Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland recently opened up about the band’s surprising resurgence after years of backlash.
When asked what he thinks about the band’s recent comeback after facing criticism from parts of the metal fanbase, Borland credited the shift to a more relaxed and genuine approach to making music together.
“What a great question. How bizarre has this been? This has obviously come up before in the last few years ’cause we’ve been talking about it. And my wife just usually goes, ‘I think it’s like you guys just are having fun finally. And people can see that. You don’t take yourselves too seriously,'” Borland said.
He went on to relay more of his wife’s perspective, which pointed to the band’s musicianship and their ability to move past a difficult period.
“She goes, ‘You’re all really good musicians, and you kinda have been through the ringer, and now you’re just having fun with it, not taking things too seriously,'” he continued. “So maybe that’s it. There was a time where we had a lot of inner turmoil in the band and conflict, and I think people can tell that that’s happening from the outside. I feel like our fans were, like, ‘Ugh… some dark shit is going on.'”
Borland also acknowledged the hardships the band has endured, suggesting that having weathered the worst has given them a new sense of freedom.
“Besides the tragedy of losing [bassist] Sam [Rivers], what else terrible can happen? We’ve already been through all of it,” he added.
The resurgence is not just a matter of perception — it is showing up in real, measurable ways across the live music landscape. The band has been headlining major rock festivals again, a position that once seemed unlikely given the years of critical dismissal they endured. At Download Festival in 2024, Limp Bizkit performed as a sub-headliner but drew a larger crowd than the official headliner, Avenged Sevenfold — a moment that signaled something significant was shifting in their favor.
That momentum has carried into 2026 with a packed live schedule. The band is set to headline Louder Than Life in September, Aftershock in October, and two consecutive nights in Nashville in October as well.
The commercial milestones are stacking up too. “Break Stuff,” the band’s signature track from their 1999 album Significant Other, achieved 2x platinum status in the UK on July 31st. It is their second single to reach that certification in the territory, following “Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle).”
Borland has been candid about just how unexpected all of this feels. “We’re the biggest we’ve ever been right now, it’s crazy,” he said. “I’m not saying that in a cocky way. I’m saying that we can’t believe it. We’re so lucky. I don’t know exactly how it happened.”
The band’s ability to laugh at themselves has also played a role in winning people back. Their 2021 comeback album was titled Still Sucks — a self-aware nod to their critics that disarmed even the most skeptical corners of the rock world. That combination of self-deprecation, genuine chemistry, and undeniable live energy appears to be the formula behind one of rock’s more unlikely second acts.
