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   They woke up the next day to find they had not only been embraced by their following, but by the world as well. Pushing their music into the mainstream, "In Love and Death" was quite a change from their previous self-titled CD.

   The rock band out of Orem, Utah, decided to slow their sound down somewhat and give more emphasis to lead singer Bert McCracken’s emotional, but raw lyrics. 

   The album starts off with one of the harder songs, "Take It Away," expressing McCracken’s anguish at his lost lust, Kelly Osbourne.

   They also make a passing reference to the band My Chemical Romance, whose sound is most closely compared to The Used, and also whose lead singer, Gerard Way, has been linked romantically with McCracken. 

   The record then turns a complete 180 at the slow "I Caught Fire (In Your Eyes)," in which McCracken shows off his vocal talent in an acapella ending. In the album’s third song, "Let It Bleed," guitarist Quinn Allman gives us the first taste of his playing ability during the intro.

   Much like Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon," the whole album seamlessly blends from song to song, and a faint ticking noise can also be heard throughout the entire album, sometimes actual, and sometimes implies, (through the bass or drum beat), but always there.

   "All That I’ve Got," the first hit the band enjoyed, tells the story of McCracken losing his best friend, his dog and David Bowie dying. This song, like the later song "Hard To Say," is very melodic. The disc then, again almost unnoticeably, switches to the lyrical hammer that is "Cut Up Angels." 

  McKracken obviously pours his heart and soul into this song, with lyrics such as "If we cut out the bad, well then we’d have nothing left, like I cut up your angels,  yeah you stabbed me to death.' 

  The records next three songs, "Listening," "Yesterday’s Feelings" and "Light With  A Sharpened Edge," are all slow melodic ballads with less guitar, and more of an electronic sound paired with Branden Steineckert’s under-emphasized drum beats. 

  They all deal with McCracken’s troubled past, like his prior homelessness and aloneness, his baby’s mother getting killed and his recently conquered drug problem, respectively. 

  You can really feel McCracken’s and the band's natural energy.

  You can tell they feel what they play.

   The next two songs really seem to mirror a previous couplet of songs, "Let It  Bleed" and "All That I’ve Got," except in reverse order, a heartfelt lyrical song followed by a fantastic guitar duet with Allman and bassist Jeph Howard. The album is ended by the poem-put-to-music "I’m A Fake."

  Overall, the CD is excellent and a must buy for any avid rock fan.

   I give it a: 9.8/10.

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