Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	61%
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Billboard	(unfavorable) link
Dallas Observer	(mixed) link
Drowned in Sound	(7/10) link
The Observer	link
The Phoenix	link
Pitchfork Media	(4.3/10) link
PopMatters	(6/10) link
Rolling Stone	link
Slant Magazine	link

The Return of Dr. Octagon is the tenth studio album by American rapper Keith Thornton, better known as Kool Keith. Released in the United States on June 27, 2006, it is his second studio album under the Dr. Octagon alias, following Dr. Octagonecologyst. The album revives the character of Dr. Octagon, who was killed off on Thornton's 1999 release First Come, First Served. Production for the album began in 2002 under the title The Resurrection of Dr. Octagon with producer Fanatik J.

Thornton signed a contract with CMH Records to release the album. Following a contractual dispute, Fanatik J was released from the project. The album's production was completed by the One-Watt Sun production team based upon three completed vocal recordings and older unfinished recordings. Thornton had little involvement with the production of the album. He later stated that he liked the completed product, but that it hurt his musical reputation.

The Return of Dr. Octagon initially received great reviews. The first single Aliens garnered the coveted Guardian Single of the Week in the U.K., and also was given a place among Wire Magazines top Hip Hop records of the year, but what followed were much more polarized reviews. The album did not chart. Much praise and criticism centered on the production, with HipHop Dx stating "This is Kool Keith's best album in years--arguably even better than his classic Octagonecologyst," and Newsweek stating that "If this album surpasses its predecessor, full credit goes to the Berlin production trio One Watt Sun, who come off sounding like a cross between Parliament-Funkadelic and Kraftwerk." Yet others felt that the production fit neither Thornton's lyrical style nor the Dr. Octagon character.

Keith Thornton, best known by the stage name Kool Keith, released the album Dr. Octagonecologyst in 1996, under the name Dr. Octagon, produced by Dan "The Automator" Nakamura. Thornton later expressed some frustration with the "Dr. Octagon" nickname, saying, "Octagon wasn't my life...I've done a lot of things that were totally around different things other than Octagon. Are some people just afraid to venture off into my life and see that I do other things which are great? I think people stuck me with something." In 1999, Thornton released the album First Come, First Served, which featured a track in which the newly introduced character Dr. Dooom murdered Dr. Octagon. Thornton had intended to move away from the Dr. Octagon character, but later decided to record another album under the Octagon name.

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Wikipedia