by Stephen Thomas ErlewineA significant improvement over the stilted Born Dead, Violent Demise: Last Days is, in many ways, the best record Body Count has made to date. Where the band's speed-metal has seemed dated in the past, the group sounds fiery throughout Violent Demise, giving the music a visceral punch it had clearly been lacking in the past. Ice-T's lyrics fall halfway between outrage and outrageous, especially on the anti-O.J. Simpson "I Used to Love Her," "Dead Man Walking" and "You're F**kin' with BC," which pushes their self-promoting chants to ludicrous extremes. Even though the music has more punch than before, it doesn't have the ridiculous sense of humor that made Body Count a gonzo classic of sorts, but the sheer force of the record is a welcome change of pace from a band that seemed incapable of true sonic power.