Ice-T has revealed that Body Count has already begun work on its next studio album, titled Death Wish.
The West Coast legend shared the exclusive news during a recent Conversations With Chad interview centered on his newly released solo album, Criminal Migraine. While discussing the standards he sets for new music, Ice explained that neither he nor Body Count has any interest in releasing an album simply to add another title to the catalog.
“The new Body Count album we’re just starting—it’s called Death Wish,” Ice-T revealed. “But I told them, if it’s not going to be better than Merciless, we don’t need to do it. We can tour off our catalog. We have to go in and outdo it.”
Although Ice confirmed that work has started, he did not disclose a release date, tracklist or other details surrounding the project.
Death Wish will follow Body Count’s eighth studio album, Merciless, released in November 2024. Produced by Ice-T, Vincent Price and Will Putney, the album included appearances from George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, Howard Jones, Joe Bad and Max Cavalera. It also featured Body Count’s reworking of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb,” which included a new guitar performance from David Gilmour. The 12-track album continued the run Body Count began with Manslaughter, Bloodlust and Carnivore.
Ice-T used Run-DMC to explain why he believes an established artist can damage a hard-earned legacy by releasing material that fails to meet the standard of earlier work. If fans are more excited before hearing the new material than they are afterward, he reasoned, the artist may have been better served relying on the strength of the existing catalog.
That philosophy guided the creation of Criminal Migraine, Ice-T’s first full-length solo rap album in two decades.
“I don’t need to do another record,” he said. “So if I’m going to do a record, it has to be as good as O.G.”
Ice explained that he approached Criminal Migraine with the goal of challenging O.G. Original Gangster, the landmark 1991 album many listeners consider his strongest solo project. He is now applying that same pressure to Death Wish, which he says must surpass Merciless before Body Count moves forward with its release.
Formed by Ice-T and guitarist Ernie C, Body Count has spent more than three decades combining metal, hardcore and Ice-T’s uncompromising social commentary. The group’s self-titled debut arrived in 1992 and introduced songs including “There Goes the Neighborhood” and the controversial “Cop Killer.”
No projected release window for Death Wish has been announced.