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“I’ve run out of artists I want to listen to. I find very few things that move me”: When Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland turned to prog for musical fulfilment
The article revisits comments Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland made in 2016 about his solo album Crystal Machete, explaining why he turned to progressive rock for creative satisfaction outside his main band. Borland, best known for his role in Limp Bizkit, said the band lets him play a "science fiction stuntman character", but that Crystal Machete was the first project in which he felt he had truly found his own musical voice.
The piece notes Borland's history of exploring different genres beyond Limp Bizkit, including fronting industrial act Black Light Burns and writing and performing with Queen Kwong. Crystal Machete, released in 2016, was conceived as the soundtrack to a film that was never made and is described as a distinctly prog record; notably, it is instrumental, as Borland said he doesn't like his own singing voice.
In short
- Wes Borland discussed his 2016 prog solo album Crystal Machete.
- He called it the first project where he found his own voice.
- The record is instrumental, imagined as a soundtrack to an unmade film.
Explained simply
Wes Borland is the guitarist of Limp Bizkit, the nu-metal band that became prominent in the late 1990s and 2000s. Within the band, he has described his role as playing a character rather than expressing his true musical identity.
Beyond Limp Bizkit, Borland has pursued various musical projects across different genres, including the industrial band Black Light Burns and the project Queen Kwong. In 2016, he released Crystal Machete, an instrumental progressive rock album he described as the first project in which he truly found his own artistic voice.
Borland made the album entirely instrumental because he does not care for his own singing voice. Crystal Machete was originally conceived as the soundtrack to a film that was never completed, and it represents his broader search for creative satisfaction outside his main band.
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