Yes, these are early pre-release (and therefore rare) versions and signed the the band, so I'm not TOO surprised and there certainly IS value to them, I'm not denying that. They look amazingly nice and I want one, but I am not willing to pay that insane price. I do support the band (seeing them for my 8th time in a few weeks) and I absolutely think they deserve to make that money over the scumbag scalpers who flip their tour posters on eBay for 4-5x their original price, but they have been slowly increasing the prices for their signed stuff over the years and it's getting into price gouging territory, IMO.
As far as the regular, unsigned version of the vinyl that will eventually be available to the general public, unless it's a completely different package, there's no way that thing will be under $150 (I think you're right on the money at $200). I mean, judging by Adam's unboxing video, it looks like it shares many of the bells & whistles present in the CD version – die cuts, vellum, spot varnish/spot UV printing, gold foil, Soft Touch coating – plus it's got that thick cardboard outer sleeve, not to mention the 5 180g LPs (two tracks per disc, with one side etched). Even the "cheaper" version of this thing is going to be expensive, no doubt.
Last edited by sonic_discord; 02-22-2022 at 10:54 AM.
Tool wouldn’t be the first band to put out a deluxe edition of something and charge a huge amount for it. Before you could buy digital music, bands would put out CD remasters that only came in a bundle. Before streaming, bands would make some tracks available only with the purchase of the whole album.
I’m not gonna lose sleep over it. Anymore.
Edit: Oh, and who can forget the infamous B-sides that only came on exclusive limited edition prints of singles.
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FYI it’s available on Amazon for $30. Not too bad.
Edit: It being the Opiate^2
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I don't begrudge them for a deluxe edition but a deluxe edition implies the availability of a standard, more accessible edition. I'll reserve final judgement until I see what the retail details are. But I tend to agree that $810 seems a bit gougey. And no, I'm not loosing winks either...I just find it funny they have people clamoring for this and that yet hey waste effort on cheap looking jewelry and throw blankets.
Very true, but the interesting thing is that Tool seems to be the only band I can think of that's trending toward ONLY releasing deluxe versions of their music on physical media (streaming is the cheap option, I suppose). There wasn't really a "cheap" version of the CD either. The original (and initially only version) was around $45 if I remember right. Even the book edition was twice the cost of a regular CD. On one hand, I commend them for not compromising and putting out elaborate, high-quality products that look really impressive, but they make it pretty expensive to be a regular fan, let alone an avid collector. I'm not gonna lose sleep over it either, just sharing my 2¢.
Exactly what I'm getting at.
I mean, the CDs are still out there.
I guess it would bug me more if their music wasn’t available in a lossless format online. That’s higher quality than CD.
I agree about the bands moving to exclusively digital releases.
But, if we’re being honest, vinyls are kind of a cheap ploy to get people to buy physical media again. Most albums are not going to be much different on vinyl than on Spotify or Apple Music.
I guess it comes down to your tolerance for the “art and experience” thing. The physical releases for FI were both pretty fucking spectacular. The vinyl looks no less incredible.
On a music level, as long as the digital medium is available the physical copies are almost redundant. And if they’re going to be redundant, the band is offering a pretty good bang for the buck.
As for throw blankets and stuff—I don’t even think about that stuff but you sure as fuck won’t catch me buying any.
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I saw two brand new copies this weekend. I chuckled to myself.
As for the Opiate Squared... https://www.bullmoose.com/p/35380156...iate-2-blu-ray
Well that didn’t take long to come out at all.
Re: FI vinyl, interesting how that’s getting vinyl treatment but 10,000 Days never did in an official capacity.
Now $60 cheaper!
Who the fuck is going to drop that cash at a show just to potentially get it damaged? wow.
^ I expect that's the actual price, and the venue tacked on an 8% merch fee at the first show where they sold it; the non-autographed edition is probably going to retail somewhere in the vicinity of $150 and they figured their signatures were worth four times that.
More than 20 up on eBay now. Check out the prices.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...57.m4084.l1313
Gross.
The tool merch thing is strange. I was a NIN fan for years and never really felt a need to collect things--the music was always paramount and things just seemed unnecessary. In around 2017, I did start collecting posters for the NIN concerts I went to (but not really any other merch).
Then I got into Puscifer/Tool late 2018 and just in the years since I've obtained way too many Tool and Puscifer "things". I see this crazy $750 album and part of me just really wants it! Another part of me absolutely knows this is crazy and that even if I display it (rather than it sitting in a closet/drawer), I won't get $750 enjoyment from it. Yesterday I was thinking if those ebay prices hold for a couple more weeks, why couldn't I just buy one (then I have that joy for a short time) and then flip it and get my money back, plus enough to pay for my concert tickets.
Last Tool tour, the poster thing was really miserable (competition for them, waiting early in line, etc.).From what I read it's even worse this tour with almost no venues enforcing any type of purchase limit so a few people get to buy 30+ each.
Given the music is so incredibly powerful, it seems the merch (at least my now excessive merch focus) just distracts from the real point. Maybe I'll give up merch (once I get my Puscifer briefcase...).
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The craziest amount of money I’ve ever paid for in terms of band merch was $2,500 for one of Glenn Danzig’s own demon skull belt buckles (which I’ve since sold). Unless something is really damn unique like that, I can’t see the point in people paying these prices for something that’s like, just been released.
Yeah, I have given up on Tool posters at this point for these same exact reasons. If they still have them when I get there, I'll buy one, but I am NOT showing up 3 hours early to stand in line with these douche bags that are buying up as many as they can to flip on eBay for a fucking poster. And I'm definitely not paying the eBay prices if they sell out. Like someone on Reddit recently said, it really sucks that there's a bunch of people who have made going to Tool shows to buy all the posters and flip them their side hustle. Fuck that noise. They can have the stupid posters.
https://lunchboxrecords.com/collecti...kN0i9JGj3CzvUg
I'll be honest, I'm surprised it isn't more expensive. Looks really nice but I'm sitting this one out (Edit: OR AM I??)
Last edited by cdm; 02-25-2022 at 11:08 AM.
Bullmoose has it listed at $219.99 (also out of stock). Looks like there's gonna be a range of prices.
Amazon has it at $133
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Got a link? I'm not finding it.
EDIT: Found it.
https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Inoculum.../dp/B09T8F2ZQF
EDIT 2: out of stock already as of 12:11pm EST
Last edited by otnavuskire; 02-25-2022 at 11:12 AM.