The Used are an American rock band from Orem, Utah, formed in 2000. Built around vocalist Bert McCracken and bassist Jeph Howard, the group became one of the most recognizable acts associated with the early-2000s post-hardcore and emo scenes. Their music combines aggressive guitars, dynamic drumming, melodic choruses, screamed vocals, and emotionally direct lyrics. The band's current lineup also includes drummer Dan Whitesides and guitarist Joey Bradford.
Before McCracken joined, guitarist Quinn Allman, Howard, and drummer Branden Steineckert had begun writing music together. McCracken quickly became the central vocalist after contributing lyrics and vocals to early demos. The group signed with Reprise Records and worked with producer John Feldmann on its self-titled debut album, released in June 2002. The Used introduced the band's volatile but highly melodic sound through songs such as "The Taste of Ink," "Buried Myself Alive," and "Blue and Yellow." The album became a major success, eventually earning platinum certification in the United States and helping establish the band through radio, MTV, and relentless touring.
The Used expanded their audience through appearances on the Warped Tour, Ozzfest, and Projekt Revolution. Their stage performances, marked by McCracken's dramatic delivery and the band's intense dynamics, became an important part of their identity. A compilation and video release, Maybe Memories, followed in 2003 and documented the group's early live and behind-the-scenes world.
Their second album, In Love and Death, arrived in 2004 and gave the band one of its strongest commercial results. It reached the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 and included "Take It Away," "All That I've Got," and "I Caught Fire (In Your Eyes)." The album retained the emotional urgency of the debut while adding broader arrangements and more polished production. The Used followed it with Lies for the Liars in 2007, whose singles included "The Bird and the Worm" and "Pretty Handsome Awkward." The record continued the band's movement toward larger, more theatrical alternative rock.
After Lies for the Liars, the band issued the B-sides collection Shallow Believer and continued to change its lineup and musical approach. Steineckert left in 2006 and was replaced by Whitesides. Allman departed in 2015, while Justin Shekoski served as guitarist from 2015 to 2018. Bradford subsequently joined the permanent lineup.
Later albums such as Artwork, Vulnerable, Imaginary Enemy, and The Canyon showed the Used moving between streamlined rock songs, electronic textures, political themes, and more expansive arrangements. The Canyon, released in 2017, was particularly ambitious, presenting a darker and more atmospheric side of the band. Heartwork followed in 2020, reaffirming their ability to combine abrasive passages with accessible songwriting.
The Used returned with Toxic Positivity in 2023, a compact album shaped by the band's long-running partnership with Feldmann. The related 2024 release Medz collected additional songs from the same recording period. Across more than two decades, the Used have remained connected to the emo and post-hardcore audience that first embraced them while continuing to tour and record as an active band. Their lasting appeal rests on the contrast between musical aggression and vulnerable, singalong-ready songwriting.