From Mind to Music: The Used's 'In Love and Death'

THE USED: IN LOVE AND DEATH

SCORE: 98/100

Much more packed full of fire than their woe-filled debut album, In Love and Death is the true breaking of The Used, and it feels like one of the most important possible steps they could've taken in the trilogy of their first three albums, with this one being the heaviest and the one that is most full of dread. 

This album is the band's most devastating, with the direction of the songwriting and sound for the album taking a drastically harrowing turn after the death of Bert McCracken's former girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time of her passing. With this event being the most traumatic in the series of misfortune McCracken found himself in, it led the album in a very emotional and devastating direction - with this album being what would be considered their hardest to listen to knowing the meaning behind the writing. 

In Love and Death has some of McCracken's most vividly adoring songwriting, with the writing here being a mix of what was to come with their third album and the emotional, angsty charm of their debut. Some of their heaviest material instrumentally is provided within this album, and the compositions are all vastly different while keeping a highly consistent and incredible style throughout - blending the lines of variety and cohesion into an album that is endlessly playable even over two decades after its release. 

It's hard to think that the massive 2000's emo boom was over 20 years ago now, and this album is one of the most defining pieces of that era. It's not just an album of endless complaint, it's an album that is completely justified in its melancholy. The album was recorded in the same manner as their debut, but it came from a place that was very much so different, despite their debut touching heavily on the issues clouding McCracken's life. 

Even though this album is their heaviest and most raw, it is their best selling album to date, surging them into being more "mainstream" during their time despite them still being widely underlooked by non-alternative peers, this album remains one of their best and most iconic projects, with both Lies for the Liars and their self-titled debut following closely behind and being impossible to choose from. 

Vocally, McCracken sounds pained to be getting his words out in the most raw and drastic way possible; with his performances here being something sonically different from their debut while still showcasing what made him such an incredible vocalist from the start, with his tone and register being instantly iconic and his range being perfectly suited for any tone that the band has gone through. The band had gone into directions for this album that they had never expected to get around to, and the finished result is an album that continues a solid energy and uses each moment to its maximum potential. 

The album is edgy while being mature and polished enough to not feel juvenile at all - and it has the right amount of personal touches and angst to make it an album that works for any place or time, with the mix of softer songs and heavier touches being intertwined beautifully. The moments of balladry on this album are gorgeous, and they help to provide padding for the hugely ballad-cored Lies for the Liars.

The album blends some of their more melodic moments with some of their heaviest, with Sound Effects and Overdramatics being one of the main heavy highlights of the project - a song I had first heard through my girlfriend. The Used are a band that she had helped me to get more into after I had only known one main song by them beforehand; they will always be special to me because of this, and they remain one of my all-time favorite bands no matter what.