Black Light Burns: Cruel Melody Review

I guess this would be part 2 of the Underworld supergroup reviews (part 1 being the review of Puscifer). Black Light Burns stems from the form supergroup known as The Damning Well, which consisted of Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit), Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails), Richard Patrick (Filter), and Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle). The Damning Well appeared on the soundtrack to the first Underworld movie and even produced a full length album that was never released.

Black Light Burns is considered the spiritual successor of The Damning Well, consisting of all members sans Richard Patrick. Instead of Patrick, Borland takes over on vocals.

To his credit, Borland would probably be the first to tell you that he's not a singer. They search for a new vocalist for a long time before Borland decided to take the reigns. There are issues with Borland's singing - that I'm sure Borland is aware of - which actually knocks Black Light Burns down a notch. This turns the hard rock goth edge of The Damning Well into a much tamer goth-rock album.

Though not as immediately impactful as The Damning Well's song on the Underworld songtrack, Black Light Burns' Cruel Melody shows a lot of great potential for Borland; and information coming out about the bands next CDseems to indicate a heavier rock influence.

Cruel Melody is by no means a bad CD. In fact, it's quite good for the goth-rock genre. It just doesn't seem to have that x-factor to push it past itself. Borland, however, has proven to be a determined experimenter, and I expect future releases of Black Light Burns to get better and better. Cruel Melody is recommended if only to see the good beginnings of a great band.

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