Music

Don't buy Between the Buried and Me's 'Snapshot' collection

by Tyler Munro

August 27, 2013

Between the Buried and Me don't want you to buy Victory Records' new collection of their greatest hits. We agree.

Victory Records has released its second Between the Buried and Me greatest hits compilation in two years, no small feat considering the band hasn’t been on their roster since 2011. Unsurprisingly, Snapshots is un-endorsed by the band, who’ve been with Metal Blade since leaving Victory. In a statement issued on Facebook, the progressive North Carolina-based outfit wrote:

“I know our fans are smart enough to know that if there is a new release coming out that we haven’t advertised, then we obviously have nothing to do with it and again it is only profiting some third party that has no association with the band. We’d be more than happy if you just downloaded our old (ie: pre-Parallax) music and just continue coming to see us live.”

If you didn’t think their relationship with Victory soured before their departure, this about seals it. Not only are they saying not to buy this new release, but the statement goes so far as to suggest downloading their old albums rather than support their old label. While not explicitely endorsing piracy, the implication is pretty clear—they’d rather ignore possible royalties than have you support Snapshot. And with good reason.

The controversy surrounding Victory Records is nothing new. Bands like Thursday, Streetlight Manifesto and Hawthorne Heights have all had well documented issues with the label in the past. Victory founder Tony Brummel has been a beacon of controversy for the better part of the label’s existence. At one point, a former Victory employee had accused Brummel of dumping royalties into fake marketing initiatives solely to avoid paying out his bands. But that’s neither here nor there. Here’s our take on why you shouldn’t buy Snapshot:

The cover.

Because seriously, what the hell is this?

The tracklist gives you some great songs, no doubt, and tracks like “Mordecai,” “Aesthetic,” “Selkies: The Endless Obsession” and “Alaska” are some of the band’s best, but even for seven dollars, is this something worth supporting? Sure, you get four “Snapshot photos” when you buy the digipack, but isn’t that what the Internet is for? Look. Here. Let’s save you the trouble: