Limp Bizkit

Wes Borland doesn't care about Limp Bizkit anymore. The guitarist can't even say for sure that he's still in the predominant rap-metal band of the late '90s. To hear him tell it, Limp Bizkit may not be an active band - period.

"We're officially on hiatus, maybe even officially over," Borland said. "It's kind of up in the air. No one said, 'We're done as a band.' Everyone's just doing their own thing, and [some members] don't have time for this band anymore. I haven't quit, but I've also decided to stop thinking about Limp. I'm not going to keep trying to breathe life into a dying animal.

"It just ground to a halt," he continued. "We just basically stopped talking. I feel bad for the fans that [might] think something's actually going to happen with Limp [in the future]. It's not happening. The Unquestionable Truth (Part 2) is not coming out. If it does, I'd be super surprised. But you can never say never. Anything's possible. As of right now, none of my future plans include Limp Bizkit."

Borland, who rejoined Limp Bizkit nearly two years ago, said he's moving on with an all-consuming focus to his new band, Black Light Burns. Even if Bizkit frontman Fred Durst were to call him to discuss reviving the group, he said he'd have to think long and hard about involving himself in what would, in essence, be a side project for him.

"I can't keep my life in a holding pattern, and I can't think of a band that's completely inactive as my main project," he explained. "Black Light is all I'm focusing on."

In fact, Borland even considers himself more a member of Florida post-hardcore band From First to Last than he does Limp Bizkit. The guitarist strapped on a bass during the recording of FFTL's forthcoming LP, Heroine, and even toured with the band last fall. "I am definitely writing their next record with them," he said. "I'm basically the studio bass player for From First to Last, and we have an agreement that whenever I can make it out and play shows, I will."

These days Borland's been concentrating on Black Light Burns' debut, Cruel Melody. Due this summer and featuring 12 tracks, it boast guest spots by Bizkit bassist Sam Rivers, British singer/songwriter Carina Round, Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolitano and From First to Last frontman Sonny Moore.

Borland intends to assemble a touring version of Black Light Burns, since the musicians he'd worked with on Cruel Melody (renowned session drummer Josh Freese, former Nine Inch Nails guitarist Danny Lohner and Telefon Tel Aviv keyboardist/programmer Josh Eustis) will likely be preoccupied with other projects.

Before Black Light Burns' debut hits stores, Borland hopes to embark on a brief club tour. This fall, he said, the touring version of the band will be opening for From First to Last as part of a full U.S. trek; Borland will take the stage with both bands, playing two sets a night. And that's fine by him.

"It took me a long time to find my voice as a singer, and I'm happy that I did," he explained. "I can't stress enough how good it's going to feel to get back out there again. This is it for me - finally. It's everything I've ever wanted to do, every kind of music I'm into, all cemented into one statement."

So what's happening with Limp Bizkit, who have largely disappeared since the release The Unquestionable Truth last May? Borland said Durst is currently bolstering both his film résumé and his A&R credentials, signing bands like She Wants Revenge to his Geffen Records imprint, Flawless. Rivers is producing local talent at his Jacksonville, Florida, recording studio. DJ Lethal is producing as well as working with House of Pain and his other band, Tarzana.

Although "Fred and I have never gotten along," Borland admitted, he said relations within Bizkit were amicable after he reunited with them. But tensions started to mount in the weeks before the release of The Unquestionable Truth.

"When [Fred] came to us with the idea of not promoting it at all, and not touring, we were like, 'Huh?' And he said, 'Yeah, it will be great - like we're starting from the underground all over again,' " recalled Borland. "I just said, 'Um ... all right. So we're going to release a record and not promote it and not tour, and this is going to do well how, exactly?' It was like, instead of firing an armor-piercing round out of a 10-story cannon at the moon, we got out the BB gun.

"Maybe he was already unhappy with the music, and he didn't really want to put it out there," Borland continued. "It was definitely self-sabotage. I don't think Limp is actually very relevant [to] people anymore. We've been one of the most hated bands in the world for a long time, and I just think people are over it.

"I have never really been a fan of what we've done," Borland said. "It's what we did, [albeit] not what I wanted to listen to all the time. I was 100 percent participating, but [I never felt as if] 'this is the end-all, be-all band I want to be with.' I always felt like I was placed with the wrong band, but I still felt it worked well."

Track list for Black Light Burns' Cruel Melody, according to Borland:

"The Mark"

"Animal"

"Lie"

"Coward"

"Cruel Melody"

"I Have a Need"

"4 Walls"

"Stop a Bullet"

"One of Yours"

"New Hunger"

"I Am Where It Takes Me"

"Iodine Sky"

SOURCE: MTV