal Tendencies after their own gig finished. The transition was made perfect by Body Count ending their concert with a part of their Suicidal Tendencies cover Institutionalized. The only thing that could have made it better was if Suicidal Tendencies would have joined them on stage for this, but I guess they were busy preparing for their own show at this time.

In the end, Body Count proved to be more than a trip down nostalgia lane. Sure, they were that too, but more importantly they showed that they still possessed enough power and energy to be interesting and relevant today. With their still relatively new album out, and touring the world as they are now, it’ll be interesting to see where they choose to take it from here. Will it be a one-time experience before another break-up, or will they stick together, adding more bodies to the count?

Setlist:

Body Count’s In The House / Body M/F Count
Masters Of Revenge
Bowels Of The Devil
Necessary Evil
Manslaughter
Drive By
Voodoo
There Goes The Neighbourhood
Solo (Ill Will)
Body Count
KKK Bitch
Disorder (The Exploited cover)
Talk Shit, Get Shot
Cop Killer
Born Dead
Institutionalized (Suicidal Tendencies cover)