REVIEW: Bodybox – 3 [2025]
Artist: Bodybox
Album: 3
A lot of things in life come in threes: three main meals in a day, three panes in a Triptych, the three stooges, the three musketeers—you get the picture. Latest among them, but certainly not least, is the long-awaited full length record by Floridian death metal act Bodybox. Aptly named 3, the band’s latest release is not only the third installment in their discography, but also a record that took the better part of three years to write, record and release (another trio), and when it comes to 3, the band have certainly saved the best course for last. Bodybox’s 3 is an unstoppable barrage of grimy, barbaric, primal death metal loaded to the brim with slamming segments, bodacious grooves and scathing riffs. Throughout its moderate runtime, Bodybox run a gamut, putting the listener through all of the finest heavy music offerings one would expect from what is rapidly becoming one of Florida’s greatest exports. In brief, 3 is a must-listen release for fans of anything that goes riff (or chug) in the night.
It should come as little surprise that 3 is co-written, produced and engineered by Hunter Young of Digital Ghost Audio. Almost comically heavy at times, songs like lead single “Skante” and personal favorite “Dodgeball” are devastating examples of dissonant, gritty death metal with ferocious, brutal underpinnings. A sharp, cracking snare cuts brilliantly through layers of molasses-thick bass and crunchy, unrelenting guitar—making heavy moments like those abundant on “Methdog” some of the best the listener is likely to hear all year. Here, the band utilizes gut-wrenching grooves, immolating breakdowns and immense slams aplenty to flatten the listener into a pancake—where other songs like “Tusi” and the blistering introductory track “Realcocainemuzak” incorporate faster percussion and riff-heavy fretwork into their firmament. Bodybox roam between these two relative extremes with raucous energy and great ease, giving the listener no shortage of moments that inspire pure violence—juxtaposed excellently alongside moments made to incite head banging so hard it’s bound to inflict generational CTE. 3 is a victory not only in terms of instrumentation, but of songwriting and production—while it is often an intentionally obtuse and bludgeoning record, it retains a stunning degree of energy and enough dynamism to keep listeners waiting with baited breath for the next song and the smackdown it offers.
3 boasts a strong vocal component as well—whether it be the native vocals of frontman Harrison Brown, or any of the outstanding featured vocalists that join him throughout the release. Full of lyrical content that doubles down on the outrageous aggression and over-the-top instrumentation throughout 3, Bodybox bring their standard fare to the table: drugs, violence and anything that seems to combine the two. “Tusi” is a strong example, featuring Street Soldier’s Scotty Hall—as is “Skimping Fuckin’ Idiots” featuring none other than Snuffed on Sight’s Seven Kane. 3 is packed with moments of genuine vocal insanity done in a manner that compliments Bodybox’s nature perfectly, making 3 a ruthless—but also ruthlessly fun—record that despite countless plays fails to get old or stagnant.
For a record I’ve been looking forward to as long as I have, it’s hard to expand more on 3—not because it isn’t a strong record, mind you, but because it is the apex of the sound and style Bodybox have been building since their inception. Brought to life with the help of Digital Ghost Audio, 3 is sure to be one of the most fun releases of 2025—whether in reference to heavy music or all music—and it does so while also managing to be a visceral and pulverizing experience. “Dodgeball” and “Methdog” are sure to keep grins on the listener’s face just as “Tusi” and “Skimping Fuckin’ Idiots” is sure to incite acts of violence at shows akin to domestic terrorism—which seems almost perfectly on brand with what I can only imagine Bodybox’s M.O. to be.
9/10
For Fans Of: Snuffed on Sight, Corpse Pile, PeelingFlesh
Connor Welsh
