Saliva – Every Six Seconds (2001)

Following along with the Nu Metal scene, Saliva are another band following in the scene of Korn and Limp Bizkit, amongst many others who made a good impression with their music, particularly amongst the youth of the time. This is their second album, and is their first signed to a major label. Let’s hear this album and hope that it makes an impression that is good and consistent. It was certified platinum in 2008.

We launch into Superstar which has some Nine Inch Nails style wind howls, before going straight into a decent Nu Metal groove. To be fair, the production and the vocals could have been better mixed and sounding. Still, this is musically okay and a very typical sounding Nu Metal band that does bear some promise. The screaming in the chorus here is insane, and there are many drug references here. A loud and crushing guitar solo is here, but this mix does sound very ordinary. Perhaps a self conscious request from the audience to make them popular, this could have been bettered. Still, it’s okay, just not extraordinary. Nonetheless, a good starting point for the album. The scream at the end is very good, though.

Following is Musta Been Wrong has some interesting guitar riffs, and launches into a better piece riff wise that is actually very good in that sense. Some other musical elements, such as a funky sort of groove are here. Intensely screamed vocals in the chorus make this interesting. A really interesting listen nonetheless, but the production on this record, once again, could have been bettered. The mix sounds second grade, which is highly disappointing. A better and more varied mix would have helped this album a lot. The guitar solo is awful, sadly. This is okay, but not great. Anyway, it’s listenable if you dig Nu Metal and similar genres of Metal music.

Click Click Boom was the big hit from this album, and is the group’s most well known song. Sounding rather catchy, the mix once again sounds awful. This is a very explicit song, with sexual references and other musical references here. It’s more musically varied than the previous songs, and has some interesting sound effects throughout. It’s about the power of music and sounds very promising on that basis. Still, it sounds like a bit of a musical disappointment, even for a fairly upfront and catchy song. Some weird sound effects are in the second half, leading up to a suspenseful finale. The screaming at the end is very good, but even for a hit song, this feels like somewhat a failure. A good effort that could have been bettered.

Your Disease begins with some interesting multitracked guitars, before launching into quite a good piece. It is more of the same, but sounds a little better than what came before it, surprisingly enough. Some interesting sounds in the chorus are here, and some more soulful singing is here. The vocals here are really well delivered, despite the limitations of the mix, yet again. Perhaps the band’s management should have rethought the approach to this album, it may have improved the music a bit. Still, it’s okay, but could have been improved quite a lot. Good song, but the album really wears out its welcome by this point. The chanted vocals at the end are rather repetitive, finishing with sustained chords in the outro.

Next is After Me which begins with some palm muted guitar parts, before launching into the musical equivalent of chaos. This is a more emotional piece to hear, and one can hear the vocalist put in a load of effort to impress. Once again, the flat and plastic mix doesn’t suit the band, who really should have got someone to oversee that process. Anyway, it’s a piece about paranoia and other distressed feelings that one has in life. Interesting guitar solo here, but it sounds rather disappointing. Anyway, a good try but unfortunately, fails. The outro is pretty repetitive, too. The final scream at the end is awesome, though.

Following is Greater Than/Less Than which begins with delayed guitar parts, a moody arpeggio and some dark textures. A more singing style vocal is here, and the singer sounds like a guy who is having a hard time in life. It’s unfortunately more of the same on the earlier tracks of this album, and sounds quite depressing. In any case, this album does sound like a missed opportunity and, even worse, the band sounds like they are doing their best here with what they have. It’s okay, just lacks flavour and differentiation that makes other records great. This one is probably worth skipping, nice try though. The outro has some cool guitar parts on it, though, finishing with more delayed guitar parts.

Lackluster is next, with a good intro riff, quickly launching into a song that sounds like a Nu Metal version of the Mission Impossible movie theme soundtrack. This has some screamed vocals in between some good singing. Make no mistake, the vocalist here is quite good a singer. Sadly, the nature of the song and the overly depressing feeling of this record does not make for easy listening. Anyway, it’s okay but for non-Nu Metal fans, this falls flat. There are some whispered singing about sexual escapades, before a screaming guitar solo enters, which sounds out of place. Also, this piece does sound too long. A fairly forgettable listen.

Faultine begins with some tremolo sound effected guitars, before launching into a piece that is a bit of an improvement musically. It has some pleading vocals to hear, before going into more Nu Metal mayhem. Some interesting guitar riffs are here, and this piece actually seems okay. It’s unclear what this song is about, but it doesn’t sound right, due to the mix, yet again. The album by this point has definitely worn out its welcome. The lyrics here are about loneliness and dealing with social isolation, concluding with sustained guitars. It’s nothing too special on this track.

Next along is Beg which begins with droptuned guitars and crashing drums, with some wah-wah guitar parts here as well. Screaming vocals in the background (why in the background?) are here, before the band gets into Nu Metal mode in the chorus. It’s a rather awful piece this one, and sadly sounds like a poor attempt at sexually based music here. Sadly, this piece is really throwaway, except for the manic and bloodcurdling screaming in the second half. It is junk otherwise.

Following is Hollywood which begins with some clear guitar parts, some punchy drumbeats and a really completely different sounding song to the rest of the album. This song is the group’s attempt at a ballad, and is about going to Hollywood on a whim. This adds a different feel to the album, and breathes a little life into the album, which is otherwise mediocre. Some interesting lead guitars are here, and this is somewhat rewarding as a listen. A bit corny, but good all the same and a breath of fresh air on the album.

Doperide is next, which goes back into the Nu Metal sludginess of the main part of the album. This is obviously about drug and alcohol use, hence the name of the song. Unfortunately, this is more of the same of most of the album, which is very disappointing. There is a semi-Rap breakdown which is okay, sounding a little like Rage Against The Machine, but this is a very meh sort of song and more of the same. Ordinary and forgettable. The screamed vocals at the end are pretty cool, however.

My Goodbyes is the last piece here. It begins with some electronic sounds, clean guitar arpeggios and some acoustic thrown into it as well. This is another instantly forgettable song, with some really weird instrumentation. The song is about missing someone who has passed on, but the music does not match the sentiment on this song. In any case, this is very much not worth hearing and is another disappointment. To be fair, this album will impress some hardcore Nu Metal fans, but others will definitely not be impressed upon hearing this song. A very depressing statement as well, and this wears out its welcome very quickly. The guitar solos do not match the chords here, and this is really a poor song. This is not very impressive at all. Hit the stop button before hearing this at least. It ends with an outro similar to the intro, with electronic sounds going on.

This is a deeply disappointing album and a listening experience that many should not hear and avoid immediately. Nu Metal as a genre has some high points. However, this is clearly not one of them. This sounds like a band pressing the self-destruct button on the early part of their career. Therefore, this is not to be heard by any non-Nu Metal fans.

Ordinary.

5/10