The Used

Turning personal adversity into art is the Used’s trademark, and the band’s fifth full-length, Vulnerable, was a record that simply had to be made. It marks a particular triumph for singer Bert McCracken, who is now reenergized after suffering a broken hand and elbow last year, falling from a stage in Orange County, Calif., and then spending four months getting surgery and recuperating. The experience partially birthed the title and concept of Vulnerable. “Me feeling that vulnerability kind of sparked this creative fire inside of me,” says McCracken. “This record’s really about becoming more than just who you are, and allowing yourself that vulnerability to be a more powerful person. It’s a lot more positive than a lot of records we’ve written in the past. I think everyone could use some positivity nowadays.”

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The Used—which also includes guitarist Quinn Allman, bassist Jeph Howard and drummer Dan Whitesides (who replaced original drummer Branden Steineckert in 2006)—formed in Orem, Utah in 2001, signing to Reprise Records that same year. Championed by producer and collaborator John Feldmann, the band issued their gold-certified Self-Titled debut in 2002, quickly cementing the Used as leaders among the post-hardcore elite. The band then released the CD/DVD combo Maybe Memories in 2003, now certified platinum, featuring B-sides, live cuts, demos and unreleased tracks, while still another gold record followed—2004’s In Love And Death. After Steineckert’s 2006 departure, the band regrouped and issued 2007’s Lies For The Liars, hitting #5 on the Billboard Top 200, later naming Whitesides as their permanent drummer.

The retooled outfit’s newfound solidarity led to 2009’s Artwork, which peaked at #10 on the Billboard Top 200, and featured Whitesides on the recordings for the first time. As if that weren’t enough to keep a band busy, since 2001 the Used has also destroyed countless stages the world over, touring with a who’s who of modern rock and heavy music contemporaries, and have been featured acts at major festivals like Warped Tour, Taste of Chaos, Ozzfest, Projekt Revolution and the UK’s Reading and Leeds festivals. Without a label for the first time since their debut, the band opted to go indie, forming their Anger Music Group imprint, which will be distributed through Hopeless Records. The release of Vulnerable marks a new chapter in the band’s enduring career, at a time when the Used’s music is organically evolving, as well. “I think [Vulnerable] is really new for us. There’s a lot of hip-hop influence, beats and drum and bass kind of stuff, but it’s also still a Used record, by all means,” explains McCracken. 

“Just like any other Used record, it’s a horse of many colors: There are a lot of soft and heavy sounds, there are a lot of brutal, sharp, bright sounds, and the tempos are anywhere from ultra-slow to super fast and heavy. There are a lot of different conceptual feelings on the record.” The Used may have spent recent years nursing wounds and taking honeymoons, but 2012 and beyond will be all about bringing Vulnerability, and its uplifting message, to the masses. “This record is for all those people who weren’t the coolest people around. We never were. This record’s for kids like us, who just love music, because it saves their lives every day,” McCracken says. “At the end of the day, I’m the only one who has to live and die with myself. I want to make it a good one for me. I only have one life to live.”