Since the release of his “Like A Boss EP” at the tender age of 18, Belgian wunderkind and Never Say Die prodigy, Eptic, has been igniting dancefloors and steadily forging his position amongst bass music’s elite with his inventive and unrelenting productions. Marking his fourth release on Never Say Die, Eptic is back once again to cordially present his “Doom EP”, an enticing medley of thunderous bass, screeching synths, and his rather signature use of ingeniously clever vocal sampling.
As the name so aptly suggests, Eptic’s “Doom EP” is jam packed from start to finish with four enticingly heavy original records and one remix by label cohort, Habstrakt. Diving in head first, “Doom” kicks off with ‘Gun Finga’, which I would assume to be the rather unanimous fan favorite of the entire release. First appearing as a dubplate in his own live sets, Excision‘s Shambhala 2013 set and the entire Never Say Die roster’s sets of late, ‘Gun Finga’ is classic Eptic through and through. From a production standpoint, the sound design is nearly impeccable, and the cacophonous collision of ferocious wobbles and punishing bass expertly work in tandem to create a dubstep track that truly fires on all cylinders. 
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From ‘Gun Finga’, the release continues to progress with the long awaited collaboration between Eptic and MUST DIE! titled, ‘Z’. ‘Z’ appears to be a rather seamless marriage of the two artist’s styles; however, to my surprise in this arms race of sub-bass, Eptic’s sound and styling appear to distinctly oversaturate the melodic synth lines and potent bass stabs of the Atlanta native. While I personally would have loved to hear more MUST DIE! throughout the record, there is no denying that for dubstep fans, ‘Z’ is still one hell of a tune.
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After enduring the seemingly ceaseless barrage of aggressive wobbles from the first two tracks, “Doom” transitions with the record, ‘Watch Yo Back’. Similar to his track ‘Space Business’, ‘Watch Yo Batch’ functions clearly as a record where Eptic took the time to experiment with his sound outside of his 140 BPM comfort zone. Maintaining the grit and aggression apparent in all of his releases, Eptic cranks up the tempo and masterfully crafts yet another drum and bass tune that will clearly find its way into artist’s sets all across the globe.
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The final original of the release, ‘Genesis’ once again slides back into Eptic’s comfort zone, presenting yet another bass ridden dubstep tune. ‘Genesis’ strings together a slew of comical samples with a potent blend of mechanical synths and gut wrenching bass. As a cautionary note, ‘Genesis’ is not for the light of heart.
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The EP concludes with the Frenchman Habstrakt’s VIP mix of Eptic’s record ‘Danger’. Habstrakt’s mix honestly brings a sound and spin to the EP that I believe few would expect from anything under Eptic’s name. The four original tracks of the EP were so profoundly heavy and aggressive, I found Habstrakt’s house-infused VIP to be a great and unexpected change of pace.
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Eptic’s sound design and finesse as a producer have only continued to grow throughout his tenure at Never Say Die and within seconds of pressing play on this release, it became evident that Eptic is showing no sign of slowing down. Given a little more leeway for experimentation and a few more years to hone his craft, Eptic will clearly be running with the reigns of the bass music genre firmly in his hands.
Eptic’s “Doom EP” is out now on Beatport and can be purchased here!
Also in case you missed it earlier in the week, make sure to stream and download Eptic’s complimentary NSD Vol. 48 Mix. Enjoy!
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genesis is just gutter v2