The controversy surrounding Victory Records founder Tony Brummel is hardly breaking news. The rumors along with direct words from unhappy bands have been circulating for years now. I always considered a lot of it hearsay, because it's not like I, or the few friends I have who like hardcore, had any direct involvement with the guy - outside of buying some of the albums his label put out. Below is a link to one former Victory employee's tell-all confession, detailing the horrible experiences he had working for the label. Again, this information is not new. The article itself is a year or two old. I missed its initial release, so I've had a bit of a nasty revelation.
http://www.motokoaoyama.com/about-the-pagoda/ramsey-deans-the-horror/
It bums me out to see the corruption unveiled behind something that I at one point had a certain amount of respect for. I'm not some OG in the game who cut their teeth on the Cro-Mags and Judge. My introduction to hardcore was through the Victory Style Vol. III compilation, with records from Hatebreed, Snapcase, Earth Crisis, Strife, Grey Area, and others soon to follow. While I believe that the importance of the knowledge of the pioneers cannot be understated, and thoroughly enjoy those bands, the 90's sound is my shit. Too many fond memories to get into here stem from listening to albums which brandish both the Bulldog and "Raybeez" logos. But if you haven't moshed in your bedroom by yourself while listening to "Last Breath," you just wouldn't understand.
The blame doesn't reside with any of the bands, obviously. They were the ones who got screwed. But it's still embittering to read this stuff, as it tarnishes the legacy I (perhaps foolishly) ascribed to Victory Records.
Can you have a loss of innocence at 25 years of age? Apparently so.
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