Borland states that Black Light Burns is the culmination of the various projects he has been working on ever since he quit Limp Bizkit in 2001. Things began with Big Dumb Face, a solo project that Borland had worked on during his time with Limp Bizkit. Borland didn't take the project too seriously, and used it to basically test the waters, and see how hard it would be to do something serious on his own, without the aid of his band mates. After he quit the band, he began working on several different projects. The first of which was supposed to be an instrumental album one could listen to and simply relax. Simultaneously, he began Eat The Day. With this project, he became cocky, and thought because of his previous success with Limp Bizkit, duplicating that success with a new band would be simple. Borland soon found out this wasn't the case. Eat The Day eventually unravelled itself, as, in Borland's words, "I think everybody involved in that project had different ideas about the direction that it should go". Borland became self-absorbed, and along with continuous pressure from the label, and struggles finding a lead singer for the band, the project eventually disbanded.
In terms of their lineup, the band is somewhat of a successor to the brief project The Damning Well, which consisted of mostly the same members. The main difference this time around being that Borland has taken vocals into his own hands, after many attempts to find a proper vocalist in various projects.
After the 'failure' of Borland's various projects, he returned to Limp Bizkit once again, turning down the spot as Nine Inch Nails touring guitar player. According to vocalist Fred Durst, Borland only agreed to return to the band on the condition that their label, Geffen, agreed to support his solo project, Black Light Burns.
It began only as a side project, with Borland writing many of the songs during his time off from Limp Bizkit, but soon things in Limp Bizkit became very quiet, and Borland himself stated that Black Light Burns was now his main project, and anything else he did, including Limp Bizkit, was a side project. Eventually arguments broke out on MySpace between Borland and Durst, and Borland left Limp Bizkit once again, although according to him, the band members had already gone their separate ways, he simply decided not to return.
The Black Light Burns song titled "I Have a Need" was instrumentally written to be included on the Limp Bizkit release The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) in 2005, but was cut in order for the EP to remain mostly metal oriented. It features Limp Bizkit's bassist Sam Rivers on the track, and Wes was allowed to use the song for Black Light Burns when the song was turned down for use by Limp Bizkit.
On June 16, Borland announced that the band and Geffen Records had parted ways. There was little word in the following months over the situation regarding a new label, though as of October 25, the band is in negotiations with a label, and are hoping to release their debut album early 2007.
Borland has stated that he is the only constant in Black Light Burns, as the other members of the studio lineup are expected to be mostly unable to participate in touring with Black Light Burns, such as the notoriously busy Josh Freese.
The initial touring lineup of Black Light Burns includes Nick Annis (previously in Open Hand, Turn of the Screw) as a guitarist and Marshall Kilpatric (previously in The Esoteric) on drums, as well as Wes Borland himself.
Black Light Burns' first tour was previously set to begin in fall of 2006 with From First to Last, who Borland also plays bass for on and off. This tour was to feature Borland doing double duty as the singer/guitarist for Black Light Burns and then bassist for From First to Last afterwards. However, Sonny Moore (singer of FFTL) developed a node on his right vocal chord and has to get surgery, thus ending Wes Borland's current touring stint with From First To Last.
In late 2007-early 2008, after a scheduled break from touring for the their label to secure an overseas release of Cruel Melody, Black Light Burns announced plans for a covers album that also includes remixes and b-sides from Cruel Melody, and a DVD containing live and behind the scenes footage of the band. Artists PJ Harvey, INXS, The Jesus Lizard, Love and Rockets, The Swans, Fiona Apple, Lard, and Borland's own old side project Big Dumb Face will be covered for the release. The two discs will be released together in spring of 2008.
On March 30, 2008 Wes Borland made a post on the band's MySpace about how he filled in for the band X Japan and was "looking forward to coming home and getting back to work on the next BLB album", by which he means the second full length Black Light Burns album, due to the fact that their cover song album was already complete by that point in time.
As of August 2008, at the ETP Conference, it was announced that Borland is now the current Marilyn Manson tour guitarist.
Also Two new songs have appeared on http://www.myspace.com/wesleyborland. They are entitled Cats and Cats And Cats, B4Lf3r
Much like Nine Inch Nails, Black Light Burns consists of two entities, the studio band, and the live band. Some members of the band that recorded in the studio may not be able to tour with the band, and future live members might contribute to future CD releases, therefore lineup changes could occur. Borland did all of the vocals, guitar, and bass on the album.
Studio Line-up
1. Wes Borland - (previously in Limp Bizkit, Eat The Day, Big Dumb Face)
2. Danny Lohner - (previously in Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle)
3. Josh Freese - (The Vandals, Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, many more)
4. Josh Eustis - (Telefon Tel Aviv)
When asked on Black Light Burns's MySpace if the studio band listed above would return for the band's second record, Wes Borland replied "Probably not. Marshall is the full time drummer for BLB now, but Danny Lohner may be returning for some input on the next record."
Live Line-up
1. Wes Borland - Vocals, Guitar
2. Marshall Kilpatric - Drums (previously in The Esoteric, Today is the Day)
3. Nick Annis - Guitar (previously in Open Hand, Turn Of The Screw, shortly played for Seether while on tour in Ozzfest)
4. Dennis Sanders Jr.-Bass
Wes Borland's MacBook Pro will be playing the keyboard or loops that the four above bandmembers can't/won't be playing live. According to Borland, Josh Eustis, who played keyboards and sound design on Cruel Melody, was supposed to join the live lineup, but opted to do production instead, leaving Borland to use his laptop to reproduce samples and keyboards live.
Bakelite
Black Light Burns Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But always on the corner of the tabletop
A bag of bones that sits and smokes
And laughs at all your stupid jokes
It's such a fuss to fall for love
Not fall in love
To fall
A drug
Then learns the thirst
Gets worse and worse
And all your new found
Hope is gone
But all along
It always was
The same old song
And dance for now
You dance so proud
You sing so loud
You break apart
A work of
I hate myself so full of shits
A giggle fit
For wasting time
And passing by
I settle down
Into a frown
So many years
Of wearing down
And out of this
It's ludicrous to amputate
A simple wish because it sits
Just right outside appropriate
And your
Hope is gone
But all along
It always was
The same old song
And dance for now
You dance so proud
You sing so loud
You break apart
A work of art
[x2]
The lyrics to "Bakelite" by Black Light Burns touch upon the theme of feeling conflicted about love and the self. The first few lines describe blood, which symbolizes the pain and hurt that can come with love. This is juxtaposed with the bag of bones that smokes and laughs at stupid jokes, which is a metaphor for how we sometimes distract ourselves from pain and seriousness with vices and humor.
The next few lines talk about the difficulties of falling for love, suggesting it's a process that requires effort and commitment. The song then takes a darker turn as it discusses how hope eventually fades and we realize we've been singing the same old song and dance all along. The lyrics also hint at the idea that sometimes, we engage in self-destructive behavior, even if we know it will make us worse off in the long run.
Towards the end of the song, the lyrics touch upon self-hatred and the feeling of wasting time. The singer of the song admits to wearing down over the years and feeling like a work of art that's breaking apart. However, they also reject the idea of amputating their desires and settling for what's comfortable and appropriate. The lyrics are reflective and poignant, and capture the complexities of love and the self.
Line by Line Meaning
Blood is wrong
The sight of blood is often considered revolting.
But always on the corner of the tabletop
Blood is often present on the edges of furniture.
A bag of bones that sits and smokes
A skinny person who enjoys smoking is present.
And laughs at all your stupid jokes
The person is humorously entertained by jokes that are not very clever.
It's such a fuss to fall for love
Falling in love is a complicated and difficult task.
Not fall in love
It is not just about suddenly experiencing love for someone.
To fall
It is a slow and steady process of falling in love.
A drug
Falling in love can be as addicting as a drug.
So smug at first
At first, falling in love can feel easy and confident.
Then learns the thirst
As the process continues, the person yearns more and more for the one they are falling in love with.
Gets worse and worse
The yearning gets more intense with time.
And all your new found
All the new feelings are confusing and overwhelming.
Hope is gone
The hope for achieving one's desire is gone.
But all along
But it was never realistic to begin with.
It always was
The situation was nothing new.
The same old song
The result is always the same.
And dance for now
The present moment is a fleeting, temporary escape from the realities of life.
You dance so proud
One exists with the illusion of being in control of their life.
You sing so loud
One exists with a false sense of security and confidence.
You break apart
The illusion is shattered.
A work of art
The illusion was never meant to last.
I hate myself so full of shits
I deeply dislike myself for wasting my time.
A giggle fit
I'm laughing maniacally in response.
For wasting time
The time spent was unproductive and pointless.
And passing by
Time keeps moving forward and doesn't wait for anyone.
I settle down
I finally relax and accept my current situation.
Into a frown
I'm tired of presenting a fake, happy face and succumb to sadness.
So many years
This has been going on for years.
Of wearing down
All these years have taken a toll on me.
And out of this
From this situation emerges an inevitable truth.
It's ludicrous to amputate
It's ridiculous to give up something so important.
A simple wish because it sits
A desire shouldn't be ignored or neglected.
Just right outside appropriate
Even if it doesn't seem reasonable or sensible.
And your
And so you hope for something better.
Hope is gone
But inevitably, the hope fades and your situation remains the same.
But all along
But you knew all along it would happen.
It always was
The situation was never going to change.
The same old song
The result is always the same.
And dance for now
So you continue to dance and sing, pretending everything is okay.
You dance so proud
You dance with a sense of pride and control.
You sing so loud
You sing with a false sense of confidence.
You break apart
The illusion shatters, revealing the harsh reality.
A work of art
But even this shattered illusion is still something to be admired.
Contributed by Sarah I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
MiSo Scraben
This tune truly pulls on the apart NIN influence that everyone says this group houses(in a bit of ways it does). This tugs at Fragile influence. This track truthfully seems more of Wes's solo work. It isn't daringly experimental, but pushes the boundary somewhere between Melody & Anvil Pants. He might be headed greatly into his next leap.
Leroy Ulibarri
really like this one, has a nice groove to it. Wes is the man.
Danijela Babin
where i can download this album ?
distaudio
iTunes. Amazon.