Customer Reviews

Blood Stained Love Story

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Saliva's got some great songs under it's belt, with Every Six Seconds being their strongest and best written album.

Blood Stained Love Story features 7 out of 10 tracks that are "soft" rock ballads for the most part compared to their previous releases, abandoning the intensity of their metal/hard rock style of the past, where soft songs were still in the minority.

To hear the heavier side of Saliva, play tracks 1, 4 and 8, cause that's the heaviest it gets here. Track 1, Ladies and Gentlemen, is good, along with the "Nickleback-ish" track 8, Black Sheep, which is the heaviest song, but J. Scott's voice is seriously quiet in the mix, making it hard to hear what he's saying for that song alone. The best track in my opinion, is Track 4, King of the Stereo. The lyrics are way over the top, "The whole world is waiting for the...", but the driving guitar riffs and well timed verses are pretty cool.

Now onto the rest of the album, the only two songs that appealed to me in terms of slow rock would be Tracks 2 and 3, Broken Sunday being very radio friendly. So what about the other five slow rock songs? Not very good if you're a Saliva fan for the heavier stuff. The songs are very predictable, with average chorus/verse/chorus in the soft rock style. They get a little energy here and there, but basically, not my style at all.

So 5 out of 10 good songs is decent, and was the reason I gave the album a 3/5 instead of the 1/5 reaction I initially had, till I played it again and the shock/disappointment was wearing off.

I was then inspired to play the other Saliva albums to find the "softer" songs I never listened to, and they're MUCH better than the remaining five 'soft' songs here.

Saliva really needed to keep the edge, but decided to go softer for whatever reason, disappointing this longtime fan. Unless Saliva changes their tune (make it heavier) on the next album, I'm not sure I will be giving Saliva "One More Chance" if it's released. Soft rock is not my style, and seven out of 10 ballads proves this is a rock ballad album.

And that song "Twister!" would fit perfectly on the Shrek 3 soundtrack, next to Smash Mouth, just to give you an idea.

Track Listings -Personal Reaction to each song:
1. Ladies and Gentlemen- 4/5 Cool song, decent but 'unmeaningful' lyrics. This is Saliva's style.
2. Broken Sunday- 4/5 Well written, catchy softer song. Radio friendly style.
3. Never Gonna Change- 3/5 Good, for Saliva's soft side. Great singing at the end. Still, this isn't why I listen to Saliva.
4. King of the Stereo- 5/5 Despite the over-confident lyrics, cool aggressive song. If you can accept the "woot, woot" chorus, you may like it.
5. One More Chance- 2/5 Verses sound like POD, but the chorus isn't the best.
6. Going Under- 1/5 If you're feeling down, maybe this will mean more.
7. Twister- 1/5 Happy go lucky sounding. This is Saliva? Yikes.
8. Black Sheep- 4/5 First reaction was Nickleback, but it's still a cool song.
9. Starting Over- 3/5 Not my style, but not bad.
10. Here with You- I won't judge this, since it seems like Josey Scott's 'love song' to his wife. Written for the ladies no doubt. Very slow.

Recommended? Not really. Still, give tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8 a chance, they're well done and in the Saliva style. Best Buy has a 12 track exclusive album I haven't heard. If anyone's heard the other two tracks, write a review.

As a proud owner of all Saliva's past work, I was very excited to purchase the newest release yesterday. As the album began, I was pleased with the opening track and eagerly anticipated more, gritty Southern rock. However, much to my dismay, instead I received dose after painful dose of soft, poppy, hook ladden top 40/American Idol-esque songs. With the exception of one track near the end, the rest of the CD belongs in the "easy listening" section, not rock/metal. Although I must admit, some of the chorus lines are a bit catchy, I was hoping for another CD to blast at the gym, not fall asleep to. This disc now belongs to my girlfriend, stocked away next to her Chris Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson and Kelly Pickler CD's... Very disappointed.

Somewhere between Nickelback and Linkin Park, you'll find the band Saliva and their fifth studio effort Blood Stained Love Story. Save for the somewhat overdone Ladies and Gentlemen, BSLS is cut for cut a solid record. Old-school fans of Saliva may be put off by the lack of heaviness, but those who looked away after 2003's Survival Of The Sickest are invited back instantly via accessible, matured song writing. At under 40 minutes in length, BSLS has no room for filler, and thankfully, there isn't any (although as mentioned earlier, Ladies and Gentlemen may take some time to grow on you). Fans of Alternative Metal, Nu-Metal and Medium Heavy Rock will more than likely enjoy Blood Stained Love Story.

I was really anticipating this c/d. I have the rest of Saliva's c/d's and this one was pretty dissappointing. First of all, there are only 10 songs. (12 if you get the Best Buy release, but the 2 extra songs are so bad I wish they hadn't bothered) Saliva made themselves big by writing catchy, high-adrenaline, fun songs. This c/d lacks that in all but 3 tracks. I'm not opposed to slower songs (Back into Your System is my favorite Saliva c/d and its slower than their other releases) but if I wanted a c/d with nothing but slow stuff, I'd get a crappy Dashboard c/d or something.
Overall, the it isn't a horrible c/d, its just not what someone would expect from Saliva. The technial work on the guitar has improved and there a several awesome solos on the c/d. Josey does well vocally on most of the songs. The best song is Black Sheep. Other good ones are Ladies and Gentleman, Broken Sunday, and One More Chance. I'd still recommend it for Saliva fans, just be warned that its no Every Six Seconds.

Bought the cd today and feel like i wasted money not as good as the other cd's, weak is a good word for the cd.

I will admit I've been a Saliva fan since "Every Six Seconds" first came out, But I've also wondered why they can't seem to make another record as good as that one. As good as 2002's "Back Into Your System" was it never came close, in fact it included the first of their songs that I got very tired of hearing (Always) and the second (Rest In Pieces)...Even though they are both great songs. Fast forward to 2004 and we got "Survival Of The Sickest" an album that was a step forward, but still not great. It had kind of a cool southern rock feel to it at times. Which isn't a bad thing, but it still didn't feel like a genuine Saliva record to me.

So, When I first heard that "Blood Stained Love Story" was coming out in January, I got really excited. I figured maybe this was what I had been waiting for, a return to form. However, when I heard the album I was once again disapointed. It starts out okay....with the first single "Ladies And Gentleman" and "Broken Sunday"....Then it takes a wierd turn downward with "Never Gonna Change" which sounds like it could have easily been done by Clay Aiken or any of the other American Idol contestants. It's a slow song that sounds like a drum machine behind it, instead of Paul Crosby. But, I made myself listen further and It improves slightly with "King Of The Stereo" perhaps the only song that sounds like a saliva song on the whole disc. "One More Chance" and "Going Under" are both pretty descent songs, but when I listened to "Twister" I remember thinking, What the hell happened? It has to be the worst track on here, it's a very experimental song that I have yet to explain. It is however the records closer that is the most impressive, "Here With You" could very well be the nicest, most heart-felt thing this band has written. In one part he sings "I will come to you in a dream my friend, To love you when I'm gone". Overall this album is okay....But not great. This band could have done a whole lot better and I'm still hoping that the next album will be. On average, I wouldn't recommend this whole album to anyone, just the last song. If you want to hear Saliva at their best...I recommend the debut album, with that one you can't go wrong.

Stand Out Tracks:
"Here With You"
"King Of The Stereo"
"Broken Sunday"
"Ladies And Gentleman"

I've been a Saliva fan ever since the first time I heard "Your Disease" back in the day. It just took me a while to get past the disgusting name and admit it. I've seen them live and as you could imagine, they were incredible. This new album is ok, but I think they could do so much better. Most of the songs are good, but nothing here is as catchy as the aforementioned "Your Disease", or "Always", "Rest in Pieces", etc.
God bless you guys!!

Every Six Seconds and Back Into Your system are the CDs to buy. Their third Cd was just 'noise' to me, I was so disappointed. As others have said this Cd is mostly ballads, but I would rate it better than their third CD. What happened? Every Six Seconds and Back Into Your System were awesome! If you want some kick tale Saliva buy Every Six Seconds and Back Into Your System you will not be disappointed. Save your money on number three, it's just noise (and I like good kick butt rock and roll!). This one, is better than the third and if you want something a little softer go for it but it is not the Saliva of past glory.

With this album, Saliva has again placed several bawls out rock songs amongst a blend of ballads that has defined Saliva since their breakthrouhg album Every Six Seconds. The lead off track, and first single Ladies and Gentleman sets the stage and pushes you right through four of the heavier tracks on this album, setting the stage for the last 6 tracks which include several ballads that are again the softer side of Saliva. There are several in this last 6 that will be singles if this alubm is promoted correctly. I forsee Going Under, Starting Over, or Here with you being a good cross over/mix radio station single that many of us will know the words to soon, with possibly King of the Stereo or Black Sheep Being the other strait up Rock Radio Releases. There is a one or two tracks, namely twister, that are very pop like (bowling for soupish), a diffent direction for Saliva. This is an album a new person to Saliva can pick up, appreciate, and see the selection that saliva can offer, or for a seasoned fan, a great addition and must have to the collection. Pick this up now.

Also, of note, there are several promotions going on at larger chain stores that include bonus tracks (like "is it you" and "Write Your Name") and CD's or posters. This is a hot week to get this for the best value!!

This is Saliva's fourth major label album, and definitely much better then their last album, Survival of the Sickest (which seemed rushed and shallow). This album is more in vein w/ their first two albums, both of which went gold. It has traces of nu-metal and monster ballad in it - but thats works.

My only problem is track 7 "Twister". The band should be named All-Saliva Rejects, b/c you can tell this song was written to appeal to the All American Rejects/emo punk crowd. I think they kinda alienated their fan base on this track. Very fake, very "with the times". Josey Scott sounds, least to say, ridiculous on this track - and I think he knows it...

Anywho - this is a solid album and its a great pickup, especially since many other similar artists have gone by the wayside. Saliva continues to make driving hard rock thats radio friendly. Check out tracks #1,2,5, and 10. 3.5-4 Stars!