Release and reception The album was initially released by Bulk Recordings on May 7, 1996, under the shorter title Dr. Octagon. Although the album sold relatively well, Nakamura has said it was under-promoted because it was released by an independent label. In both the United States and United Kingdom, the album was issued by Bulk Records on vinyl as a double LP, and on compact disc with bonus tracks,. Separately, it was also issued by Mo' Wax in the UK as a triple LP, reflecting the track listing of the Bulk Recordings compact disc. "When we did this record we thought of it as an underground joint", Nakamura said. None of the offers made by major record companies appealed to Nakamura and Thornton until DreamWorks Records offered to release the album nationally. In 1997, the label released the full album in the US under the extended title Dr. Octagonecologyst, which featured five new songs. Dr. Octagonecologyst was re-released on triple vinyl in June 2017 by Geffen/UMe/Universal via Get on Down, which included the original album, unreleased tracks from the era, and remixes. In promotion of the album, Thornton planned to perform under the Dr. Octagon name. These performances were supposed to feature a full live band, an on-stage breakdancer and appearances by Invisibl Skratch Piklz. It's unclear why they did not play these shows, but Thornton, Nakamura and DJ Q-Bert played for the first time together on March 6, 2017, in San Francisco. Nakamura has referred to Dr. Octagon as a three-person group rather than an alias of Thornton, and these claims were reported by the press. Dr. Octagonecologyst received largely positive reviews. Although it did not chart, Nakamura said the album sold well, even during its initial underground release. "We didn't have records in every store. We'd have 10 copies in Tower and the next day they'd be sold out, and then we wouldn't get another copy in for another month." Robert Christgau gave the album an honorable mention, citing the album's introduction and the songs "Earth People" and "Wild and Crazy" as highlights, and writing simply "the shock horror! the shock horror! the perhaps authentically crazy!" NME described the album as "nineteen strong doses of pure, undiluted hip-hop." Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReviews wrote that "If you aren't laughing, you should be bugging. Kool Keith obviously doesn't care. You should, though, because like every other record Keith has