Cruel Melody

Black Light Burns | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: I AM: Wolfpack
• ASIN: B000OZ2BQ2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,935 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

He's been a) an underground metal mercenary, abetting the likes of brainy young upstarts From First to Last and He Is Legend, b) a fearless visual artist whose unsettling images will appear on his forthcoming CD, and most famously c) the chameleonic lead guitarist for Limp Bizkit, who have sold over 30 million records worldwide. Now, for Wes Borland’s next trick, he’s putting on the guise of frontman, leading both a studio and live supergroup to even darker depths as Black Light Burns. And the new look suits him well. Borland has flirted with his big post-LB breakthrough on and off over the last five years, first with the idiosyncratic Big Dumb Face, then with his brother Scott in Eat the Day before hooking up with bassist Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails) and drummer Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle) in proto-industrial powerhouse the Damning Well, whose crushing Underworld soundtrack contribution "Awakening" featured Richard Patrick (Filter, Army of Anyone) on vocals. Now Borland has taken Lohner, Freese and sound designer Josh Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv) to super-producer Ross Robinson’s upstart I AM: WOLFPACK label and delivered Black Light Burns’ harrowing debut, Cruel Melody, 180 degrees from what you think you know about the eccentric axeman. From the post-Ramones surf rock freakout of opener "Mesopotamia" and the slow-build confessional spit of "I Have a Need" to the introspective, epic closing tandem "New Hunger" and "I Am Where It Takes Me" (the latter featuring the smoky siren call of Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano), Cruel Melody is one hell of a curveball. "For the most part, [the record’s] more about melody," Borland says. "It’s a big drums record, because Josh Freese goes bananas. A lot of it was thought about in terms of beats and attacking the songs beatwise. And the riff kind of followed second to that, if it was appropriate. "The record starts real aggressively, but toward the middle it gets a little more hurtful and hurting, lyrically, trying to express painful feelings, but still in an aggressive way. Then it kind of opens up in the end. And that was the purpose: to attack, then explain, then release and be done with it." Cruel Melody was originally going to be an esoteric, dirge-heavy solo project with a variety of singers, but as Borland started writing heavier material, he finally decided to take the reins behind the mike. It didn’t hurt that he got inspiration not only from Lohner, who doubled as the album’s producer, but Lohner’s famous former employer. "I was talking to Trent Reznor, playing him these tracks in their infancy," Borland remembers. "And he said, ‘You’re singing like somebody’s sleeping in the next room. You should try to open that up.’ You know, it’s really easy to do cool electronic music that’s instrumental and put soft vocals over it, but it’s a lot harder to write actual songs and have them hit people." With Cruel Melody locked and loaded, Borland’s planning an evocative new onstage persona for Black Light’s maiden voyage, boasting a live band with guitarist Nick Annis (Seether), drummer Marshal Kirpatric (Today Is the Day, the Esoteric) and, for now, a laptop to wreak ambient havoc. ("Screw it," he laughs, "there’s a computer in the band.") In the interim, he’s just striving to perfect his unique approach to making art. "The paintings and the music kind of chase one another, trying to keep up with some other third element that’s the idea," Borland considers. "It’s almost like when you see a little flash in the corner of your eye and you’re not sure what it was. My music and visual art is me trying to look really fast to see what that third thing was. I’m always trying to hit this place that gives me some satisfaction."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars American Gothic, June 5, 2007

By 

Sky (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Cruel Melody (Audio CD)

We all know Wes Borland, Black Light Burns' guitarist/vocalist, best for his shape shifting days as Limp Bizkit's lead guitarist. But he left that gig in late 2001.

After a couple of failed attempts at reviving his career with Big Dumb Face and Eat The Day (and also reportedly turning down spots in Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle), then rejoining and leaving Limp Bizkit again, here he is with what initially appears to be a successful return in 2007 with Black Light Burns.

Since 2001 Borland has clearly been influenced by Nine Inch Nails and his pal Trent Reznor, because the sounds of Nine Inch Nails clearly come through in Black Light Burns. Adding to this is familiarity would be current NIN drummer Josh Freese and NIN bassist Danny Lohner both backing up Borland on Black Light Burns debut Cruel Melody. Rounding out the studio recording is--according to Cruel Melody's liner notes--some dude named Josh Eustis who did some keyboard work and programmed a lot of the 5th member of the band into the CD.

"Programmed a lot of the 5th member?" you ask? Well according to the liner notes the 5th member is Borland's own Macbook Pro. And the Macbbok Pro, again according to Black Light Burns, will be the only member of the CD recording that you'll see (hear) on the road; the rest of the touring band has been replaced by mostly unknowns.

As I said earlier, NIN's influence on Black Light Burns' Cruel Melody rings through loud and clear. I wouldn't be surprised if tracks 2, 8, 9 & 10 were written with Reznor back when Borland was contemplating joining NIN.

Track 3 is the radio-played Lie, and it's a rocker. In my opinion it's the best track on the CD, and the track that drew me in and got me to make the purchase (the video is pretty cool too). Mark is the name of the 6th track...another unique rocker and my bet for the next radio-rotation release.

The rest of the disk has that "sounds like" quality of...you know...sounds like NIN; or sounds like Marilyn Manson; or sounds like Mushroomhead. However, one thing's for sure, you never hear yourself saying, "sounds like Limp Bizkit."

What Borland does bring from Limp Bizkit is his guitar playing talent that separates him from the clutter of generic sounding Nu Metal bands that for whatever reason won't throw a guitar solo on a CD. I wouldn't go so far as to say that guitar solos are back, alive and well on Cruel Melody, but the guitarwork is very cool and helps separate Black Light Burns from being classified as a clone of some of the bands that I compared them to earlier.

So with Black Light Burns your expectations should be set for a sort of supergroup with a familiar sound. They are a supergroup less because all of the studio players are relatively well established names in modern rock, and more because those names brought the best of their talent to Cruel Melody. But you can also expect to hear a CD of songs that mostly just don't sound entirely new.

Fans of Goth Rock should certainly give it a spin.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Redemption Of Wes Borland, June 5, 2007

By 

A. Estes (Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cruel Melody (Audio CD)

Since his infamous exit from Limp Bizkit in late 2001, guitarist Wes Borland has spent his career in what seems like purgatory. Trying to get various projects off the ground, remixing other bands, contributing to soundtracks, turning down high profiles stints for established acts like A Perfect Circle and Nine Inch Nails, only to return to the band he once swore off, just so he could yet again find himself without a job when everything with Limp Bizkit fell to pieces. Thankfully for Borland, he had insurance. While recording Limp Bizkit's last studio offering, "The Unquestionable Truth Part 1," Wes had this little baby brewing, and when Limp failed to take off, Black Light Burns came to fruition, thanks to the studio assistance of Danny Lohner, Josh Freese and Josh Eustis. As if Wes didn't have a long enough journey already logged behind him, the album spent a year in limbo, before finally being released from Limp's label, Geffen, to find a home with Ross Robinson and his new I:AM/Wolfpack imprint. All the years and all the hype. Will Wes' troubles be worth it? What will his music sound like?

Well, thankfully, "Cruel Melody" introduces a refreshingly interesting sound that compliments Borland's preferred style best. Yes, it's a bit heavy on the Nine Inch Nails influence, but there's more than just a Reznor carbon-copy in Borland's work. "Mesopotamia" is the album's quirky, Queens Of The Stone Age-esque opener and sets the somewhat unpredictable, schizophrenic mood of the album. Elsewhere, Wes brings his knack for hooky riffs to meatier cuts such as "Animal," "Coward" and the first single, "Lie." Vocally, Wes is surprisingly up to par. True, there are moments where he comes across a bit unnatural -- which we'll get to later -- but for the most part, he has a unique delivery that serves the music perfectly. Wes may want to forget his past with Limp Bizkit, but unfortunately he can't help but revisit it more than a few times. He doesn't resist the urge to throw a few lyrical barbs at his ex-bandmates on "Lie" and "Stop A Bullet," and ironically, a track by the name of "I Have A Need," which features Limp bassist Sam Rivers, was a song that was scrapped from Limp Bizkit recording sessions. Fear not, though. Wes avoids the meatheaded delivery of Durst, for the most part, and even when he's not singing, creates some of the most unique and emotionally moving music of his career. "I Am Where It Takes Me" is a haunting and beautiful little epic that is unfortunately marred by Borland's vocals. It's not that he has a bad voice, but in all honesty, it doesn't fit in with certain portions of the album. "I Am Where It Takes Me" is probably the most unfortunate case here, as it's an incredibly hypnotizing and moving piece of music -- until the vocals kick in.

Having said that, though, "Cruel Melody" is still a strong effort that will most certainly please the average Wes Borland fan, and maybe even make him a hero to a few straggling "limpsters." It took him six years, but Wes has finally made his mark, proving that he is more than just the guy in goofy outfits, delivering chunky riffs to Fred Durst's frat-boy rants. While it should be noted that the live band is completely different from the studio band, it will definitely be interesting to see what Black Light Burns has to offer on the second album.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never before has such a Cruel Melody sound so good, April 2, 2008

By 

Tom Dublin (Potsdam, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cruel Melody (Audio CD)

Simply put this is an amazing album and with such excellent muscians such as Josh Freese and Danny Lohner helping in the recording process how could it not be. After listening to this album I think that Wes has found his true calling. Every song on this album is excellent in its own way but one song that deserves special recognition is the title track "Cruel Melody." To me this is a beautifully crafted track, very melodic and hauting and Wes' vocal style and delievery make it perfect, this song will stay with you all day. I also repect that Wes openly acknowledges that he uses a computer to do alot of the stuff on this album even going as far as to call his macbook pro the fith member of his band in the linear notes and taking it on the road with him and having it in full view during live preformances. For any fan of Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and other gothic, electronica rock give this album a try.