Tales Of Medusa

[Avenger]

So the main problem is greedy collectors wanting a freebie off a band who produced a number of releases all under their own finances?

I can't see why people have a problem with ToM. All I can see is people who feel "left out" at not getting a freebie.

This also wouldn't be a problem if certain people didn’t put this very mediocre band on a pedestal like they often do.

[Speedeceiver]

It's a shame they never made their music widely available. I know lots of people who genuinely enjoy their music and would love to have a proper format to listen to, myself included. I discovered the band the year there last album came out and even only a few months after it came out it was to late to get a copy. I just hope one day those albums and demos will get reissued on a known label so i can hear what these songs are supposed to sound like instead of the watery mp3s i'm stuck with.

[Avenger]

Here's a summary of the issues folks had with ToM:

Some thought their micro-pressings and non-existent distribution was done intentionally to create hype about the band among underground geeks who obsess over anything pressed in a limited print run:
"Oooo, they only made 200 copies, it must be pure kvlt so I gotta get it no matter what it sounds like!".
That kind of thing.

Some took offense that their records started selling for crazy amounts to the obsessed underground geeks on ebay and took it out on the band:
"Oooo, someone bid $300 for a ToM record? That's insane, they just released it last year! The micro-pressing was obviously a scheme to inflate prices on ebay to make them more money".
That kind of thing.

Some figured anything that was selling for a lot of money had to be crap:
"Oooo, someone paid $300 for a record made 2 years ago? Obviously it's nothing but hype; they must suck 'cause only cheap records are any good".

Some considered themselves to be too 'tr00' to pay a lot for a record that someone else had gotten free:
"Ooo, you want to sell something that was given to you? You're an elitist pig! I'm much too kvlt to pay for something I want if I know you got it for free. Screw ToM for not making their music readily available at little-no cost to everyone and not just the first 200 lucky ones to ask for a copy".

Some people just thought their music was pretty amatuerish and thus weren't into the band (I fall in this category).

And yes, some were just jealous little bitches upset that they couldn't get a copy so they threw a tantrum:
"Oooo, they only made 200 copies and I didn't get one, so they're obviously a bunch of no-talent douchebags who only cater to Elite Underground Collectors who sit around online all day scooping things up so that the rest of us never have a chance to get them- screw them, they suck".
That kind of thing.

That covers the basic variants of complaints; some overlap among categories exists obviously.

Don't get hung up on Avenger's crude remark; he thinks that everything not done in strict accordance with his narrow viewpoint is Horrible incarnate.

How can you post such an apparent contradiction in reference to me after you just made a list of opinions based on a clearly bias viewpoint?

That aside, this whole "problem" could be easily fixed. I know for a fact that the band has been offered distribution through several different labels but they have all been turned down without consideration. There is really no one else to blame but the band. Hence, my earlier post about their cunt-esque tactics.

[ION BRITTON]

I suppose these conclusions for each "group" are some kind of universal truth that cannot be denied right?

[daniel]

The latest posts by Nightsblood on this forum could be summed up as saying "just shut up and don't ever complain, you have to accept everything or YOU are the asshole".

[Trigger]

The latest posts by Nightsblood on this forum could be summed up as saying "just shut up and don't ever complain, you have to accept everything or YOU are the asshole".

Unless you are a cool guy and not a moron

[mordred]

Both Dark Stranger and Nightsblood put it quite well although a bit sarcastic. In a nutshell, that's what it was. I just remember a lot of people having a tantrum over nothing at all. To me it seemed stupid (that being said I still respect several individuals who joined the everything-ToM-does-is-wrong race).

Mostly it concerned their distribution or lack thereof. Apparently for some reason it was a grave error on their part not to release their music through a label despite the fact labels were interested. They weren't playing the game like everybody else and for some reason that made them cunts. I still don't get it and don't want any more explanations, my ears still hurt from last time.

It was hardly like anybody put them on a pedestal either. I seem to remember being one of thew very few that really liked the music and didn't hate everything else about them.

[Dark Stranger]

I'd be curious to know if the anti-ToM brigade would have been quite so vocal if they'd have received something in the post from the band.

[Element0s]

I hope people keep arguing about Tales of Medusa because it's fucking hilarious.

[ION BRITTON]

I'd be curious to know if the anti-ToM brigade would have been quite so vocal if they'd have received something in the post from the band.

You still believe that this is what it's all about?

People who found the whole thing "hilarious" maybe they could try being a little bit more productive and say their opinion about it, that is if they have any. Enough with the ass-kissing of every random new band/label/release, voicing an honest opinion and being critical has become indictable and that's what's fucking wrong with metal these days.

[Element0s]

People who found the whole thing "hilarious" maybe they could try being a little bit more productive and say their opinion about it, that is if they have any.

How would that be productive? The debates that go one around here are some of the most ridiculous and tiresome within the metal spectrum that I've ever seen. Plus, I doubt that sharing my opinion would change anybody's minds about anything. Now if you excuse me I'm going to actually be productive and pack up the van for my tour that starts today. Just got that new Satan CD in the mail, can't wait to blast that down the highway...

[ION BRITTON]

The debates that go one around here are some of the most ridiculous and tiresome within the metal spectrum that I've ever seen.

Is that so? Then how come your highness is even registered in this "ridiculous" place?

[mordred]

I'd be curious to know if the anti-ToM brigade would have been quite so vocal if they'd have received something in the post from the band.

Don't know about that but I would like to know if they had been so upset if they had actually cared for the music of ToM. It was not like you heard many people say "their music is really great but I wish they weren't such cunts", it was mostly "they are total cunts and by the way the music isn't any good". Anybody that liked the music and wanted some release could have just contacted them. That's what I did. They sent me the "Beyond Charonium" 7" and the last LP and all it took for me to get them was to send an e-mail and say I was interested. It was the least effort it ever took for me to get an album for my collection. From what I heard they didn't use up all the copies they pressed of the last LP. They simply didn't have 200 addresses to mail LP's to. So much for being elitists that only let the cool people hear their music.

I don't know if this works the other way round. If people would not have been offended by their distribution methods would they have been able to enjoy the music? Don't know about that but I'm totally convinced of one thing; certain individuals around here that write off ToM as mediocre or bad music would be all over them if they were told it was unearthed rare recordings from 1987. That's just they way the minds of some people work and there's nothing to do about it.

Enough with the ass-kissing of every random new band/label/release, voicing an honest opinion and being critical has become indictable and that's what's fucking wrong with metal these days

Very little of that goes on here. In fact quite the opposite. People around here are mostly grossly negative towards all new bands and releases. Doesn't matter what it is. New is always shit. Start a thread about a new album and you'll get no activity whatsoever, at best a couple of negative comments about the sound of the snare drum or whatever. Topics about 1980's US metal rehearsal recordings or which was the first true metal band from Turka-Jerkastan can be endless and passionate.

You know, just because an opinion is always negative doesn't make it more honest or more of a real opinion. Personally I'm so sick of all the stupid negativity I could sure do with some more ass-kissing for a change.

[ION BRITTON]

"Always negative" doesn't apply here either.

I can't recall one single person who has been "always negative" about anything "new". There are members who are usually negative, but there are also some who are usually positive or aren't negative about anything at all. Some believe that there's no use in posting a negative opinion and it's their right to do so, but that shouldn't be the rule for everyone else and that's certainly not the way public forums work. Anyway, what does happen here is that many threads regarding new bands/albums don't have that many responses and are relatively inactive, even for the standards of this forum. In the last couple years I could say that this applies to every other thread as well, but that's another discussion.

On the other hand, no one is "obliged" to check out every single random, uninspired band that is formed every week and he's even less "obliged" to post every time a word or two about something that leaves him totally cold. Many people have this crazy notion that everyone should necessarily follow the modern scene and keep up with the new releases that come out in spades every month. That doesn't mean that all of them are totally unworthy though. Some of them might be, some of them not. There must be something for every taste out there, waiting to be discovered. Even if that "something" is really hard to find sometimes.

For me, it's all about one's "priorities". I think it's natural for someone who enjoys a good percentage of newer bands to be willing to keep an eye on what's being released these days. But if most of the time the newer stuff doesn't do anything to him, I don't see what is wrong with not wanting to waste his precious time/energy/money for the sake of discovering 1 really good band out of the 100 he checks out.

Bottom line, it doesn't make you "cooler" neither if you like searching for old bands exclusively nor if you like discovering newer bands and leave the past behind for whatever reason.

[Avenger]

It was hardly like anybody put them on a pedestal either. I seem to remember being one of thew very few that really liked the music and didn't hate everything else about them.

I've seen many cases where records were being offered for ridiculous prices or trade value when the recipient originally received the items for free. I’ve also seen cases where a record or demo was traded for a “common” item followed by the recipient of the Tales Of Medusa item later making condescending comments about how they ripped off the person they traded with. In my opinion that's putting the band on a pedestal. These people are putting fake value into these items with no real basis.

Regardless what the actual music sounds like, if the band was offered distribution at no cost to the artists then why not seize the opportunity?