Review Summary: "The Moment You Realize You're Going to Fall" is an incredibly refreshing record that solidifies Wes Borland and the rest of Black Light Burns as musicians to keep an eye on.
While 2007's "Cruel Melody" was not without its fair share of shortcomings, it did more than enough to show that there's actually quite a bit more musical integrity within the mind of Wes Borland than his work with Limp Bizkit could possibly reveal. And though there is enough going on in "Cruel Melody" to make for a pretty enjoyable listen, Black Light Burn's debut was still, essentially, little more a than a fun record created by a guy that seemed far more comfortable reveling in the well-paved territory of his predecessors than pushing the borders of his genre. Now, five years later, with sophomore effort "The Moment You Realize You're Going To Fall", Borland's strongest influences remain far from subtle, however, this time, their fabrics have been woven into a far more confident batch of songs that forgo obnoxiously echoing the past to breathe some much-needed life into their genre.
The record's revitalizing nature is displayed in several different ways throughout the album, the most obvious of these being with the positively frenetic intensity that manifests itself in many of the tracks. This begins in the chaotic opener "How to Look Naked", which features guitars that twist and turn unexpectedly throughout, and rapid-fire drums that captivate and impress for the song's entirety. Other tracks, such as "We Light Up", "Splayed", and lead single "Scream Hallelujah" are bursting with a vicious, almost punk-like energy. Luckily, the album contains than just balls out rocking, and many of its finest moments are adequately experimental. Take, for example, standout track "The Girl in Black", which begins as a simple song driven by a heavily distorted bass riff and subtle synths that mutate into a downright savage acoustic guitar line which eventually gives way to a relatively gentle, piano-driven outro. In short, the song is incredibly diverse, especially considering that its run time is barely over the 4 minute mark. This could be said for nearly every song on the album, as even the weaker tracks tracks typically contain at least one high-quality segment. At the very least, this is the product of songwriting that should manage to consistently keep listeners on their toes. Another noteworthy piece is "The Colour Escapes", which features an orgy of outlandish percussion, the album's most soothing and memorable chorus, and a healthy injection of vivacious middle-eastern flair in its latter half to keep things interesting. The band's most progressive moments come in "Torch From The Sky", which redeems it's slow, spacey, and relatively boring opening section with a stunningly beautiful, guitar dominated instrumental outro, which segues into the impressive "Because of You" so subtly that it feels like the two are one long, epic song.
Despite the fact that it probably won't be remembered as a hallmark of industrial music, "The Moment You Realize You're Going to Fall" is still an incredibly refreshing record that solidifies Wes Borland and the rest of Black Light Burns as musicians to keep an eye on. This new record may not venture bravely into uncharted territory, but it does channel many familiar industrial /alternative metal tropes and mixes and matches them in interesting, dynamic ways that become even more so when the band's unique personality is taken into consideration. If they can continue progressing as proficiently as they have since "Cruel Melody", expect the next Black Light Burns album to be a true classic.
