Saliva

Blood Stained Love Story
(Island)

A A A Comments By Justin P. Farrar Thursday, Feb 22 2007

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Saliva's rote fusion of rap metal, grunge, and alt rock should've died before the turn of the century, but it never has. Amazingly enough, the more generic and obsolete the Memphis band sounds, the more records it sells: "Ladies and Gentleman," the first single off Blood Stained Love Story, recently hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. The secret to Saliva's success lies in pro wrestling and video games. For reasons that have yet to reveal themselves, fans of both are still living in the late '90s. Lead singer Josey Scott was a playable character in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003, and "Ladies and Gentleman" is the official theme song for this year's WrestleMania 23. And that's just the tip of the iceberg; only Wikipedia knows how many Speedo-wearing meatheads enter the squared circle to the beat of Saliva's hypercompressed modern rock — which is strange, considering that the bulk of the band's sixth disc wallows in post-Creed power-balladry, save the jam "King of the Stereo." In it, Scott speaks of his band's stubborn endurance: "You can't catch me/You can't kill me/You can't break me." No, unfortunately not.

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