SALIVA – LOVE, LIES and THERAPY – CD REVIEW

Saliva have been part of the American Hard Rock scene for over two decades; formed in 1996 in Memphis TN, and with eight studio albums, including one gold and platinum and a 2002 Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance for “Your Disease”, this latest release – their ninth studio album- was undoubtedly much anticipated.

In the late nineties and early two thousands Saliva were very much part of every Rap/Rock fan’s playlist with great songs such as Click Click Boom and Survival of the Sickest; however their new album Love, Lies & Therapy is somewhat of a disappointment.

This is the third album with lead vocalist Bobby Amaru joining co-founding member / lead guitarist Wayne Swinny, drummer Paul Crosby and newest member bassist Brad Stewart and it is clear the band has moved into a different direction.

Themes of addiction, loss and pain are a clear focus of this album and with this the power ballad has reared its ugly head. Now before I am cast into the flames of rock hell (would be welcomed eventually), I am a big fan of the power ballad – if it’s done right. However these tracks Break Down, The Loneliest Know and Hand In Hand feel wrong for this album and are something I’d expect from a boy band, certainly not from such a gifted hard rock band such as Saliva.

There is however light at the end of this particular tunnel with classic crunching guitar tracks  like Trust and Rx. I was also rather surprised with Unshatter Me and Refuse To Lose which demonstrate Amaru’s brilliant screaming vocals and his ability to recreate the feeling of real pain in the lyrics.

The lowest point on this album for me is the cover of Michael Jackson’s They Don’t Care About Us, a ghastly single from his 1996 album, History, Past Present and Future, Book 1. A band with this amount of experience and talent do themselves a disservice trying to polish this turd of a song and it takes away from what the band were evidently trying to achieve.

This band is better than this album.

Score: 5 out of 10

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Tracklist:

1. Trust
2. Tragic Kind Of Love
3. Bitch Like You
4. Unshatter Me
5. Broken Wings
6. Rx
7. Breakdown
8. Go Big Or Go Home
9. Loneliest Know
10. Refuse To Lose
11. They Don’t Care About Us
12. Hand In Hand

Label:

UMC

Members:

Bobby Amaru (Vocals) | Wayne Swinny (Lead Guitar) |Brad Stewart (Bass) | Paul Crosby (Drums)

Release Date:

10th June, 2016