Ferret Music Is Back and Already Signing Bands After 15 Years Away

If the name Ferret Music doesn't immediately hit you with a wave of nostalgia, you probably weren't neck-deep in hardcore and metalcore during the 2000s. But if you were, you already know. This is the label that put out records from Killswitch Engage, Every Time I Die, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, Poison the Well, and a whole roster of bands that basically defined what heavy music sounded like for an entire generation. And now, after more than 15 years of dormancy, it's officially back.

The Return of Carl Severson

Ferret Music was founded back in 1996 by Carl Severson, who most people in the scene know as the vocalist of Nora. What started as a way to contribute more to the hardcore community quickly became one of the most important indie labels in heavy music. At its peak, Ferret was launching careers left and right. Killswitch Engage and Every Time I Die both got their starts there. The Dillinger Escape Plan's seminal Calculating Infinity came out on Ferret. The label even helped resurrect the careers of bands like In Flames and Chimaira, and created the Sounds of the Underground tour, which became the first legitimate competitor to Ozzfest.

The label's run came to an end when Severson sold part of Ferret to Warner's Independent Label Group in 2006. By early 2010, Warner had acquired full ownership, and Severson stepped away entirely. He went on to co-found Good Fight Entertainment with Paul Conroy, launching a new label and management company. Ferret, meanwhile, went silent. No new releases. No new signings. Just a legacy sitting there, waiting.

Now Severson has it back, and honestly, his statement about the return says everything you need to know about the motivation behind it.

"I started Ferret as a way to be more a part of hardcore," Severson shared. "My friends all had talent and were in a band and I wanted to do more than carry things to contribute to what they were doing. It was a passion that turned into a life and into a career... Things changed. My friends didn't, and we still love listening. So here we are."

That's the kind of energy you want behind a label revival. Not corporate. Not calculated. Just a guy who genuinely loves the music getting back to doing what he does best.

The First Two Signings

Ferret isn't just coming back with nostalgia and vinyl reissues. The label has already announced its first two new signings, and both are solid picks that feel genuinely aligned with the Ferret legacy.

First up is BORE, a quartet out of Long Island, New York. They've been active since 2018, blurring lines between mathcore, hardcore punk, and alternative metal. Their debut full-length Feral was produced by Adam Cichocki and released via Silent Pendulum Records, and the band has been building a reputation for genuinely chaotic live shows. The current lineup is Branden Gallagher on vocals, Danny Kopij on guitar and vocals, Sid Valiquette on bass, and Matt McAteer on drums.

Kopij's quote about the signing is the kind of thing that makes you feel like this revival is hitting the right people. "From Cult Classic to Hot Damn! to A Great Artist to Versions and so on, the music that Carl, Rick and everyone else curated over the years became intertwined with our musical DNA. So to get to be a part of the Ferret family, let alone to get to be here for the revival is nothing short of the honor of a lifetime."

The second signing is Wounded Touch out of Michigan. These guys have been putting in serious work on the DIY circuit, featuring members of Sunlight's Bane, And Hell Followed With, and Steamroller. Their sound pulls directly from that 2000s metalcore well, channeling influences like Norma Jean, Skycamefalling, and Poison the Well. They've steadily built up a catalog over the past several years, including their most recent release They Promised Eden (Vol. 1) which dropped in May 2026. They've toured the UK, played nationwide festivals, and earned coverage from outlets like Metal Hammer and Brooklyn Vegan.

Vocalist Nick Holland of Wounded Touch didn't hold back on what this means to the band: "Any time someone has asked us 'who would your ideal label be to sign to,' we always would include Ferret... they were always the holy grail label of our youth. Most of our childhoods were shaped by the Ferret catalogue."

I'll be real, both of these signings feel right. You want a label revival to actually connect with the new generation of bands carrying that sound forward, not just coast on legacy. This does that.

Vinyl Reissues and What's Next

Beyond the new signings, Ferret is launching a vinyl reissue series that digs into the catalog in a meaningful way. Two titles are leading the charge.

Remembering Never's God Save Us is getting pressed to vinyl for the first time ever, complete with original artwork and a bonus track. It's arriving as a 20th anniversary release and honors the legacy of Peter "Mean Pete" Kowalsky. Then there's Torn Apart's The Fifty-Ninth Session EP, which was previously only available on CD. It's been newly remixed and remastered by guitarist Drew Lamond and will be pressed as a one-sided 12-inch. Both of these are the kind of deep-cut releases that show Severson isn't just doing this for optics.

The label has also noted that select releases from Good Fight Music will eventually be folded into the Ferret catalog, which makes sense given that Severson will continue running Good Fight alongside the Ferret revival. Good Fight's current roster includes Great American Ghost, Denial of Life, Johnny Booth, Heavy Hitter, and Your Spirit Dies.

Why This Matters

Honestly, the landscape right now is ripe for something like this. There's a whole wave of bands pulling from that early-to-mid 2000s metalcore and hardcore playbook, and a lot of them grew up on the exact records Ferret put out. The fact that both BORE and Wounded Touch are citing Ferret records as foundational to their DNA isn't just marketing speak. You can hear it in their music.

When you think about what Ferret meant to the scene, the roster speaks for itself. Killswitch Engage, Every Time I Die, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, From Autumn to Ashes, Misery Signals, Madball, Zao, A Life Once Lost. That's not just a label catalog, that's a blueprint for an entire era of heavy music. Having the original founder back at the helm, signing bands who actually grew up on those records, feels like the right way to do this.

The Ferret Music website is already live with vinyl releases and merch available. If you're someone who wore out your copy of Hot Damn! or Calculating Infinity, keep your eyes on this. And if you haven't heard of BORE or Wounded Touch yet, now's the time. Ferret has always had an ear for finding bands before everyone else catches on. No reason to think that's changed.

Cover photo courtesy of Ticketmaster