LIMP BIZKIT's BORLAND: 'I Really Wanted To Do This One More Time And End On A Positive Note'

This week's Kerrang! magazine features a world-exclusive interview with the reunited LIMP BIZKIT conducted in late April in Los Angeles, California as the band was gearing up for its 2009 world tour. Excerpts from the chat follow below (courtesy of LIMP BIZKIT fan site The Armpit).

On their first meeting in over three years, which took place in December 2008 at their manager's Los Angeles home:

Fred Durst (vocals): "I was excited when [guitarist Wes Borland] walked in the room. We were laughing, talking, having a blast. It felt like family. Families have their disputes. We just moved forward and picked up like we never had a problem. It wasn't like a therapy session at all.

"Wes and I have a very powerful presence and both of us being that way, quite controlling... Two lions in the same cage is a bloody mess. That's why it works. There's something about it."

Wes Borland: "We said that we were sorry about things in the past, but didn't really get into specifics. I said that I was only going to base my feelings towards him and the band on current behavior, not on past behavior.

"I've eaten my words a lot when it comes to our relationship. I ended up realizing that I've been an ass in a lot of ways and I sort of put all the blame on [Fred] in the past.

"We have a lot of differences, but we are more alike than I would have liked to think. I'm 34 now and am finally realizing that you get a lot more out of people if you're willing to give. I wasn't ready to compromise before."

On who LIMP BIZKIT are in 2009:

Durst: "We're more confident. [pause] More empowered. [another pause] Tighter as a band than ever before.

"There's something magical that came with being segregated so long. We were all able to gain a new perspective and actually miss it. We realized that what we had together as a band was unlike anything else we have in anything else in our lives and it's very powerful."

On how the band's fan base has changed during LIMP BIZKIT's hiatus:

Durst: "It really became obvious that there're people discovering LIMP BIZKIT that were maybe four or five years old 10 years ago and they've never seen LIMP BIZKIT live. There was nothing out there like [us] — for good or for worse — and I really wished that those younger new fans could experience it for real."

On Wes' reluctance to play with LIMP BIZKIT again:

Borland: "This band has had so many bumps in the road. We weren't on the same page when it came to how people's lives were working out, what people were interested in and what they wanted to do. And then there was mine and Fred's relationship being at odds for so long, and I said, 'I'm never gonna work with those people again.'

"I just didn't want to be disappointed again. In the past, we always started off on a good note — we've broken up and made up so many times. We'd always come back with the best intentions and we'd always fall apart."

"I really missed that larger-than-life feeling that playing large festivals and arenas brings. And I thought, 'I could do it with KORN or NAILS, but if I'm going to do that, why don't I do that with my own band that I'm a part of, instead of being a hired person?

"Jordan [Schur, manager] just happened to call me at a time when I was debating what my 2009 was gonna look like. A lot of the things that I wanted to achieve by leaving LIMP BIZKIT I accomplished and I was ready to come back and give it a real go.

"Part of it was the thought of what could be before it's too late. I'm at the beginning of my mid-30s and Fred's in his late 30s and we're not going to be able to do this for much longer without looking ridiculous. I really wanted to do this one more time and end on a positive note."

Durst: "We always kept the door open. I have always been a fan of Wes'. He's the best. There's nobody better in my mind, and that's never changed. Anybody else besides Wes was always second best."

On the negative reactions to the news that LIMP BIZKIT's original lineup has once again reunited:

Borland: "I don't care what people think anymore. I think that's part of the reason that I came back to LIMP BIZKIT. For a while I was trying to be in with the 'cool' crowd, but the cool crowd isn't as fun. I really like being onstage with LIMP BIZKIT."

Durst: "GFY. What does that mean? Go fuck yourself! I want to make t-shirts that say, 'GFY hearts LB'...

"The feeling that I get when I play with this band is enough for me. I've got to pick and choose my battles, and I'm ready to do that. I just hope that we have fans that leave our concerts that weren't fans before they got there. That they had a good fucking time and felt good. And I hope we shed some light on any confusion or misunderstandings that anyone had about LIMP BIZKIT before.

"I hope that our evolution is apparent."

Quality video footage of LIMP BIZKIT's May 21, 2009 concert in Vilnius, Lithuania can be viewed below (courtesy of "DennisGermany2000").