• Alternative Press (p. 172) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Cruel Melody is still interesting, ambient and, much like its creators, unforgettable."

• Kerrang (p. 47) - "[The album] sports a confident, catchy gothic alt-rock sound, and Borland stepping up to the mic with an impressively suave vocal performance."

Track listing

1. "Mesopotamia" - 4:27
2. "Animal" - 4:08
3. "Lie
   Lie (song)
   "Lie" is the first single by Black Light Burns from their debut album Cruel Melody. It was released to radio on March 20.-Song information:Lie was the first full Black Light Burns song Wes Borland had shown to the public...
   
   " - 4:19
4. "Coward" (featuring Sonny Moore
   Sonny Moore
   Sonny John Moore is an American electronic dance music producer who is widely known by his professional name Skrillex. Moore is also a former frontman for the American band From First to Last. In late Autumn of 2007 he embarked on his first tour as a solo artist, the Team Sleep Tour with Team...
   
   ) - 4:36
5. "Cruel Melody" (featuring Carina Round
   Carina Round
   Carina Round is a British singer/songwriter from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England.Comparisons are frequently drawn to PJ Harvey, though Round would contend that she is more directly influenced by Patti Smith.- Background :...
   
   ) - 5:00
6. "The Mark" - 3:13
7. "I Have a Need" (featuring Sam Rivers
   Sam Rivers (bassist)
   Sam Rivers is the bassist and one of the founding members of the band Limp Bizkit. He is the cousin of the band's drummer, John Otto.-Early life:...
   
   ) - 4:24
8. "4 Walls" - 3:51
9. "Stop a Bullet" - 3:37
10. "One of Yours" - 4:51
11. "New Hunger" - 5:24
12. "I Am Where it Takes Me" (featuring Johnette Napolitano
    Johnette Napolitano
    Johnette Napolitano is an American singer, songwriter and bassist best known as the lead vocalist/songwriter and bassist for the alternative rock group Concrete Blonde.- Solo career :...
    
    ) - 6:09
13. "Iodine Sky" - 8:30

• "Kill the Queen" (BestBuy Bonus Track) - 4:56
• "Fall Below" (iTunes Bonus Track) - 4:16
• "Lie" (Daniel
  Daniel Anderson (musician)
  Daniel Robert Anderson is an American musician and record producer, and one the founding members of the alternative rock band Idiot Pilot, the folk/alternative band The Ghost and the Grace, and Glowbug. He is a multi-instrumentalist and provides vocals...
  
   from Idiot Pilot
  Idiot Pilot
  Idiot Pilot is an alternative rock/electronica duo from Bellingham, Washington, United States consisting of Michael Harris and Daniel Anderson.-History:...
  
   Remix) - 4:14

• "Mesopotamia" (Assyrian Mix) - 5:45
• "Lie" (Seth Vogt Mix) - 6:27

Personnel

• Wes Borland
  Wes Borland
  Wesley Louden Borland is an American musician and artist, best known as the guitarist for the band Limp Bizkit. He has been in several other bands as well including: Black Light Burns, The Damning Well, Goatslayer, Big Dumb Face, and Combichrist...
  
   - vocals, guitars, bass, programming, percussion, synths, piano, rhodes, violin, cello, drums on "I Am Where it Takes Me", mixing on "Iodine Sky"
• Danny Lohner
  Danny Lohner
  Daniel Patrick "Danny" Lohner , frequently known as Renholdër, is an American rock musician who plays bass guitar, electric guitar, and keyboards. He worked with Trent Reznor on numerous occasions, both with Nine Inch Nails and on the now defunct Tapeworm project...
  
   - additional guitar on "I Have a Need" and "Coward", additional bass on "Coward" and "Lie", producer, programming, sound design
• Josh Eustis - synths, sound design, Engineering
• Josh Freese
  Josh Freese
  Josh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
  
   - drums, live percussion
• Sam Rivers
  Sam Rivers (bassist)
  Sam Rivers is the bassist and one of the founding members of the band Limp Bizkit. He is the cousin of the band's drummer, John Otto.-Early life:...
  
   - bass on "I Have a Need"
• Charlie Clouser
  Charlie Clouser
  Charles Alexander "Charlie" Clouser is an American musician whose activities include playing keyboard, synth, theremin, and drums. He is known for his abilities in music programming, engineering, mixing, and remixing. He was a member of the band Nine Inch Nails 1994–2000. Before he was in Nine...
  
   - additional programming on "Lie"
• Tom Lord-Alge
  Tom Lord-Alge
  Tom Lord-Alge is a four-time Grammy Award–winning record producer and mixer. He is the youngest of Vivian Lord's five children, Mark Lord-Alge, Lisa Lord-Alge, Chris Lord-Alge, Jeff Lord-Alge and Tom Lord-Alge...
  
   - mixing on all songs except "Mesopotamia" and "Iodine Sky"
• Femio Hernandaz - co-mixing on all songs except "Mesopotamia" and "Iodine Sky"
• Critter
  Critter
  Critter may refer to:* A domesticated animal* An organism* A human* The mascot and call sign of ValuJet Airlines*Chinese Pangolin , one of the pets of the Raven FACs at their secret base in Long Tieng during the covert war in Laos...
  
   - engineering
• Ross Robinson
  Ross Robinson
  Ross Robinson, son of Byron Katie, is an American multi-platinum music producer, who has discovered successful acts such as Korn, At the Drive-In, Glassjaw, Repeater, Slipknot and Limp Bizkit. Robinson has also worked with Machine Head, Vanilla Ice, The Cure, Sepultura and many others...
  
   - mixing on "Mesopotamia"
• Ryan Boesch - co-mixing on "Mesopotamia"

• Eric Gorfain
  Eric Gorfain
  Eric Gorfain is an American violinist and leader of The Section Quartet.He has been classically trained since the age of four and later participated in orchestras throughout his studies at UCLA, where he became symphony concertmaster....
  
   - Violin
• Daphne Chen - Violin
• Lea Katz - Viola
• Richard Dodd
  Richard Dodd
  Richard Dodd is a cellist, recording artist, musician in Bristol, England.- Biography :Emigrated with his family to the United States at the age of 2 to Long Beach, California. He began studying the cello at age 10 and took his advanced studies at California State University, Northridge.- Career...
  
   - Cello
• John Krovoza - Cello
• Matt Cooker - Cello