punkrawka's Full Review: Blood Stained Love Story [PA] by Saliva
Saliva has had a frustrating tendency to alternate their skill sets between albums, never pulling it all together at once. Their breakthrough Every Six Seconds was gritty and full of attitude, but equally loaded with cliché. Then came Back Into Your System, which gained in authenticity but lost majorly in punch; and Survival of the Sickest regained much of the gritty attitude, and the ridiculous lyrics to match. The band now returns with Blood Stained Love Story, an effort containing a moderate share of fun tracks, but actually encapsulating both of the band's shortcomings as well.
The album kicks off with lead single "Ladies and Gentlemen," which I defy you to truly hate, despite all of its trite "I'm a badass rockstar"-ness. Loaded with a potent loud-soft dynamic and arena-rocky choruses, the track will have you bouncing up and down and yelling like an idiot in no time flat ("BOOM! Do you want it? BOOM! Do you need it? BOOM! Let me hear it, ladies and gentlemen!"). Other tracks stick to this established braggart mode for vocalist Josey Scott, such as "King of the Stereo" and "Black Sheep," neither of which is exceptional, but each leaves its mark on the album by cranking things out loudly and in classic Saliva fashion.
When this album ventures into its softer territory, it's strongly reminiscent of Back Into Your System with its clean production and melodic focus. And a few songs parallel that disc's stronger moments, such as the well-orchestrated buildup of "One More Chance" and the contained, focused hard rock of "Twister" (though the latter's sing-songy choruses can try your patience after a while). But unfortunately, many of the performances in the softer half of the album are of the mailed-in, unnoteworthy variety. "Going Under" is musically handcuffed and lyrically lame ("Why can't I be normal like everyone else?" questions Scott); "Never Gonna Change" is riddled with post-love clichés about being lied to and cheated on. There are other equally skippable tracks, too, adding up to a bit too much filler for comfort.
Side note: Best Buy sold this album as a 2-disc set, with the bonus CD containing extra tracks "Is It You" and "Write Your Name." Neither track is exceptional enough to change the outcome of the disc (though the latter has some decent energy), but for those planning to purchase it, get a bit more bang for your buck with two more tracks on this otherwise slightly short outing.
Blood Stained Love Story falls as equal to Every Six Seconds for the title of Saliva's weakest effort yet. Each of the two discs epitomizes one of Saliva's weaknesses -- brutishly stupid rap-metal versus lame balladry. The band has struck better at each extreme, and with the number of skips necessary to enjoy this disc, it falls just shy of a full recommendation.
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