BODY COUNT”Born Dead” Virgin* * 1/2Here’s what...

BODY COUNT

“Born Dead”

Virgin

* * 1/2

Here’s what everybody wants to know about the second album by rapper Ice-T’s metal group Body Count: Does it include anything as daring as the notorious “Cop Killer,” the song on its 1992 debut album that stirred up controversy and led to Ice-T’s breakup with Warner Bros. Records?

The answer is no.

A cop-out?

Well, sort of. The L.A. group, which merges speed-metal music and gangsta rap themes, has no obligation to be outrageous. But since people now routinely associate it with controversy, they feel that it’s gone soft when it doesn’t offer anything shocking or trespass in dangerous territory.

Though Ice-T wrote most of the lyrics--rages about war, racism, drive-bys and drugs--the album is tame by gangsta-rap standards. And nothing on it really jolts like some of the material on the first album.

Stronger vocals would have helped. Ice-T’s delivery, somewhere between surly rapping and lightweight rock singing, is uneven--effective in places and unconvincing in others.

But “Born Dead” is basically an interesting album, and it’s refreshing to hear the often-frivolous metal genre infused with a social conscience, some stark reality and a heavy dose of soul.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent).