Body Count vocalist Ice-T has bestowed some high praise upon Fit For An Autopsy, Better Lovers & END guitarist Will Putney. In addition to his aforementioned bands, Putney has also struck out a successfully prolific career behind the boards, producing and mixing countless artists.
It was Body Count and Putney‘s 2020 team-up that actually earned the pair a GRAMMY Award, with Body Count taking home the ‘Best Metal Performance’ GRAMMY back in 2021 for the Putney-produced & mixed “Bum Rush“. It was the first time Putney had received such an accolade, while it was the second time Ice-T has been honored by the Recording Academy.
Ice-T, a veteran gangsta rapper and actor in his own right, has forged a musical kinship with Putney, opting to once again work with him on Body Count‘s forthcoming new album “Merciless“. Speaking recently with Metal Hammer, Ice-T called Putney “the Dr. Dre of metal.”
Dr. Dre of course is a generational musician/producer/entrepreneur, etc. who through his work with N.W.A. and his own solo output, changed the landscape of gangsta rap and hip hop. His work in championing and producing the likes of Eminem, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar and numerous others also found him leaving an indelible mark on the world of popular music.
Speaking to the aforementioned publication, Ice-T said of the upcoming “Merciless” and his own admiration for Putney:
“Every time I take on a new album I’m trying to outdo what we did, so it’s gonna get heavier, it’s gonna get harder. We’re working with the same team for the last four albums, Will Putney, who I always say is the Dr. Dre of metal, and we got a settled band. It’s hard when you’re always trying to shuffle the deck.”
When asked why he feels that way about Putney, Ice-T responded:
“Well, I’ve always said that Dre is the best hip-hop producer, because he makes band’s sound like themselves but dope. Meaning Eminem does not sound like 50 Cent, 50 Cent does not sound like Snoop, Snoop does not sound like Game, Game does not sound like Kendrick Lamar. Will has the ability to work with all kinds of metal bands and make them all sound like themselves.
We don’t sound like Fit For An Autopsy! A lot of producers make the band sound like the producer and not the band. The ability to listen to Body Count and make us sound like Body Count, I don’t know any other producers that have that ability. He does five bands, and they all sound dope, and they all sound different. That’s an ability to understand what that band is.”
In the same conversation, Ice-T also revealed that Cannibal Corpse vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher will be guesting on “Merciless“. Fisher is obviously not alone in guesting on that upcoming album, as Putney‘s Fit For An Autopsy bandmate Joe Badolato provided guest vocals to the album’s recently issued first single, “Psychopath“. A release date for that record has yet to be announced.
Body Count‘s live plans at the moment run as follows:
06/25 Luxembourg, LUX – Rockhal
06/26 Amsterdam, NET – Paradiso
06/27 Ysselsteyn, NET – Jera On Air
06/28 Clisson, FRA – Hellfest Open Air
06/30 London, UK – O2 Kentish Town Forum
07/01 Manchester, UK – The Ritz
07/02 Glasgow, UK – SWG3
09/28 Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life
10/12 Sacramento, CA – Aftershock
