Review by Kimmarie Erickson for MPM
Saliva released their twelfth studio album, Breaking Through, on August 14, 2026, through Judge & Jury Records. Saliva is one of those bands that appeal to every generation, whether you are an X, Y, or Z. I know 20-year-olds who have Saliva songs on their playlists, and so do 70-year-olds. Their music has always been relatable. This new album, according to frontman Bobby Amaru, focuses lyrically on addiction, mental health, grief, healing, and his personal journey to sobriety. This is the band’s first major release following the tragic death of founding guitarist Wayne Swinny in 2023. The 13-track record features collaborations with rock and roll legends like Johnny Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch, and Austin John Winkler, formerly of Hinder. This album mixes core Saliva sound with modern nuances that will surely appeal to their broad fan base.
Track one, Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts, is a prime example of the classic 2000’s Saliva sound revisited. This track started, and I immediately felt nostalgia. You can’t blame these guys for sticking with their signature sound. My mother always said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. I jumped to conclusions and just assumed that the first track was setting the scene for the entire album. Boy, was I wrong. Cope (Featuring Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch), the second track, simply put, is melancholy and magical. I didn’t realize how much I missed songs that touched on the struggles of growing up in this broken world of ours. The chorus is melodic, and the outro is beautifully haunting. The next track, Too Broke To Fix, (Featuring Austin John Winkler of the Founder), comes out of the gate with a severely acrid guitar intro, guttural vocals, and an edgy tone. The highly relatable lyrics are what got me: “sometimes I feel. I’m just to broke to fix”, who hasn’t felt like that at some point? The fourth track, Breaking Through, brings back that full-throttle Saliva sound. Singer Bobby Amaru uses way more than his lyrics to convey his very soul’s position in this song.
There are very few vocalists that can make pain palpable just through vocal inflection, and Amaru is one. Skipping to Rivers, track six, just a warning, hold on to your feels; this track is a doozy. I heard this song for the first time and knew it was about founding member Wayne Swinney, who passed away in 2023. Wayne was a force of nature in real life, so calling this song Rivers is extremely fitting. This track is a work of art from it’s arrangement to it’s delivery. Peace of Mind, the next track, is a solid rock ballad, melodic and poignant. Again, the vocals convey much more than the lyrics. Track Eight opens with a fantastic guitar hook, making Fight of My Life a gritty gem mid-album. Sin City Mistress, Track Nine, caught me off guard. I felt meh about it at first, then I really listened to the lyrics.
This song just oozes delicious depravity. It is sexy and naughty; I love a tune that whisks your brain away to places it usually does not visit. The Tenth track, Last Goodbye, resonates with palpable sadness and clarity about goodbyes never being goodbyes forever. I may be wrong, but the lyrics make me feel this track is also about Wayne Swinney. In all honesty, Saliva could write an entire album about Wayne, and I would be voting for it during Grammy season. Wayne left such an impact on everyone that met him and the music he helped create that he deserves all the memorials. Skipping to the final track, Longshot, only because I have to keep this review to a certain word limit.
This track features Johnny Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd and is just pure greatness. I forgot how much I love Johnny and his southern outlaw voice. What a phenomenal song to end this album. Lyrically, it is a on the down low, never back down fight song, one of my favorite kinds. I can honestly say I got goosebumps as the last reverbed guitar note hung in the air, wrapping up the album.
Full disclosure, this album blew me out of the water. I know I skipped a few songs in this review, but every dang track is honestly a must-listen. I would recommend this album simply because of how it made me feel. Yes, it is superbly mixed and mastered; vocalist Bobby Amaru, bassist Brad Stewart, guitarist Josh Kulack, guitarist Sebastian LaBar, and drummer Sammi Jo Bishop created a musically solid record. But it was the nostalgic warm hug to the soul that this album gave me that won me over. So many bands, after so many albums just start to phone in the music and forget to create connective art, Saliva is not one of those bands. Saliva is on tour currently with Drowning Pool, do yourself a favor and catch a show or two. Oh, and this album is Skullgurl Metalchick approved x’s a hundred.
Breaking Through
https://ffm.to/salivabreakingthrough
