By the early 2000s, nu metal was no longer the undisputed top dog when it came to heavy music. Granted, relative latecomers such as Evanescence’s Fallen would still climb up international charts, but the scene as a whole had become formulaic, with many of its originators moving on or distancing themselves from an increasingly toxic crop of johnny-come-latelys. Alternative music was in sore need of a shake-up, and tonally shifted towards something more nakedly confessional. On The Used’s 2002 debut single, The Taste Of Ink, vocalist Bert McCracken had one thing to say: “Here I am.”
Originally penned for the band’s 2001 demo tape, commonly referred to as their ‘Demos From The Basement’, The Taste Of Ink captured the band’s earnest desire to be heard. Fresh out of rehab and living in then-guitarist Quinn Allman’s dank, tobacco-scented basement, Bert had come to a decision: “I needed to get out of Utah,” he admits today, reflecting on the period that helped make The Used stars of the rising emo scene.
