4. The Used
The Used have been around for over 10 years and have never achieved the success they should have. Regardless of success theyre one of the best modern bands around. After five studio albums and several EPs The Used have established themselves amongst the best of the best. Singer Bert McCracken has a unique voice that, may not be considered a nice voice or a melodic one, but its distinctive, incredible and completely suits the music accompanying it, few others could sing the songs he does. The sound of The Used can only really be described as chaotic and messy. That could have negative connotations but I would also give those two descriptions to Slipknots early albums, so I obviously dont deem it a bad quality. Organised chaos is probably a better descriptor, their songs are structured but with the inclusion of sound effects and sounds they themselves describe as heavy, sharp, raw, bright, gross etc. Sometimes you have to listen to a song by The Used more than once to hear everything thats been jammed in. However they dont always sound like this, sometimes they strip everything back and have acoustic or piano-driven songs that show a much different but equally awesome side to them. Simply put they can do whatever they want.
The Used have somewhat changed their sound with each album, whilst maintaining their overall style, like Foo Fighters. Their self-titled debut album could be described as emo or screamo, while their last album, Vulnerable, could be seen as metal or emo with dubstep influences. These changes sound significant but with every album the first things you notice is that its still an album by The Used, just with new influences or motivations. Even though many other bands from their origin period have disappeared or fallen to the wayside, The Used have managed to stay relevant and have a very loyal fanbase. The Used are a great band, one of the best, who prove themselves with every album and deserve a lot more recognition than theyve received thus far. The Taste Of Ink, The Ripper, Iddy Biddy, Hard To Say, Born To Quit, Cut Up Angels, The Bird and the Worm, I Come Alive, I Caught Fire, Kissing You Goodbye, Now That Youre Dead and Bulimic, are just a few songs from The Used, spawning their entire discography.