Review Summary: A debut album showing much potential and a musical outlet for Wes Borland that is actually quite great. It makes an interesting and fun listen.
Wes Borland is quite the character isn’t he? First, he was the founding guitarist for one of the most infamous bands of all time, Limp Bizkit. Then he left them for a few years only to rejoin in 2005. Then he left again, started his own band, joined Marilyn Manson and left them quite quickly. And now he has rejoined LB again for a new album and tour. All in between stating how much he can’t stand Limp Bizkit and how he “doesn’t want to associate himself with that kind of music anymore” only to go back to them twice. Regardless of where his loyalties lie in the music scene, he formed is own band in 2007 called Black Light Burns. Their debut album, Cruel Melody, is a damn good album and a promising effort.
Something that the listener should know before hearing this album and something that should be obvious by now is that Borland is at the front in this act. He sings lead vocals, plays guitar and bass, and did much of the programming for the album. It’s much better and more thought out than anything he’s ever done and he certainly proves himself as a musician throughout. One thing that is important about this album is that it flows extremely well. A dark mood is set from the crazed, mysterious opener “Mesopotamia” that flows through all the rest of the tracks to the 8-minute instrumental album closer “Iodine Sky”. Along this dark and ambient journey you will find great guitar work, audible bass, superb drumming, and many layered and textured aspect of the music courtesy of keyboards and synths that help contribute to the album as a whole.
Known for his distinct guitar sound, Borland introduces riffs he ever did in Limp Bizkit and certainly surprises with how good of a guitarist he can be. The solos on this album compliment the songs quite nicely and the guitars are layered in a way that helps the ambient flow of the album. Borland can go from a quiet, tasteful riff (like on the title track) to a frantic heavy riff (like on the lead single “Lie”). If you had your doubts about him before, listen to his work on this album and you just might think differently. His bass work is also superb, for it can be heard on almost every track here and even drives some parts more than the guitar does. The drumming on the album is also very exceptional courtesy of Josh Freese among other drummers that Borland brought in.
Standout tracks on the album can be hard to choose, because this album has a pretty large atmosphere and every song has a distinct vibe to it. “4 Walls” would be one of them, for it features industrial beats and drum work and has a great melodic guitar line and ambient solo from Borland behind a very catchy and melodic chorus. The album closer, “Iodine Sky”, is worth skipping unless you like very long instrumental tracks that don’t really change up much. The title track is also one of the best ‘slow’ songs on the album, featuring Borland nearly whispering under a set of melancholy guitars and exploding into an ending worth listening to. “I Have a Need” features a great guitar solo and a chorus that is one of the best on the record. “The Mark” features excellent bass lines and catchy vibe throughout. As a whole this album works best when listened to all the way through for a truly rewarding experience.
“Cruel Melody” is a very promising debut that is surging with energy and great musicianship, and that is evident on all the songs on this album. Wes Borland really stepped it up from the poor nu-metal he was making with Limp Bizkit and really shines as a guitar player and front man of his own band. The songs form a great album and flow very nicely into each other making it an interesting and fun listen. Hopefully he will take a break from Limp Bizkit after this new album and tour and put some more time into this project, because he is really onto something here.
