In honor of The Used's 25th anniversary as a band, they are embarking on a massive tour where they will play three nights in each city playing their first three albums in their entirety. Additionally, they have released special editions of these landmark albums with reimagined artwork from new artists. We had the opportunity to collaborate with the band and get our hands on these records. It is our pleasure to review them on these special Collector's Corners for you in honor of the band's anniversary as a part of our weeklong programming special dedicated to one of our favorite bands out there!
Background
It's the summer of 2002 and a fresh new band from Orem, Utah would take the emo band by storm with the release of their self-titled debut album The Used on Reprise Records. The band struggled with homelessness before this meteoric rise, so the praise and fame they were receiving was sudden and life changing. The album was recorded primarily at Foxy Studios in California with John Feldmann serving as producer. The band was unique on the scene as they offered a unique mix of emo, screamo, and melodic hardcore. What stood out to me at the time as a young punk living in the middle of rural Ohio was lead singer Bert McCracken's incomparable vocals. Capable of beautiful melodies and blistering screams McCracken set himself apart from the sound that was around at the time.
The band, including McCracken (vocals), Branden Steineckert (drums/backing vocals), Quinn Allman (lead guitar/backing vocals), and Jeph Howard (bass/backing vocals) had a raw and pure energy that drew people almost immediately upon hearing the record. Featuring original cover art by PR Brown the album eventually became platinum-certified and has since become a foundational record for the genre.
(Photo Credit: Michael La Torre)
The Artwork
The cover of the self-titled release has been reimagined by the dynamic artist Cam Rackham. Rackham, who originates from Huntington Beach, CA harkened back to the original artwork of Brown with the lightest touch, featuring the signature female character with some significant and cool changes. Looking at the original release alongside Rackham's version, you can see that he incorporated some of the coloring, particularly through his use of the maroon in the typography.
What I love about this new version is that the female character feels emboldened. It's the first thing your eyes are drawn to when looking at the cover because she is literally staring you in the face as she cries tears of black. Her skin is cracked and flaking, but she's not broken, strong and defiant, I love how this has been incorporated in the new cover. In the background, there are stacks of skulls and scenery behind the female figure. Across the top, the band's name emblazed in the same font that was used on the original artwork.
This double LP features two dynamic inner-sleeves that feature the female figure once again, along with a closer view of the scenery. To her left, we see the skulls once again (which are totally metal btw), along with what looks like what could be a cathedral, as the building features a high standing tower. On the inner side of the inner sleeve of LP 1 is a nice pop of that maroon/red that was used on the cover with some relief designs of an eyeball with roots emanating away from it. Additionally, the bottom of the sleeve features another city scape with what looks to be smoke coming out of the buildings. On the sleeve of LP 2 we see the woman again along with more roots, what looks to be mountains in the distance, and some hard lines scratched into the right.
The back of the jacket expands on a lot of the smaller pieces of artwork within the inner-sleeves. The eye and roots are present, along with the smoldering buildings. However, they are accompanied by a large black mass near the bottom of the jacket that appears to feature varying trees. It's quite an interesting piece as your eyes drift from one scene to the next. Also present are cracks along the edges, similar to what's featured on the female figure's face.
(Photo Credit: Michael La Torre)
The LP's
The special edition gold version is downright gorgeous and features unique ripples throughout giving a nice shimmer to the LP's. I especially love the tone of the gold in the vinyl as it has a deep almost orange hue. The record label in the center is tan on one side with maroon lettering with the other side featuring the color scheme inversed. Also, word to the wise, this one spins at 45rpm.
The Music
The moment you've been waiting for! So how does the damn thing sound? While many artists out there skimp on sound for the sake of window dressing on their special edition LP's, it would be downright criminal to accuse The Used of doing so in this case. From the initial opening riffs of "Maybe Memories" all the the way to the hidden tracks at the end of the record, you get your money's worth in terms of sound quality. And I've got to be honest, these bad boys sound so much better than my CD version did back in 2002.
With that said, with was a fever dream of an experience for me as there are so many emotions tied up to this album with my own time in music. The Used heavily influenced me in music as they did numerous other artists with their dynamic sound, poetic lyrics, and no fucks given screams. All of that is captured brilliantly here by the band's and their team on this release. I would highly encourage you to pick up a copy of this one if you haven't already! You can find it here.
Additionally, if you're interested in the band's 25th Anniversary Tour, see the dates below:
The Used 2025 Tour Dates
April 3 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore*
April 5 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore^
April 6 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore+
April 9 – Boston, MA – House Of Blues*
April 11 – Boston, MA – House Of Blues^
April 12 – Boston, MA – House Of Blues+
April 15 – Sayreville, NJ – The Starland Ballroom*
April 16 – Sayreville, NJ – The Starland Ballroom^
April 18 – Sayreville, NJ –The Starland Ballroom+
April 19 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza*
April 21 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza^
April 22 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza+
April 25 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues*
April 26 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues^
April 27 – Chicago, IL –House Of Blues+
April 29 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre*
April 30 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre^
May 2 Denver, CO –Ogden Theatre+
May 3 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union*
May 5 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union^
May 6 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union+
May 8 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern*
May 10 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern^
May 11 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern+
May 13 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues*
May 15 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues^
May 16 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues+
* Playing Self-Titled Record
^ Playing In Love And Death
+ Playing Lies For The Liars
FMI on all things The Used visit their website at theused.net.
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