Saliva

To give you an idea of Saliva's pulse-spiking skills, the grinding guitars and piston-firing rhythm section of "Click Click Boom" have been used in everything from a pay-per-view wrestling special — No Mercy — to pavement-peeling video games — Project Gotham Racing, BMX XXX — and films — The Fast and the Furious, Talladega Nights. Other Saliva singles that have doubled as a loud-and-proud soundtrack to all things extreme include the call-and-response chaos of "Ladies and Gentlemen," the triumphant, note-nailing chorus of "Your Disease," and the Southern-fried howling that drives "Survival of the Sickest."

But don't get the wrong impression — as our Next Steps are about to show, Saliva's music isn't always the equivalent of speeding through a brick wall.

So, it's a proven fact that Saliva can write adrenaline-addled anthems in their sleep, whether it's of the hard rock ("Superstar 2," "Pride") or rap-metal (the Korn leanings of "Crazy," the churning, slow-mo tempos of "Mosh Pit") variety. Look past Josey Scott's tattoo sleeves and terrifying sneer, however, and you'll find that the singer can actually carry a tune, whether it's as stripped-down as an acoustic version of "Rest in Pieces" or as dynamic and power ballad-esque as "Weight of the World," "Here With You," and a sun-baked, slightly psychedelic "Hollywood."

Coming straight outta Memphis in the late '90s, Saliva had major labels nipping at their heels the second they made it to the final round of 1997's GRAMMY® Showcase competition. While the band's big-league debut, Every Six Seconds, went platinum on the strength of instant nü-metal smashes like "Click Click Boom," "Your Disease," and "After Me," Saliva started showing their hard rock roots on Back Into Your System. The first in a trio of gold-certified full-lengths, it features a Mötley Crüe collaboration (the Nikki Sixx-penned harmonies and hooks of "Rest in Pieces") and the kind of cuts that could bring an entire arena of tough guys to tears ("Weight of the World," "Always"). For a second, at least — songs like "Raise Up," "F**k All Y'all," and "Black Sheep" are too busy bludgeoning us with power chords and electronic effects to care about anybody's feelings.