Black Light Burns

Guitarist Wes Borland earned lasting recognition through his long association with Limp Bizkit, one of the more formulaic yet commercially successful hard rock outfits of the late 1990s and early 2000s. After departing the group for a second time in the wake of its modestly received 2005 release The Unquestionable Truth, Pt. 1, he deliberately sought a new endeavor that would allow greater sonic range, eccentricity, and surprise. Already experienced with unconventional side efforts such as Bigdumbface’s sole album Duke Lion Fights the Terror!!, Borland aimed for a more stable outlet and therefore launched Black Light Burns. Although portions of the material had been sketched years before, the project only crystallized once Borland elected to handle lead vocals himself and recruited former Nine Inch Nails contributor Danny Lohner. Lohner took over bass, Joshua Eustis handled keyboards, and session veteran Josh Freese supplied drums; together they completed the band’s debut album, Cruel Melody, issued in 2007 as the inaugural release on I Am: Wolfpack, the label founded by former Limp Bizkit producer Ross Robinson. Because the remaining players declined to tour, Borland assembled an entirely different road lineup that included guitarist Nick Annis, bassist Sean Fetterman, and drummer Marshall Kilpatric, previously of the Esoteric. Black Light Burns delivered its second studio album, The Moment You Realize You’re Going to Fall, in 2012.