Saliva

Although originating from Memphis toward the close of the 1990s, Saliva reached mainstream audiences only in 2001. Their sophomore release Every Six Seconds, which blended angsty hard rock with hip-hop elements, earned double-platinum certification. The band returned to the upper ranks of Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart in 2007 when Blood Stained Love Story ascended to the summit. Subsequent albums continued to merge heavy rock, post-grunge, and rap-metal textures, among them In It to Win It in 2013 and Love, Lies & Therapy in 2016.

A pair of tracks from Every Six Seconds had already surfaced on the group's self-released debut album, issued in 1997 through their own imprint. Vocalist Josey Scott, guitarists Chris Dabaldo and Wayne Swinny, bassist Dave Novotny, and drummer Paul Crosby, all seasoned figures in the Memphis scene, propelled that early effort to local success. Island Records subsequently signed the band, leading to a contribution on the Dracula 2000 soundtrack ahead of their major-label debut in 2001. Scott drew further notice with “Hero,” his duet alongside Nickelback vocalist Chad Kroeger that featured on the Spider-Man soundtrack and achieved international chart success in 2002.

Later that same year Saliva completed Back Into Your System, an album that retained the group’s rap-metal foundation while adding flourishes of post-grunge, hard rock, and punk. For 2004’s Survival of the Sickest they streamlined their approach to emphasize hard rock almost exclusively, sending the single “Rest in Pieces” onto the Adult Top 40 charts. Dabaldo departed in 2005 and was succeeded by Jonathan Montoya, formerly of Full Devil Jacket, who appeared on his first recording with the band on 2007’s Blood Stained Love Story. After contributing to 2008’s Cinco Diablo, Montoya exited, leaving Saliva to continue as a four-piece.

Following a greatest-hits package in 2010, the band delivered its seventh album, Under Your Skin, in 2011. Scott left after fifteen years to launch a solo career, and Bobby Amaru was introduced as his replacement in early 2012. Later that year the group signed with RumBum Records and issued In It to Win It in late 2013. A subsequent reissue titled Rise Up preserved most of those tracks and concluded the band’s association with the label. Novotny, another founding member, stepped away in 2015; Brad Stewart, previously of Shinedown and Fuel and an earlier collaborator with Amaru, took his place. The refreshed lineup of Stewart, Swinny, Crosby, and Amaru recorded the ninth album, Love, Lies & Therapy, released by Universal in June 2016. The record adopted a harder-edged rock approach, showcased on singles “Rx” and “Tragic Kind of Love.” A live set, 10 Lives, appeared in 2017. In 2023 Saliva issued the single “High on Me” to herald an American tour. Three shows in, after a performance in Nashville, Tennessee, Wayne Swinny suffered a brain hemorrhage and died on March 22, 2023, at age 59.