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5 out of 10
I have more respect for Wes Borland than anyone else that would be associated with Limp Bizkit. The poor lad has tried to get away from the stigma of being in one of the dumbest bands ever, first with the Mr Bungle-esque Big Dumb, then Eat The Day and finally culminating in Black Light Burns. So what should you expect? Well he’s roped in a fair few of his mates. Danny Lohner (NIN) Josh Freese (GnR, Vandals, A Perfect Circle) and Josh Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv) all played on the album while the biggest surprise is live drums are taken care of by Marshal Kilpatric of Today Is The Day and The Esoteric!
Anyhow, the music then. Well, in all honesty it doesn't grab me straight away. Borland takes the vocals on himself here. The easiest way to describe it would be the ole industrial tag. Really down to the production, reliance on samples and electronics and the huge, processed guitar tone. But like any of Wes’s projects, there is a wilful ignoring of coherent structure. Take "Mesopotamia" for example. As the opener it wouldn’t sound out of place on the last QOTSA album. Then the next track comes in with a Manson cocky, electronic swagger.
"Lie" and "Coward" follow with that old whiff of nu-metal hanging over them mixed with an industrial backing. I didn’t like that one bit. But then the title track comes in and it makes you forget everything before.
Wes Borland has never made a secret of his admiration for Mike Patton and "Cruel Melody" shows this love a lot. A track that’s got that Patton-like laid back/bubbling madness under the surface feel and wouldn’t have been out of place on any of the Tomahawk albums.
After that highpoint it goes back into the industrial / nu-metal workouts again. The final 2 tracks of ambience and electronics elevate it somewhat before its finish, but that bad taste is still in my mouth.
He’s tried, and with time maybe something special will come out of this, otherwise I think the audience for this won’t be all that dissimilar to his past bands. Very elite.
Listen: www.myspace.com/blacklightburns
Tracklist:
1. Mesopotamia
2. Animal
3. Lie
4. Coward
5. Cruel Melody
6. The Mark
7. I Have A Need
8. 4 Walls
9. Stop A Bullet
10. One Of Yours
11. New Hunger
12. I Am Where It Takes Me
13. Iodine Sky
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