ABOUT BORE
For decades, Long Island has served as a breeding ground for innovative hardcore and heavy music, providing a launchpad for everyone from Vision Of Disorder and Glassjaw to Taking Back Sunday, Backtrack, and many more. Bore certainly carry the torch for the area, but they also manage to leave a mark like no other. That mark is imprinted with face-stomping force by their inimitable and inventivehybrid of hardcore, metal, alternative, and experimental music. The Long Island, NY quartet—Branden Gallagher [vocals], Danny Kopij [guitar], Sid Valiquette [bass], and Fernando Morales [drums]—injectchaotic, yet confessional vocals into a blast of technically adroit riffing, off-kilter rhythms, andclaustrophobic soundscapes. Bore first emerged in 2018 co-founded by Branden and Danny. Over the ensuing years, they canvased the East Coast on successive tours and built a national audience. They dropped the Bore EP [2019], Bore II EP [2020], New York Split [2021] with Utmost, and This Will Not End Well [2022] split with Crisis Actor. By perceiving Bore through a boundless prism, the guys allowed the music to live, breathe, and grow organically into a signature style on their 2025 full-length debut LP, Feral—produced by Adam Cichocki [Gatherers, Soul Blind, Kaonashi]. KNOTFEST touted Feral among “The Best Albums of 2025,” hailing it as “hard to pin down and impossible to ignore.” No Clean Singingraved, “You should make time to give Feral a spin ASAP, or else you’re going to risk missing out on one the best new surprises of the year.” Signing to Ferret Music in 2026, Bore embody a boundary-breaking spirit in everything they do with more to come.
ABOUT WOUNDED TOUCH
Wounded Touch sonically react to the false promises of a fallen world. Rather than recoil in the face of a flawed system, the Michigan-bred band snap back at it with pulverizing and piercing metalcore provocations punctuated by elegiac musings, unpredictable instrumentation, and screams abrasive enough to break the spell of any nightmare. Like an exposed nerve, even the most tender emotion screeches to life from their storm of detuned guitars, noise-drenched distortion, guttural vocals, and urgent rhythms. The quintet—Nick Holland [vocals], Kyle Maddock [guitar], Mike Poshedly[guitar], Dan Horn [bass], and Alex Larson [drums]—continue to respond to society’sdarkness through the ultimate act of defiance: creation. Since quietly clawing their way out of the Midwest in 2019,their palpable progression could be traced from Americanxiety [2022] to A Vivid Depiction Of Collapse [2025]. Receiving acclaim from NO ECHO and more, Brooklyn Vegan urged, “Fans of Converge and early Cave In should probably take note.” Heavy Blog Is Heavy raved, “There are plenty of metalcore revival records to choose from this year, but Wounded Touch’s Vivid Depiction of Collapse remains among the best.” Plus, the group collaborated with everyone from the late Trevor Strnad of The Black Dahlia Murder to KZ Staska of Dreamwell and T.J. Miller of Still Remains. They have also packed venues as a headliner in addition to performing at Furnace Fest, Warped Tour, and beyond. Midwest roots and Nick’s day job as a firefighter paramedic for Detroit Fire further distinguished the collective within the realm of heavy music. Now, Wounded Touch take another natural step musically and thematically on their 2026 EP, They Promised Eden (Vol. 1), and more to come under their recently minted deal with Ferret Music.
ABOUT FERRET MUSIC
Ferret Music: Building Bands, Not Brands
When the lines between hardcore, metal, and punk coalesced into something fresh and ferocious, connected by an underground network of passionate, diehard counterculture creatives, Ferret Musicemerged as a leading independent voice championing bold, diverse, and invigorating heavy bands.
Founded in a New Jersey bedroom by Carl Severson and built organically alongside like-minded workhorses like Rick Barnhart and Matthew “Portland” Hay, Ferret was more than a business. A heavy music cornerstone, Ferret put people and passion before profits while backing some of the scene’s most influential acts. The principle was simple: build the bands first, and the label will follow.
Ferret's early years were scrappy and hands-on. The label grew out of hardcore basement shows and 7-inch culture, where trust was earned through action. Ferret treated its artists as allies, not adversaries, and that commitment fostered loyalty, which in turn built an unstoppable roster that helped reshape the genre.
Ferret became a launching pad for several artists who would go on to define metalcore, hardcore, and beyond. Ferret released the self-titled debut by Killswitch Engage in 2000, and Carl personally introduced the band to Roadrunner Records, where they went on to sell platinum albums and singles.
Ferret was also the first label home for Foxy Shazam, a major part of James Gunn’s DC Universe. Ferret was an early supporter of Ice Nine Kills, who went on to tour with Metallica, earn a gold single, and contribute original No. 1 rock songs to massive horror franchises like Scream and Terrifier.
One of Ferret’s defining relationships was with Every Time I Die, who became a Vans Warped Tour staple, co-headlined with Bring Me The Horizon, and graced the covers of Kerrang! and AltPress.
The label's A&R instinct was sharp, but more importantly, it was persistent. Ferret gave bands room to grow, find their sound, and build their audiences organically. There were no gimmicks, no shortcuts, no manufactured hype. Just great music, hard work, and a label that showed up when it mattered. This attitude also attracted established heavy hitters. In Flames, The Devil Wears Prada, Poison The Well, Madball, Shadows Fall, and Zao all aligned with the label for crucial releases.
These partnerships were built on mutual respect. Ferret didn't chase names; it worked with artists who shared its values. The result was a cohesive catalog that spanned subgenres and styles, from early releases by Converge and The Bronx to Martyr AD, Misery Signals, and Boys Night Out.
Ferret releases carry a signature ethos: authenticity, intensity, and a refusal to compromise. 30 years after its founding, Ferret Music returns in 2026, propelled by the same ethos, creativity, and passion. Most importantly, it’s back in the hands of the people who built it. Carl and Rick are curating a new roster of bands that embody the label's historic strengths while pushing the sound into the future.
Ferret's return arrives at a moment when the scene it helped build is experiencing a resurgence. House shows are thriving again. Bands are finding audiences without major-label machinery. Vinyl is back. The infrastructure is stronger than ever, with international distribution and innovative approaches to traditional and modern release formats. Yet at its core, Ferret remains a scrappy, artist-first operation. With a DIY spirit, determination, and loyalty to artists, Ferret Music matters more than ever.
