This was an album I saw in stores as a kid and thought it looked cool from the artwork. I used to draw a lot back then and stuff like comic book and album covers were an influence.

Mind you didn’t, I didn’t hear the album until a decade later. When I finally did listen to it, it was something entirely new. By that time I was listening to hip-hop but mainly stuff from the South.

It was 2005 and 1992’s Body Count was the first I’d heard any Ice-T project. This album piqued my interest and is the reason I enjoy Power and O.G. Original Gangsta now.

The Vision for Ice T and Body Count

Body Count made its debut on O.G. Original Gangsta. This likely contributed to the band being labeled rap rock tag. If it needed a new title, “street metal” or “hood metal” would’ve done it. Ice T doesn’t actually rap on the first album.

It’s more of a mix between singing and spoken word. Growing up, Ice T took in all kinds of music and had friends who played rock and also enjoyed metal. Ice T’s hip-hop career definitely allowed for exploration of different styles.

What Ice T and Ernie C wanted to achieve with the band was rock and metal with hip-hop energy and storytelling. As a long-time fan of rock and metal, I can agree with his view that the lyrics do tend to lean more towards fiction depending on the band.

I believe the intent was to merge rock and hip-hop together merging content that is usually addressed in politically aware hip-hop with the technical side of rock.

This mix should’ve been massive in rock and resulted in more artists from a hip-hop background or who grew up in the trappings discussed in hip-hop telling their stories in rock. Professionally, it brought Ice T into households and on radios that didn’t entertainment hip-hop.

What happened with this meeting of styles was more like bands taking the technical aspects of both and making of rap rock or rap metal. Stories—about a part of America that the mainstream usually ignored until something bad happened—were still being told.

However, for the most part they were more aggressive versions stories we’d heard for decades in same genre. They were just faster, louder, and often featured rapping.

Influences of A Pioneering Band

That brings us back to how the idea of Body Count came about. Ice T and Ernie C rocked with Black Sabbath as well as the thrash metal and hardcore punk bands of the decade prior. Crossover thrash was also an influence and was ultimately the direction the band ran.

In 1992, there were hip-hop artists and groups that made darker music while still staying firmly in the realm of reality. The goal was to use the dark sound of rock they enjoyed and address issues Ice-T did in his hip-hop career.

On paper, it was simple. Bring the dark mood of Black Sabbath, discuss real life social issues as they relate to the artists, and make it loud, fast, and intense. Body Count nailed that on the debut album.

The Debut Album

What I liked most about the debut album is the experimentation from Ice-T. A lot of songs feature shouted spoken word from the lead singer. Then you get a track like “The Winner Loses” which is a dark song about a crack abuser.

A song like this one and “Cop Killer” have warnings and messages amongst the guitars and drums. That’s another thing; the other members were on top of it. Guitarists Ernie C and D-Roc the Executioner, Mooseman on bass, and drummer Beatmaster V all brought it on the debut.

When listening to rock for a while, it can become easy to overlook other members of a band unless they do an exceptional job. It’s also hard when you’re like me and put a greater emphasis on singing performance and lyrics.

The entire album is dark but not dark to the point of being bleak. It’s a mix of metal and hardcore punk on the sound side and the album structure from hip-hop with interludes being used regularly.

You know, the skit track that you might skip over on an album. Some of them are placed really well and sets up the next song. Allof the interludes were placed for a specific effect on the listener.

However, the overall flow could be impacted at times. You had some interludes that result in a tone shift between songs as was the case in listening to “KKK B****” then getting into “Voodoo” which is a horror-themed song about a run in with voodoo.

I definitely recommend this first album if you’ve wanted to hear Ice-T in a different but familiar environment. It’s also always good when an artist has love for a genre that isn’t what they’re known for, pursues a project, and have it end up successful.

Here’s hoping Denzel Curry takes note and pursue rock as well.

Staff Writer; James Swift, Jr.

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

That doesn’t take away from the musicianship or songwriting, I’m into faster, aggressive, energetic music. Of course, there are bands such as Electric Wizard, Lucifer, Acid King, Witch Mountain, and Doomsword that are staples of my rock listening.

This brings me to Black women singing doom metal. Now, there aren’t a ton of them singing doom metal. Hell, Black men aren’t even threatening a monopoly in metal, however Black women are there and the two singers we’re going to focus on are crushing it.

One singer might be familiar to TheBRHM readers—Kayla Dixon—but we’ll get into a brief intro of Cammie Gilbert and her singing ability as well.

Back Up…What’s Doom Metal?

In simplest terms, doom metal is a slowed down version of traditional heavy metal—Judas Priest, Iron Maiden-period metal.

While Black Sabbath created heavy metal and the guitar sound so closely associated with the genre, a sizeable chunk of their first Ozzy Osbourne era stuff is doom metal.

So, Black Sabbath presented two genres of metal during its early years and some bands went the slower doom metal direction.

The slower, deeper playing of doom metal comes adds to the music’s atmosphere with lyrics often being centered on themes of emotions, life, dreams, horror, drug use and dark literature.

Basically, if it could be made dark and possibly moody, doom can and most likely will do it. That said, not all doom metal is dark and depressing. Just any form of metal, the lyrical content can be about anything but the music itself is performed with that atmosphere and tempo in mind.

If a doom metal band wanted to make an album about kittens, pandas, and fries—or chips for our readers in the UK—a band can do that. Metal is flexible like that.

A more musically trained person could explain the intricacies of doom metal better but this is the gist. In the same way that speed metal is faster old school metal, doom is old school metal thrown in reverse at core.

Cammie Gilbert of Oceans of Slumber

Getting away from the genre lesson, we have Cammie Gilbert of Houston, Texas band Oceans of Slumber. Formed in 2011, the band plays progressive and doom metal but their album The Banished Heart was a really a mix.

More on that album in a review. Cammie Gilbert joined Oceans of Slumber in 2014 and made her debut on the Blue EP in 2015. It was her vocals on the band’s cover of Candlemass classic “Solitude” that impressed me.

With the release of the band’s sophomore release Winter in 2016, we got to hear Gilbert’s singing put to the gauntlet of an hour-long doom and prog album and she doesn’t budge.

Her singing performance doesn’t sound better on some songs than others. She’s just consistent throughout. What also rocks about her singing style is that Oceans of Slumber puts it at the forefront of the band’s sound.

Even with the 2020 self-titled album, she’s still the vocal focus despite having bass player Semir Özerkan and guitarist Alexander Lucian providing backup vocals and doing a damn good job of it.

Check out the tunes below to experience Gilbert’s singing.

Recommended Songs: “Solitude” (Candlemass cover), “Winter”, “A Return to the Earth Below”

Kayla Dixon of Witch Mountain

Dixon and Witch Mountain have been mentioned before. Hailing from Washington D.C, Kayla Dixon has a background in jazz, musical theater, ballet, musical theater, and acting. A true polymath of the creative arts.

She joined the Portland-based Witch Mountain in 2015 and made her full-length debut with the band on their 2018 self-titled album.

The sound Dixon brings to the band is similar to what Cammie Gilbert brings to Oceans of Slumber. When the music has this darker or more occult vibe or atmosphere to it, you want a certain voice or tone.

It doesn’t have to be a female singer but going back to Coven’s Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls from 1969, you had Jinx Dawson heading up a dark band and her vocals just fit the music.

Dixon has that the same kind of energy to work with WM and her background in stagecraft adds to live performances. She doesn’t come off as an overly technical performer but as one who enjoys what she’s doing and believes in her band’s talents.

Even though I discovered Dixon in Witch Mountain, the song “Remnants of Stars” stands out to me mainly because of her performance but also because it’s her plying her craft in a power metal band.

The faster, bombastic stuff will always win me over and Dixon with Helion Prime impressed the hell out of me. Her classical background was a perfect fit for the band and I’d like to see her return to the genre in the future if possible.

For now, get a load of Kayla Dixon’s singing chops with these recommended tracks.

Recommended Songs: “Remnants of Stars”, “Midnight”, “Nighthawk”

Black Women in Doom Metal

I’d love see more Black women singing doom metal or playing whatever instruments. Black women playing straight-up metal is something I can get behind. It would add something not just from a performance standpoint but there’s a lyrical benefit there.

Who are some Black women you’d love to hear perform metal? Be sure to let us know in the comments below! Drop some names and we could get into them in future article.

Staff Writer; James Swift, Jr.

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Then you have the bands that make up the rest and are decent at best. Bands are included or considered as nu-metal tend not to embrace the label.

Heavy Association with MTV

I believe the best reason for this is that nu-metal was one of the genres to be pushed by MTV in the late 90s and early 2000s. Normally this wouldn’t be a bad thing. After all, a whole television network is showcasing your band’s sounds as well as those of your contemporaries.

However that’s usually where the cooperation ends. Despite having songs about youth rebellion, relationships, emotions, and everything else that would appeal to an angry 2000s teen, nu-metal was ultimately just another pool of music to fill its TV slots.

As a result, it became closely associated with MTV and its product. Actually, despite being at the other end of the rock spectrum compared to glam metal and grunge, this genre was third in line to fly the rock flag on the network.

Again, these bands got popularity and mainstream power from being featured regularly on MTV. Rock music tours where these bands were featured got attention on TV as well.

While magazines gave them some sustainable attention, the association of the wave with MTV put a rocket pack to many of them and blasted them past a few years of grinding for that attention. Remember, in the 1990s and early 2000s, eyes were on music networks.

Not everyone was going to get magazines to read about bands. Especially if you didn’t know if the bands or artists you were interested in were even going to be covered.

You knew you’d see Korn’s “Freak on A Leash” or Limp Bizkit’s “Nookie” on MTV or The Box. Plus, you’d hear interviews from them and see their performances.

Actually, It Was Just Like Glam Metal

Imagery-wise, content, and sound-wise, nu-metal was different from glam metal but it had that effect on bands that didn’t embrace the label. That’s why I say it was a wave—just like glam metal—in that some bands that just sounded heavier or more aggressive got washed up in it.

You also had acts either embraced elements of the wave just to experiment with their sound. Other bands were nu-metal early on, morphed into another genre in its early years and are were still presented as nu-metal.

Bands that come to mind are Slipknot, Fear Factory, and Deftones. Slipknot and Fear Factory had the heaviness and aggression of bands from this period while Deftones were particularly flexible with exploring sounds throughout its run.

Because they were contemporaries of other bands lumped into the wave and the media at the time had the term, bands with varying sounds got the label.

The same thing happened in the 1980s with the glam metal scene—especially in Los Angeles—with bands such as W.A.S.P, Twisted Sister, and Lizzy Borden being labeled as glam metal at the times.

Those bands just shared some of the imagery of glam bands but generally had a sound that was closer to anthemic and narrative heavy metal bands. They didn’t have the heavy pop leanings but could drop some mainstream hits.

Nu-Metal Was the Perfect for Its Time

Right alongside nu-metal was alternative metal and alternative rock. Both genres were very flexible and saw bands explore different sounds and tempos. Some bands sounded similar purely because they came out the same area and that was the wave.

Actually, nu-metal could’ve been called alternative metal the whole time. If you look at bands such as Korn, Kittie, and Slipknot on Wikipedia, alternative metal is listed under “Genres” along with nu-metal.

The truth is that they were alternative metal all along but nu-metal was better for marketing that alternative metal. It’s short, punchy, and can include alternative metal, rap metal, industrial metal all under one umbrella.

To a degree that was just lazy marketing but it beats having mainstream fans remember multiple genres…even though I feel that genres help people find specific sounds and art without having to rummage through thousands of bands.

Ultimately, the sound was perfect for the time. The nu-metal wave introduced a lot of bands that spoke to young people of the time just like grunge rock and alternative rock did early in the 1990s.

With time, revisiting their catalogues, and trying out these bands’ more recent material, you gain a new view on these bands’ musicianship and how they were above a trendy wave that only lasted a few years.

Give Them Another Listen

It’s hard for a listener because there’s so much music out there, tastes change with age, and that nu-metal label just smacks of “I remember when I used to listen to those guys.”

It just sounds like a genre you should’ve grown out of as an adult. Many bands shook the label and showed what they were doing the whole time. I say to fans who listened back then: many of those bands are still making music and some of it is good.

Hell, most of them that are still kicking around today have matured their sound to the point that it doesn’t sound anything like it did in the late 90s and early 2000s.

For them it wasn’t trying something new to shake the label or trying to cash in on an emerging genre. The nu-metal wave has bands that were influential on future bands that fall more in the metal side of rock or just heavier than their predecessors.

As for those older bands from the period, it was just natural growth as artists. My favorite band Judas Priest grew as artists over a long period.

There was a period where they explored something new to get in on an emerging style—the same with my other favorite Slayer—but with matured songwriting, they got to the point that they could attempt a different sound or a concept album.

The bigger names of the nu-metal wave are no different in that respect.

Staff Writer; James Swift, Jr.

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

In 1999, the band dropped its third album Post Orgasmic Chill. This is the album that turned me on to the band and prompted me look into the first two albums as well as Skin’s solo stuff.

An Intro to Skin

As I’ve mentioned multiple times: I’m big on singers and Skin has a powerful voice. Along with Cass on bass, Ace on the axe, and Mark Richardson on drums, Skin was a band to check out.

A lack of traction and radio play in the U.S meant that you had to really be an audiophile seeking new tunes if you were an American listener.

Born August 3, 1967 in the Brixton section of London she grew up in a “strict Jamaican” family. Her early brushes with music came via her grandfather’s basement nightclub.

While she was inspired by other music, originally, she wanted to go a more classical route and play the piano. This part of her history always interested me because that seems to be a key part in the roots of a lot of pioneering Black musicians in rock.

Many have classical or traditional training whether it was via music lessons or in the choir but the path they take is rock. That background adds to a different sound to whatever instrument.

In Skin’s case, it was these vocals that could sound soulful even when the song itself is less praise and celebratory and more rebellious and aggressive. Post-Skunk, she embarked on a solo career and also began DJing electric dance music (EDM).

Skin’s Voice

One thing to point out about Skunk Anansie is that in listening to their 90s trifecta of albums in 2021, you might realize that the overall sound is very 90s. It doesn’t sound dated but you know it came from the 90s.

There were several bands from that period that had a sound similar to Skunk’s. They might have taken the more aggressive parts or they took the stuff that leaned more towards mellow-range alternative rock.

Other bands did similar to Skunk Anansie and featured both approaches. One thing they couldn’t emulate was Skin’s voice. When you hear it, you know it belongs to a seasoned, talented singer with a set of lungs on them.

The closest comparison while still in the same genre would probably be Shirley Manson of Garbage—a band from the same period—only with a different vocal range.

Manson’s sit at contralto while Skin is in the soprano range. However, they were both able to deliver these voices that matched the direction of their respective bands at the time.

The Sound of Skunk Anansie

The best way to describe the band’s sound is that it’s a mix of everything. There’s some punk, hard rock, a drop of pop. I say “a drop” because there are some catchy songs in their catalog but a lot of their tunes have this energy and power to them.

You can attribute that to Skin’s ridiculously powerful vocals and strong instrumentals from the rest of the band. They just blend perfectly. You could actually take each member, put them in a different act, and get a different sound.

Whether it’s a good or bad sound depends on your personal tastes but you will get something different. On their 90s albums, you’re likely to hear some aggressive, intense songs alongside tunes that are soulful and more reflective but still have that same weight to them as the aggressive ones.

Again, Post Orgasmic Chill is probably the best example of this balance whereas the first three Skunk Anansie albums gave you a more aggressive mix from start to finish.

Staff Writer; James Swift, Jr.

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.