“The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song, but I thought I might offer to play on it as well”: Body Count and David Gilmour release radical reimagining of Comfortably Numb in 2024’s most surprising crossover

Here’s a collaboration we certainly weren’t expecting to see this morning: Body Count has dropped an industrial cover of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb – which was recorded with electric guitar legend, David Gilmour.

Body Count did tease that their upcoming record would have a guest star that would “blow everyone away” back in June, but we can't imagine anyone saw this particular partnership happening.

The Pink Floyd guitarist has been put to work on this fresh new take of the 1979 hit, which finds him revisiting arguably his greatest-ever guitar track in a completely different light.

After all, Comfortably Numb is perhaps Pink Floyd’s most famous song, and features what is widely considered to be one of the very best guitar solos ever. As such, to see Gilmour take on the song once again – especially in the company of a heavy metal act – is quite something.

Here, as Body Count frontman Ice-T weaves his way through his own lyrics, Gilmour is given total freedom to noodle as he pleases and treat the song as a backing track, giving way to nearly six minutes of all-out Comfortably Numb soloing.

What’s perhaps more surprising about this release, though, is the fact it was actually Gilmour who proposed the collaboration.

BODY COUNT - Comfortably Numb (VISUALIZER VIDEO) - YouTube

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“The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song,” the Stratocaster master says, “but I thought I might offer to play on it as well. I like the new lyrics, they're talking about the world we’re living in now, which is quite scary.

“Body Count's version of Comfortably Numb is quite radical, but the words really struck me,” he continues of the fresh version. “It astonishes me that a tune I wrote almost 50 years ago is back with this great new approach. They've made it relevant again.”

"For me, Comfortably Numb, is an introspective song,” Ice-T adds. “It's me acknowledging that I'm older now. I'm telling the younger generation, you've got two choices: you can keep the fire burning or you can give up.

“It's me trying to make sense of what's happening, but also pointing out that we're all in a place where we don’t have to face reality.”

Body Count’s upcoming album Merciless is set to drop on November 22.