The story of Vicious Instinct is one of reinvention and resilience.

In 2012, I injured my spine and my life changed forever. Unable to continue working in my trade, I decided to pour my energy into music, and from hard times, Vicious Instinct Records was born. Initially, I was just trying to give my bands, and my friends' bands a platform. It quickly grew into something much bigger, and almost instantly, we started signing bands from all around the world.

For nearly a decade, I dedicated my free time to supporting the underground, and always prioritised giving the bands I enjoyed listening to, a platform, regardless of how big they were. A lot of those bands went on to be household names, and I am super proud of what we did together. Unfortunately, a few spinal surgeries got in the way and I reached a point where I could no longer keep up with the immense workload an independent label requires. In 2023, Laura and I made the difficult decision to close Vicious Instinct Records permanently.

The surgeries have left a lasting mark on me and my family, but my love for extreme music and the community that surrounds it kept me going. From hard times, Vicious Instinct was reborn, not as a record label this time, but as something new. Vicious Instinct is far from your run-of-the-mill merch store. We’re a full cut & sew merch company with both in-house production and a manufacturing facility at our fingertips.

Vicious Instinct stands as a testament to resilience, craft, and a deep love for music and community.

-Matt Turkington, Founder