Black Light Burns

Black Light Burns is the industrial rock project founded in Los Angeles in 2005 by Wes Borland, the shape-shifting guitarist of Limp Bizkit. Conceived during a break from his main band, it became the fullest outlet for Borland as a songwriter and frontman — trading nu-metal for a darker, more textured blend of industrial noise, gothic atmosphere and melody.

The 2007 debut Cruel Melody set the tone, built with a rotating cast of collaborators including Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails / A Perfect Circle) and Josh Freese, plus guest turns from a pre-fame Sonny Moore — later known as Skrillex — on “Coward,” Limp Bizkit’s Sam Rivers on “I Have a Need,” and Carina Round. Its lead single “Lie” remains the band’s signature song.

A covers-and-rarities set, Cover Your Heart and The Anvil Pants Odyssey, followed in 2008 alongside a companion tour DVD. Borland returned to original material with The Moment You Realize You’re Going to Fall in 2012 and the concept record Lotus Island in 2013, cementing Black Light Burns as one of alternative music’s most distinctive side-projects.