Feeling distant from a drifting partner, a man wants to see the romantic bond improve (“All Because of You”). On “Storm,” lead singer Josey Scott sets out to rise above his heartbreak and “find the reason I’m alive.” The prayer “Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive us for we don’t know what we do” opens “Famous Monsters,” however …
That cryptic track also repeats murderous, possibly suicidal imagery (“You tie their noose around your neck and they throw you over”). Raw language and a lust for revenge undermine any patriotism on the 9/11-inspired “Pride.” More f-words appear amid the vain boasting of “Superstar II.” Rock-star arrogance also infects “Raise Up.” “Always” is sung from the perspective of a woman about to shoot a man who scorned her. A vein of hopelessness runs through “Weight of the World” and the spiritually conflicted “Separated Self” (“If there’s a God at heaven’s door/Do you think He wants me anymore?/It’s all left up to circumstances … My demons surround me”). Likewise, despite scattershot prayers, “Holdin’ On” sees death as a means of escape (“Pain and misery my only friend/I raise a toast and I salute the end/Six feet in the ground is where the living begins”).
With frothing guitars and drooling drums, the guys in Saliva spit out obscenities, spiritual confusion and a smug addiction to celebrity excess. A few good spots, but the parental advisory label is well-deserved.
