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 | The UsedIn Love And Death2004 Maverick 
 Review by: Phil See others by this writer Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on December 24th 2004
The Used continue with the predictable "screamo" chlichés on their latest offering. While their self-titled debut showed a sense of urgency and unpredictability that was missing from the genre, this release captures everything safe about this (somewhat) new style of rock music (I can't think of a name to call it).
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I remember when this album came out, there was an article in the paper about these guys and it really made them sound good. So off i went to pick up what turned out to be one of the most regretable purchases i had ever made. I dont understand why The Used, along with the thousands of other bands they sound exactly the same as, are so popular. A year or so had passed and i decided to give this album another chance, to see if maybe i was just having a bad day. I almost made it through the whole album this time, but couldnt bring myself to do it. It was worse than the first time! I dont care how 'cool' their live show is, their songs are worse than nothing. Im usualy pretty open minded when it comes to music but this album is pure stink. If people want to get upset about anything ive said thats fine, its just my opinion, you're entitled to yours too. i luv this band on i have the book bag of the used!!! i give this album and all the other albums perfect scores...i dont care what other ppl think. these guys got started in the middle of nowhere busted there asses and made it big...on top of that they still try harder than 90% of bands, they give amazing live performances, and they battle through all the problems that come up and still sign every autograph that they can. if you can beat that then ill admit my defeat....i mean come on ppl these guys are getting drama from mcr, they just let go of there original drummer b4 lies for liars was going down and there were three different drummers on the album, so give them a break,let them settle in with dan and we will see where it goes im in fucking love. insperation omg i love this band The Used is my favorite band, ever. To all of you people who hate the band, I honestly dont understand why, but to compare The Used to Hawthorne Heights is comparing two totally different things. yes i have this cd and i love it !! it is kick a#$ This CD is better than the first one but on the other hand the first one has more meaning. I love them and their dedication to music. if you noticed ...this album has alot of lovey-dovey kind of songs on it, which is good and i love it alot. but one thing for all those of you who think this album is EMO.....his girlfriend died and she was pregnant...i would be emo too. so fuck all of you HATERS who think that EMO is STUPID....your a fucking poser and god will punish you for being judgemental...or satan will laugh his ass off at you, but i dont know what you believe in....so in other words FUCK YOU!!!! and i love the used until the day i die very good cd. my punk friend thinks that they are going to hell for singing bad about god in this cd. but i didn't here much of that. i love the cd listen to it all the time. They are starting to turn emo or something what happened to all the good hardcore shit?????? You guys are GREAT but it feels like ur selling out! They are starting to turn emo or something what happened to all the good hardcore shit?????? You guys are GREAT but it feels like ur selling out! yes I 2nd that and also... the used covering Queen... FUCK YOU USED! this band has NO business on PUNKnews! Dirty Fags playing Dirty Fag music. do i even have to sat anythin THIS ALBUN ROX! Great album The song 'I'm melting' (in your eyes)' rocks. They did a very good job in this album, but the video for 'take it away' wasent really that great in my opinion cause they basicly only had bert in it, but needless to say this album is great. where do they find these piss poor reviewers? these degenerates need to be digging ditches or something. they've got no place in the music business. the used is the best thing that's ever happened to me. anyone who doesn't like them obviously has no future. All That I Got is an awesome song, dorkwad! I love the cd, but it seems weird to me that a lot of you gave low scores, then said "this is (insert profanity here) awesome!" you're just contradicting yourself. Try getting some sort of education on the subject before joining a discussion on it. I like the person who had enough sense to read a biography on the used to get a better point of view. The rest of you cussing lamos need to go to school and get a job. Rock on to The Used! "All that i got" is the worst song ever, from the worlds crappiest band. its softer than the first album. Anyone that dislikes this CD has not listened to it enough. The Used mixes up their songs so perfectly. I love all of them. I love Take It Away, but also It's Hard to Say. Let it Bleed rocks, and so does Im A Fake. this cd is so flippin boring. I was a little dissappointed because the greatness of the first album wasn't apparent in the second album. Too sappy and slow, but it was still OK. i have actually got this album now and it fckn rocks! carry on screamin and harmonising bert. WE LOVE YOU! i fuckin love the used!!!! all u fuckin dickwads that say they're bad could go suck cock...u have no taste in music and ur probably ugly as shit 2. as for bert and jeph.....they are the hottest guys ive ever seen. i fuckin love the used!!!! all u fuckin dickwads that say they're bad could go suck cock...u have no taste in music and ur probably ugly as shit 2. as for bert and jeph.....they are the hottest guys ive ever seen. First cd was way better, but Bert's vocals are awesome, but iunno they're still missing something. FASTER LOUDER DAMMIT! damn well, where do i begin? the first track on this album lies basically because it makes you think the rest of the cd is going to be just as good...but sadly it isnt. its still a decent effort, just nothing amazing or all that great...and the lyrics are absolutely laughable...if ur really interested, just go download or burn it...save your money. Ya'll shud all go to the TASTE OF CHAOS TOUR!!! Well all you little pansy's that are saying "oh screamo is for faggots' and shit like that, need to shut their fucking mouths. If you are trully a hardcore rock lover you listen to anything. So you emo- screamo haters can cram the used cds, the undeoath cds, the senses fail cds, all these fucking awesome bands up your hardcore ass! Dude your a jack ass, this album is excellent. With songs like "lucany fringe" in there i think that fit in with the interesting tracks along with the radio-friendly tracks that would both guarantee some airplay along with some artistic credibility. Plus the song "let it bleed" has total ground breking ways of how music is produces, for example the crazy laughter then the intense screaming after wards. I think that fit in with the interesting tracks along with the radio-friendly tracks that would both guarantee some airplay along with some artistic credibility. If you can respect the work and how detailed each beat and rhythmy is then you should be shot, for shame The Used sold out. mabey even from the begining. however, that does not mean that there isn't hope for them as vocally and lyrically (although cliche) bert is excellent. I..like the used. not love them.. they're too soft. and I could care less what everyone else thinks.. and I'm not going to sit here and argue over something stupid like that. everyone has their own taste in music and stuff.. so let them just say what they want about it. so what if they don't support them? theres still a lot of people who do.. you've probably bashed other bands before so get over it. Stop hatin u broke bitch lol. U just mad berts gettin paid. U anti emo haters make me laugh. U got so much time on ur hands to post how much u hate emo, why dont u try tellin everyone what u actually do like. U fuckin lame bitch. i love the used!!!......k seriously listen to the fucking lyrics and mabey you will understand..if you read some of this shit about the band you will gain some respect for them like me..i read a biography on the band and im like "holy shit man thats nuts" like some of the shit they went through im fucking glad they made it and now its all paying off!!! i have alot of respect for them...i literally love bert!!!....i have both of their cds and when i first bought this one i was like "what??" but i listened to it again and im like "oo my god i get it thats fucking crazy" listen to the lyrics...especially the dick who said he'd take fucking simple plan over the used!come on!!..... Dude all you bitches raggin' on the Used go eat a dick until you can come up with an album this good that people actually buy. "Dallas you guys are like one big blowjob and it feels great. I don't know who's coming on next and frankly I don't care BECASUE WE'RE THE FUCKING USED!" - Bert in Dallas. That guy knows how to perform. So yeah in closing. "I'd even take simple plan over this crap" Dude, your fucking gay. and screw all those dicks saying they suck! you judge ur own fucking songs! Not someone elses! And i saw them in concert and it was one of the best! Bert YOUR FUCKING HOTT! Well i think it's a fuckin awesome cd, and for all u pricks out there fuck you! They try juast as hard as any one else and became successful, most people cant even write songs that sound that good! So get the dick out of ur mouth and get with the world today! THE USED ROCK! as for the snare drum issue: from the perspective of an experienced drummer and drum-recorder, i can tell tell you that snare drum is not a sample. there is no way they could get the accentuation displayed in the snare drum fills on the album with a sample. feldman has some stupid way of recording the snare drum on every album he produces and it sucks ass. who wants to hear the exact same poppy snare drum sound on at least 5 different albums i've heard that he has produced. Score is for this album. I am very appreciative. Ok assholes, listen up. Since I am cool, this is true: well, i did get a plane ticket, some awesome meals, and got to hang out with great people. i didn't ask for anything, but they were nice enough to pay me a union session fee regardless. I like the used, and had a great time. john feldman makes amazing coffee, and the experience to get into the studio and work out my vocals again was something i needed, and appreciate. he was an intimidating, yet supportive producer. I have only worked with ed rose before in the past, so it was interesting to get out of my comfort zone. i regret nothing. Point #1: Good Charlotts sucks ass. They have always sucked ass, only now they're MTV whores and their music is worse than it was before. I know you people are saying that their first album is good, but its miserable, so swallow your pride and admit that they're the latest band to exploit the style of music that we all love. GC is, was, and will always be shit. get over it and move on with your lives. yea dude, i saw GC on that MxPx tour too, the NFG/MxPx one was about 6 months earlier so they were even smaller then! this band sucks. this band has always sucked. and will always suck. "The Used have such a good live show, that it's kind of a shame the way this album turned out... completely the opposite of who the band really is..." yeah paul, I remember seeing GC back when they opened for Mxpx in 2001 and at the time, they were just another pop punk doing their thing. I was really into anything pop punk at the time so I really enjoyed that first album too. "East coast anthem" is a pretty awesome song... that's the one that starts with "walking on the streets of DC...", right? yea girls and boys kinda ruined that cd for me too. I'll admit, I liked the first GC album. Granted I was 19 then, and I got it after seeing them open for new found glory, back before either band had any sort of big following or radio/mtv success (yea, believe it or not, an NFG/GC show w/ about 300 people at it, lol), so I had no reason to hate them. I thought it was an honest, if not cheesy, fun pop punk album. but songs like east coast anthem and festival song were pretty cool. i thought the used were poised to be that little band on the whopping major label that gave a shit about what they put out. this album makes me change my mind. good points there Paul Take, take, take, take, take, take this away. They went soft but eh ... It happens when you become popular . yea i agree. i mean sometiems i love overproduction. american idiot is an example. the guitars are so overdriven but its such a great record, because it isnt an abuse of effects. but then you have bands like Rancid, who i'm sure could have gotten much mroe rediculous production w/ their status, but instead, they use a muhc mroe down to earth recording process from what their finished product sounds like. This cd is for guys who give their girlfriends pirates That would be very interesting. The Used with an Indie Budget. Maybe if they recorded with J. Robbins or something. I kinda think that if you go for a more raw and natural sound, you are forced to really think your songs though and make them stand on their own. With this last album, it seems that when the bridge section of every song comes up, it's a new place for Feldmann to try something cool (telephone effect, ring modulators, crazy delays, flangers, or whatever).... which is neat in small doses (first album) and "old and busted" (this album). and yes, this album is a lot better than their first oh ok, i thought the arguement was whether the drums were 'real' or not...i'll admit, i didn't read all the comments sorry. There really is nothing special about the drummer honestly. He isn't ground-breaking or anything. the issue isn't about the drummer. yes, he's very good. It's about the drum sound and the overuse/abuse of sound replacing techniques. In my eyes/ears, it degrades the talent and skill of the performer. It makes The Used feel more and more like a "studio band". i like this album a lot more than their first one. for the record, the drummer to the used is good and you guys sound like a bunch of bitches arguing about him. i've seen him play live, unfortunately, but i paid attention to his drumming since i am a drummer also and do that kind of thing. Why is everyone talking about the fenix tx album? It was a crap album, that's why they split, nobody cared about it and quite right too. The s/t was passable but they were trash after that. live, it's a real drumset. i don't think they use triggers. They've always prided themselves on their crazy live show, so I don't think they need to sound as clean as the studio. "In other words: It doesn't sound like a real drumset, because of the bad overuse of cheap studio production tricks like "sound replacing". When albums go this route, it takes the whole believability factor away for me. Anyone else relate?" Don't call this shit screamo for fuck's sake. Is this band still around? Why? Yawwwwwwwwwwnnnn. Bert can't sing & his taste in women is atrocious. Fuck this band. That sure is a creative front cover. I think il get it tattooed right over my heart, right after i get that tribal band on my arm, and dye my shaggy hair black. "sure it kinda takes away from his credibilty, but i'd do guest vocals on even the shittiest of mall screamo bands if i got a free plane ticket to LA, free meals and a chance to get a fat royalty check off this stupid shit." To the guy a few posts below: I don't understand how ppl say this album is too popppy. Its basically the same album again. Their last album wasn't some hardcore underground masterpiece. Their music just caters to the masses and thats all they are doing. This cd is basically the same thing SCORE IS FOR SEAN INGRAM FROM COALESCE DOING GUEST VOCALS ON THIS SHITTY ALBUM. too many fucking screamo bands Well, i know for a fact that it's a real snare drum, and they miced it on the bottom and he has predefined eq on it, mostly on high. To those talking about the snare sampling... (since it's christmas and i'm feeling optimistic) ...this could have been a lot worse. "encompasses everything about the "emo" genre (cutting, bleeding, fucking, etc.) that we're all sick of" big ups to whoever mentioned lechuza also. that album has soem really fantastic pop punk songs on it. this shit is actually alot better than their first album, and not as bad as i thought it would be. i think if they didn't have feldmen giving them the million dollar production treatment they'd be a lot better off. its just overdoen. some of the songs are pretty solid though. andits good to hear them shed a lot of their 'screamo' sound and go poppier. i tricked myself into thinking i liked the used. but then i saw them live again for the first time in a couple of years and quickly remembered that i didn't like them at all I won't even pretend to be cool. I did actually like the debut. It had some good mosh-inducing installments. But this is just plain bad. No, actually it is awful. It is one of the worst album this year, right along Atreyu, Hawthorne Heights and Hazen St. fucking rock star douchebags. go to hell. fenix tx and the used both share an overwhelmingly large suck factor it's a sampled snare. it's not like it's an incredibly painstaking process. dummy. what does fenix tx have to do with the used? sounds to me like both you guys are just trying to act like you know what you're talking about. the only good song on lechuza is "threesome". are you saying they would go through the trouble of only replacing the snare drum with a digital sample? It sounds to me like they just miked it from the bottom and turned the treble up. this album showcases the WORST use of sound replacer that I've ever heard. The snare sample that Feldmann places in sounds horrible... it doesn't mesh well with the rest of the drumkit and it becomes so obvious that it's a placed sample. Lechuza is one of the best albums ever. This album could have been so much better. that stupid intro for "i'm a fake" is so lame, songs actually decent, but i don't want to hear him whine about cutting himself. Ugh is right. Score is for the dude who brought up lechuza Please refrain from using the word 'Screamo' near anything relating to The Used. The rest of the album is horribly bland, but I actually enjoy the first two singles from the self-titled album, and the B-side that was on the Warped comp. Ugh. On the real, they don't. While this album is guaranteed not to make new fans out of the used, it is definitely different from first. Not in a dramatic, "deja entendu" kind of way, but not in a shitty "lechuza" type of way either. Tracks 1, 2, 3 and the last song are especially fab. I'll give it a 6 for the fuck of it. Merry Christmas. This band could never have any artistic integrity. |
