Frustrating as it is, your favourite bands will let you down. Ask any Metallica fan and, no matter what argument they can come up with, you will see the pain in their eyes and the 'St. Anger'-shaped hole in their heart. When a band achieves so much so early on in their career, anything else they do is considered a disappointment.
This, unfortunately, has applied to the Used in recent years. Their raw eponymous debut, 'In Love & Death', their diverse second outing and the overblown, grandiose 'Lies For The Liars' formed a hat-trick of alt-metal splendour that made their following two albums and EP all the more underwhelming.
On 'Imaginary Enemy', the band's sixth full-length, we find the Used in a bizarre situation. They honed their craft, then experimented – what do they do now? Well, thankfully they've ditched the worrying dubstepdabblings from ‘Vulnerable', and have instead opted to go back to basics. The results are mixed.
Revolution is a promising start, boasting a massive chorus, screamed sections and some dramatic drumming. It is, quite simply, the best track the band have penned since 'Lies For The Liars' and it’s easy to picture a crowd of mascara-clad teenagers chanting along.
But, then everything starts to go awry. Cry, the album’s lead single, is, admittedly, very catchy. It's just not the Used. Bert McCracken’sglistening, slick vocals offer plenty in the 'begging for a hit' department, but little in the way of genuine emotion. For a man who has poured out his heart and soul on earlier releases, it seems a little contrived.
El-Oh-Vee-Ee will be good value for a drunken singalong, while Generation Throwaway also follows this blueprint, dragging the band into Imagine Dragons territory. It's not bad, but it's just so far removed from what made the Used unique.
When Jeph Howard's bass noodling on Force Without Violence is more interesting than the rest of the song, there's something wrong. Unless you're listening to Primus, the bassline shouldn't really be the most exciting thing going on, especially with a band so chorus-reliant as the Used.
By way of balancing things out, Evolution harks back to Smother Me from 'Lies For The Liars', with a cheeky bit of orchestration thrown in at the end for good measure, and the title track's a winner too. The intro brings back fond memories of PS1 soundtracks, with the chorus dipping into 'In Love & Death' levels of kickassery.
To sum 'Imaginary Enemy' up very crudely: it's fine. It's nothing ground breaking, yet no doubt the band's legion of fans will defend it to the death.
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