Back Into Your System
Saliva frontman Josey Scott unintentionally elevated his band above countless nü metal clones by teaming up withNickelback's Chad Kroeger to write and record the song "Hero" for theSpider-Mansoundtrack. The tang of mainstream success was exactly what the Memphis, Tennessee, group needed to break away from the pack onBack into Your System. This follow-up to its major-label debut,Every Six Seconds, ups the heavy atmospherics and dyspepsia. "Always" takes on the touchy subject of domestic violence with unblinking force as Scott rips into the verses "I've seen the blood all over your hands / Does it make you feel more like a man?," while "Raise Up" mixes testosterone-heavy rapping with raging guitars in the most menacing way possible, andMötley Crüebassist Nikki Sixx contributes the authentically angsty ballad "Rest in Pieces." It's the sound of a band discovering its potential.--Aidin Vaziri