BLACK LIGHT BURNS is a 2005 project featuring former LIMP BIZKIT guitarist Wes Borland alongside Danny Lohner of NINE INCH NAILS, ANGKOR WAT and SKREW repute, Josh Eustis from TELEFON TEL AVIV and highly respected drummer Josh Freese of VANDALS, INFECTIOUS GROOVES, PEARL JAM, GUNS N' ROSES and A PERFECT CIRCLE repute. Other session activity saw Josh Freese performing drums on MÖTLEY CRÜE's cover of the ROLLING STONES 'Street Fighting Man' on their 'Red, White & Crue' album. The drummer would also feature on ex-BUSH frontman Gavin Rossdale's INSTITUTE debut 'Distort Yourself'.

In October Freese temporarily joined the touring ranks of NINE INCH NAILS after regular drummer Jerome Dillon withdrew with health concerns. The band revealed it was wrapping up debut album recordings for Geffen Records in November. Ex-THE ESOTERIC and TODAY IS THE DAY drummer Marshall Kilpatric enrolled in January 2007. That same month BLACK LIGHT BURNS contracted a deal with producer Ross Robinson's new label I Am: Wolfpack for the album 'Cruel Melody'.

The group made its live debut on April 29th at the Buddy Guy's venue in Chicago, Illinois. Support gigs backing CHEVELLE would see the band on the US circuit in May. 'Cruel Melody' arrived in stores during June.

BLACK LIGHT BURNS set an August 5th 2008 release date for its covers album and DVD package entitled 'Cover Your Heart And The Anvil Pants Odyssey'. This set hosted renditions of LARD's 'Forkboy', LOVE AND ROCKETS 'So Alive', DURAN DURAN's 'Hungry Like The Wolf', THE SISTERS OF MERCY's 'Lucretia My Reflection', PJ HARVEY's 'Ride Of Me', THE JESUS LIZARD's 'The Art Of Self Defense', FIONA APPLE's 'On The Bound', SWANS 'I Am The Sun', BIGDUMBFACE's 'Blood Red Head On Fire' and THE STOOGES 'Search And Destroy'. The album also included previously unreleased instrumental versions of 'Cruel Melody' songs 'Drowning Together Dying Alone', 'Giving In Again' and 'Failing' plus 'Mesopotamia (Assyrian Mix)' and 'Lie (Seth Vogt Club Mix)'.

BLACK LIGHT BURNS parted ways with bassist Sean Fetterman ("for reasons we cannot disclose") in November. Dennis Sanders duly took over.