NEPA Scene Staff

Platinum post-hardcore band The Used returns to Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on May 4

Platinum post-hardcore band The Used returns to Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on May 4
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From a press release:

It was announced today that platinum-selling post-hardcore band The Used will return to the Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on Friday, May 4 at 8 p.m. with Red Sun Rising and The Fever 333.

Tickets, which are $27.50 in advance or $28 the day of the show, go on sale this Friday, March 9 at 10 a.m. and will be available through the Sherman Theater box office (524 Main St., Stroudsburg), online at shermantheater.com and ticketfly.com, and all Ticketmaster outlets. VIP boxes and sky boxes are available for this show and include eight tickets (VIP box) or 12 tickets (sky box), a fruit and cheese platter, and waitstaff. To purchase box seats, call the theater at 570-420-2808.

Over the last 16 years, The Used have released a collection of albums that have shaped the space of the alternative rock scene. High-energy live shows, gut-wrenching relatable lyrics, and melodies that blended pop sensibility and hard rock have created the perfect combination to make an everlasting impression on fans globally. The Utah band put everything into writing and recording their seventh studio album, “The Canyon,” and, from start to finish, you are submerged into an inescapable visceral universe.

Produced by Ross Robinson (The Cure, At the Drive-In) and released on Oct. 27, 2017 on Hopeless Records, the 17-track album is the most raw, unadulterated and personal piece of art the band has ever released.

“The Canyon” takes fans on a lyrical journey through the intimate psyche of vocalist Bert McCracken. The intricate musical composition displayed presented itself to the band in a way it never has before.

“I’ve learned as an artist that a great idea is such a gift. If I don’t stop whatever it is I’m doing, even if while driving, if I don’t pull over at that moment, then maybe I didn’t deserve the idea to begin with. I learned to respect and worship the ideas in that way, that they are and will always be something sacred. Stopping in that moment was a brand new approach for us during this process,” McCracken explained.

Every musical note and vocal heard on the record was recorded entirely on tape without a click track at the legendary Valentine Studio, with some songs featuring string arrangements and a choir. The process was unique and unlike anything the band has done before. They would hit record and play it as if they were on stage, without a backing track. Songs weren’t played and recorded repeatedly until the magic was gone. What you are hearing is what really took place within the recording process. Every nuance was captured and with every listen you experience something new.

Written out of pain and loss, “The Canyon” is tragic and haunting while also having a sense of light and energy that is unlike anything this band has put forward. The official music video for “Rise Up Lights” features visuals that pair perfectly with the track, which picks up right away with McCracken’s iconic vocals and guitarist Justin Shekoski’s super-charged guitar hitting you right in the face.

“That’s what this record is – it’s a moment of silence for what’s real,” McCracken said.

See NEPA Scene’s photos of The Used performing at the second annual Rock Carnival in New Jersey in 2016 here.