The Used

Members

• Bert McCracken

Studio Albums

1. 2002 The Used
2. 2004 In Love and Death
3. 2007 Lies for the Liars
4. 2009 Artwork
5. 2012 Vulnerable
6. 2014 Imaginary Enemy
7. 2017 The Canyon
8. 2020 Heartwork
9. 2023 Toxic Positivity
10. 2024 MEDZ

Source: MusicBrainz

Deep Dive

Overview

The Used is an American post-hardcore band from Orem, Utah, formed in 2001. Arriving during the peak of the Warped Tour era and the commercial ascent of screamo and emo, the band channeled visceral urgency, melodic hooks, and emotional turbulence into a sound that became synonymous with mid-2000s alternative rock radio and festival circuits. They represent a specific moment when post-hardcore borrowed generously from punk’s energy and emo’s introspection, packaging it for mainstream consumption without sacrificing instrumental intensity or vocal catharsis.

Formation Story

The Used coalesced in Orem, a city in Utah County, in 2001. The founding lineup centered on vocalist Bert McCracken, whose howling delivery and volatile stage presence would become the band’s most recognizable trait. From the outset, the group drew from the harder edges of the post-hardcore and screamo traditions that had been building throughout the 1990s in bands like Refused and Glassjaw, but filtered through a pop-punk accessibility that made their abrasiveness radio-friendly. The band’s early identity was shaped by the proximity to Salt Lake City’s underground rock scene and the broader American punk and alternative ecosystem that Warped Tour had recently begun to amplify.

Breakthrough Moment

The Used released their self-titled debut album in 2002, a compact, unpolished statement that announced their arrival with immediate force. The record’s blend of screamed and sung vocals, angular guitar work, and melodic sensibility caught the attention of both college radio and the expanding alternative rock audience. Within two years, the band had secured a position on the Warped Tour circuit and built a devoted fanbase, setting the stage for their second album, In Love and Death, released in 2004. That record solidified their commercial foothold, establishing them as one of the defining bands of the mid-2000s post-hardcore movement alongside contemporaries pushing similar sonic territory.

Peak Era

The period from 2004 through 2009 marked The Used’s most commercially prominent years. Albums including Lies for the Liars (2007) and Artwork (2009) demonstrated the band’s ability to evolve their sound while maintaining the core intensity that defined them. During these years, they were regular fixtures on festival lineups and MTV-adjacent media, benefiting from the peak popularity of screamo and emo in mainstream rock consumption. Their output showed a band comfortable experimenting with production aesthetics and songwriting approaches while staying grounded in howling vocal delivery and rhythmically aggressive instrumental arrangements. The late 2000s represented the apex of their cultural relevance in terms of radio play and television exposure.

Musical Style

The Used’s sound is built on a collision between screamo’s uncontrolled vocal intensity and post-hardcore’s architectural ambition. Bert McCracken’s voice operates across an extreme range—from melodic singing to extended, anguished screams—often within the same song, creating a vocal landscape of emotional turbulence. Beneath that, the guitar and rhythm section work in service of both melody and percussion-driven drive, with songs typically anchored by hooky choruses that counter-balance the verses’ dissonance. Lyrically, the band trades in themes of love, loss, identity, and internal conflict, delivered with the frank melodrama characteristic of emo but roughed up by the abrasive production and chaotic arrangements inherited from post-hardcore forebears. The instrumentation favors clean electric guitars with heavy use of effects, tight drum patterns that emphasize both technicality and propulsive energy, and bass lines that alternate between locking into the kick drum and moving independently to add harmonic weight.

Major Albums

The Used (2002)

The band’s self-titled debut established their core identity: raw, urgent post-hardcore filtered through melodic sensibility, with McCracken’s vocals operating as an instrument of controlled chaos against the tightly wound instrumental backing.

In Love and Death (2004)

Their second album consolidated their sound and expanded their audience, proving the debut was not a one-off and confirming their place in the mid-2000s alternative rock landscape.

Lies for the Liars (2007)

Released at the height of their commercial visibility, this record showed the band refining their approach while maintaining the screamed-vocal intensity and angular melodicism that defined them.

Artwork (2009)

By their fourth album, The Used had become a fully formed touring and recording entity, with Artwork demonstrating technical maturity and songwriting depth without diluting the raw energy of their earlier work.

Signature Songs

• “Taste of Ink” — The closest thing to a flagship single, showcasing McCracken’s full vocal range from sung verses to piercing screams.
• “Blue and Yellow” — A melodically driven track that balanced accessibility with post-hardcore intensity, becoming a staple of mid-2000s alternative radio.
• “All That I’ve Got” — Demonstrates the band’s ability to construct hook-laden arrangements without sacrificing instrumental aggression.
• “The Fake” — Exemplifies their screamo roots while maintaining enough structural clarity to reach beyond the underground.

Influence on Rock

The Used stood at the intersection of several post-2000 rock movements: screamo’s vocal extremity, post-hardcore’s instrumental sophistication, and emo’s emotional earnestness. Their success on Warped Tour and in MTV rotation during the mid-2000s helped mainstream the screamo aesthetic, proving that audiences would accept—even embrace—voices that operated in registers most rock radio traditionally rejected. They influenced a generation of post-hardcore and metalcore bands that emerged in the 2010s, many of whom adopted the contrast between clean vocals and harsh screams that The Used had demonstrated could coexist commercially. Their work helped solidify the template for how post-hardcore could be simultaneously underground-derived and mainstream-palatable, a balance that subsequent bands have attempted to replicate.

Legacy

The Used remained active into the 2020s, releasing Vulnerable (2012), Imaginary Enemy (2014), The Canyon (2017), Heartwork (2020), Toxic Positivity (2023), and MEDZ (2024), demonstrating sustained creative output and a persistent touring presence. The band’s longevity speaks to both their initial impact and the enduring audience for post-hardcore and emo music, particularly among audiences who came of age during the Warped Tour era. Their catalog continues to stream consistently, and their influence persists in contemporary rock music through bands that cite them as foundational to their approach. The Used represent a specific moment in American rock history when the underground and mainstream collided productively, and screamed vocals became a legitimate commercial option rather than a subcultural marker.

Fun Facts

• The band formed in Orem, Utah, a location far removed from traditional rock epicenters like Los Angeles or New York, yet produced a group that would achieve international recognition.
• Bert McCracken’s vocal style—particularly the sustained screams that became his trademark—required a distinctive physical approach to singing that set him apart from most contemporary vocalists on mainstream rock radio.
• The Used signed to Hopeless Records before moving to Reprise Records, a trajectory that reflected their transition from independent label credibility to major-label distribution.