Ferret Music have officially returned under original founder Carl Severson, with ThePRP first reporting the label’s comeback, its new signings, and the first wave of catalogue reissues.
The label, founded in 1996, was behind releases from Every Time I Die, Poison the Well, Misery Signals, Chimaira, Zao, Killswitch Engage, From Autumn to Ashes, Converge, Madball, In Flames, Martyr A.D., Disembodied, The Dillinger Escape Plan, A Static Lullaby, and A Life Once Lost, among others.
Severson and Paul Conroy left Ferret in 2010, with Warner Music later taking control of the catalogue. Severson continued with Good Fight Entertainment and Good Fight Music, which will remain active.
Speaking on the return, Carl said: “I started Ferret as a way to be more a part of hardcore. My friends all had talent and were in a band (Endeavor, Ferret 01) 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. For the vast majority of its initial existence I worked with my friends, worked with bands we loved listening to and it was just honestly an adventure. We grew and eventually saw behind the curtain and ventured beyond it. Things changed. My friends didn’t, and we still love listening… So here we are.”
The first new signings on the relaunched Ferret Music roster are Long Island mathcore band Bore and Michigan metalcore band Wounded Touch.
Bore guitarist Danny Kopij commented: “Ferret was a label we always looked up to. 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. Looking forward to this next chapter of our band and to get to do it Ferret Style.”
Wounded Touch vocalist Nick Holland added: “Any time someone has asked us ‘who would your ideal label be to sign to,’ we always would include Ferret to not only be smartasses, but out of legitimate sincerity as they were always the holy grail label of our youth. Most of our childhoods were shaped by the Ferret catalogue, so we’d have been championing this return out of sheer excitement regardless.
But to instead get to be directly involved as boots on the ground for the return of Ferret and count ourselves among the pantheon of genre defining records released under that name is a validation that can’t be bought, traded or diminished. We’ll do everything in our power to earn the privilege of being asked to be a part of it and to be at the forefront of this return.”
Ferret Music will also begin reissuing titles from its catalogue. The first wave includes Remembering Never’s “God Save Us”, pressed on vinyl with its original artwork and an additional track for the album’s 20th anniversary. The release also honours vocalist Peter “Mean Pete” Kowalsky, who died from cancer in 2023.
Torn Apart’s “The Fifty-Ninth Session” EP will also receive its first vinyl pressing as a one-sided 12 inch, newly remixed and remastered by guitarist Drew Lamond.
Other announced reissues include Old Wounds’ “Suffering Spirit” and Racetraitor’s “Creation And The Timeless Order Of Things”.
More signings and reissues are expected in the coming months, with select Good Fight Music releases also set to move under the Ferret Music banner.
