During punk rockâs renaissance in the 1990s, it was common for labels to release compilations featuring artists on their rosters. Epitaph Recordsâ series was called Punk-O-Rama, and their third installment included a fierce Seattle band called Zeke.
The group had already been around for six years and released two full-lengths when Punk-O-Rama III dropped in 1998. Zekeâs âTelepath Boyâ dwarfed every other song on it with its fast, ugly, and greasy speed-rock. Itâs not punkâitâs far too nihilistic and mean. Yes, itâs fast, simple, and short, but Zekeâs attitude isnât like anything else from that era.
âWhen Epitaph was ready to offer up a pretty good chunk of change and put us out with some of their bands, we really didnât know any better,â says guitarist/vocalist âBlindâ Marky Felchtone. âWe just thought, âOh yeah, this is great! We made it!â So we packed up the van and went on the road with a bunch of punk rock bands. Really, that [was] not who we were, and thatâs not who we are at all. We never really fit in anywhere or with anything.âÂ
Though Zekeâs been the sore thumb on many bills, they prospered through the â90s into the early â00sâtheir high-octane rock played at unbridled speeds only got wilder with each new record. They released a few albums via Epitaph, followed by the steely masterpiece Death Alley on Aces and Eights Records in 2001, then landed on Relapse Records in 2004, where they released âTil the Living End. After thatâaside from a few one-off shows and splitsâZeke went silent for 13 years.
âWe had a lot of personal stuff going on,â says Felchtone. âEverybody in the band did. I had a kid, and went to work as a carpenter during that time. I didnât want to be out on the road, I wanted to be at home.â
Just as suddenly as they disappeared, Zeke is back. Theyâve been touring the US and Europe and have a new full-length out this fall called Hellbender. According to Felchtone, the decision to resurrect the band cemented when Relapse contacted them about doing another record. That, plus some encouragement from his daughter.
âI was hanging out with [her] in the truck one day and she said, âWhy arenât you doing all this?â I said, âWell, your Dadâs gotta make a living.â And she said, âWhy donât you go back out on the road?â If sheâs saying go back on the road, maybe I should.â
Felchtone says heâs very excited to unleash Hellbender: âItâs definitely back to old-school Zeke, man. Itâs just faster than hell, and itâs hard. Iâm pretty proud of the record.â
And when it comes to fitting in with a particular scene, he isnât stressing. âAfter the experience that Iâve had in the last three months, Iâm not worried about it at all, man. I feel like we donât have to fit in with anybody. We can be who we are, doing our own thing, and be integral on that level alone.â