Zeke

Zeke emerged from Seattle, Washington as a relentless hardcore outfit whose rapid-fire guitar assaults and gritty hard rock attitude blended heavy metal elements—chiefly its speed and thrash strains—with punk aggression, occupying the territory between Motörhead and Black Flag. The band launched its trajectory with the 1993 debut single “West Seattle Acid Party,” advancing from regional DIY punk newcomers to national touring headliners through key albums such as Kicked in the Teeth, Death Alley, and ’Til the Livin’ End. In the mid-2000s the group aligned with Relapse Records and shifted toward a more pronounced heavy metal sound; after entering hiatus in 2007, Zeke resurfaced in 2018 with the studio album Hellbender.

The quartet formed in 1993 when Blind Marky Felchtone, Donny Paycheck, Mark Pierce, and Dizzy Lee Roth came together, issuing several singles before delivering the debut full-length Super Sound Racing in 1995. Flat Tracker followed in 1996 and attracted Relapse Records, which issued the Jack Endino-produced Kicked in the Teeth in 1998. That record and the band’s demanding tour schedule extended Zeke’s profile beyond the Pacific Northwest.

Dirty Sanchez arrived in 2000 and included a high-octane reading of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon,” at which point Mark Pierce departed and Jeff Matz joined on bass. The album supported extensive touring across the United States, Europe, Japan, and Australia, frequently alongside peers such as Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, All, the Voodoo Glow Skulls, Pearl Jam, the Supersuckers, and D.O.A. Zeke’s characteristically ferocious fifth studio album, Death Alley, landed in 2001 and concluded the band’s Epitaph era. The live set Live and Uncensored appeared in 2003, after which the group signed with Relapse and released the more metal-oriented ’Til the Livin’ End in 2005.

Split 7-inch singles with Disfear and Peter Pan Speedrock surfaced in 2004 and 2005, respectively, and the digital EP Lords of the Highway followed in 2007. A prolonged hiatus preceded the seventh studio album, Hellbender, which introduced the updated lineup of Blind Marky Felchtone on guitar and vocals, Kyle Whitefoot on guitar, Kurt Kilfelt on bass, and Dayne Porras on drums.