The Epileptix

Self Hate

scum stats: 300 black vinyl, 100 clear, some with yellow sleeve, some with black-and-white sleeve, limited to 50 copies with color photocopied sleeve and 50 clear vinyl (the copy I'm holding)

If you ever thought that the Clone Defects were a little TOO polished, well rewind a year or so before their inception and get a load of what Tim Vulgar was doing here with the Epileptix. The RAW "Killed By Death"-inspired punk rock was sort of a bubbling underground at the time in 1997, so much so that a recent series of compilations titled "Destroy All Art" kicked off their entire endeavor with the title track from this single.

(That series is dope, by the way, may be my favorite idea behind a compilation in the past decade or so. Go explore.)

I LOVE the idea that this record comes from a Detroit band just BARELY before I was cognisant/participating in the local music scene there. As in, I must've missed these guys by a minute. I have recollection of seeing both the Piranhas and Clone Defects before THEY ever put out any records, and it appears the collapse of the Epileptix is what enabled the genesis of those two acts, both of whom I adore.

And the fact that someone was doing a colored vinyl/sleeve variant limited to 50 copies in '97? Right up my alley. Just beautiful. The 8+ minutes to listen to these four songs is worth it for a nice, self-contained aggro session for the day. Don't you deserve at least that much?