Review: The Used - MEDZ

It’s been a little over a year since The Used released their last album, Toxic Positivity. Now the band is back with MEDZ, a new 10-song album of b-side tracks that didn’t make it onto the previous album. The songs came out of writing sessions in 2022 and 2023 with long time producer John Feldman.

I was pumped prior to the release of Toxic Positivity in May 2023 after the band released “Fuck You” in Oct 2022 and “People are Vomit” in Feb 2023. It was shocking however that neither song was included in the album. It is just as shocking that they are now appearing on MEDZ. In the end Toxic Positivity didn’t really need the songs because it was such a strong album with songs like “Worst I’ve Ever Been” and “Giving Up”. Maybe the band already had plans for the next album.

A few days ago, I was listening to The Beatles channel on SiriusXM. The host was playing some of her favorite b-sides by the group. They were so good it almost felt like an insult to call them b-sides. The same goes for the songs on MEDZ. These songs stand on their own. The fact that they didn’t make on to Toxic Positivity is more reflective of vocalist robbietheused’s enormous creative output during this time period rather than the quality of the songs. It would have been very easy to just make Toxic Positivity a double album with the songs from MEDZ.

After having distanced themselves from the label, robbietheused has finally admitted that The Used have been an emo band their whole career. The band’s music is all about attitude, feelings and emotions and on Toxic Positivity robbietheused shared his personal struggles. Each song provided a glimpse into his personal demons. MEDZ continues this same theme which is evident with song titles like ““MEDZ”, “Depression Personified”, “Before I Leave” and “Terrified”.

robbietheused shared a quote from C.S. Lewis to give a deeper meaning to the collection of b-sides: “Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say ‘My heart is broken.’”

The way robbietheused throws attitude is what has always attracted me to the band whether it be in their songs or live performances. People Are Vomit” and “Fuck You” are representative of this attitude with the former becoming one of my favorite songs by band joining the likes of “Taste of Ink”, “Buried Myself Alive” and “All That I’ve Got”.

It’s been twenty-two years since the band’s debut album The Used. Even after two decades the band shows no signs of letting up with their last three albums, Heartwork, Toxic Positivity, and now MEDZ all ranking up there with their best.

MEDZ is out on 6/21 and is available to pre-save now at https://theused.ffm.to/medz

The band is also showing no signs of letting up with their touring. They are getting ready to kick off their Summer Tour on 6/20 with Story Of The Year and Amira Elfeky and start a Fall Tour on 9/21 with Plain White T’s and Raue. All ticket and VIP packages are on sale now at https://theused.net/

The Used Summer Tour Dates
June 20 – Gary, IN – Hard Rock Casino – Northern Indiana
June 21 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s
June 23 – Franklin, WI – Phase Fest*
June 25 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore Minneapolis
June 26 – Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live @ 20 Monroe
June 28 – Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live!
June 29 – Cleveland, OH – The Masonic Temple
June 30 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
July 2 – Wallingford, CT – Oakdale Theatre
July 3 – Portland, ME – State Theatre Portland
July 5 – Montreal, QC – MTELUS^
July 6 – St. Catharines, ON – Born and Raised Fest#
July 9 – Baltimore, MD – Power Plant Live
July 10 – Hampton, NH – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom|
July 12 – Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony Summer Stage
July 13 – Norfolk, VA – The NorVa

* Festival appearance w/ The Used and Story Of The Year
# Festival appearance w/ The Used
^ The Used and Amira Elfeky only

The Used Fall Tour Dates
September 21 – Little Rock, AR – The Hall
September 23 – Kansas City, MO – Midland Theatre
September 25 – Fort Wayne, IN – The Clyde Theater
September 26 – Birmingham, AL – Iron City
September 28 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
September 29 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
October 1 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern
October 2 – Tampa, FL – Hard Rock Event Center – Tampa
October 4 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
October 5 – St. Augustine, FL – The Saint Augustine Amphitheater
October 7 – New Orleans, LA – House Of Blues

Follow The Used:
www.TheUsed.net www.facebook.com/TheUsed
www.twitter.com/WeAreTheUsed
www.instagram.com/theused

Post by Scott Raymer (Website | Instagram | Facebook)

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