No Echo has been showing love to Touch going back to 2019 when the band released their debut album, The Darkness Reflects, in 2019. Since forming 5 years prior, the Budapest-based hardcore unit has shared the stage with the likes of Turnstile, Cro-Mags, and Terror, all the while helping wave the flag for Hungarian Hardcore.
In addition to the full-length, Touch have released three EPs (Illusion of Truth, Rearrangement, and deliverance), and just last month, they dropped their best work yet. Issued jointly by Corbata Records and Passion Means Struggle, Seasons finds Touch mining influence from Bad Brains, Absolution, and Burn, as well as DC harDCore.
It's one of the better hardcore EPs of 2025 (so far):
To support the Seasons EP, Touch will be performing alongside Der Weg einer Freiheit, Svalbard, Bong-Ra, and Boru at a book release event for INCUBUS – The Art of Grindesign by Robert Borbas, with more dates coming.
Since he's entrenched in the heavy music scene in Hungary, No Echo asked Touch guitarist Laszlo for some insight on a few other bands from his country our readers should check out. He was nice enough to give up the goods!
Thanks, Laszlo!
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GEAR
"Do you remember that one band that flipped the switch—when you stopped being just a metalhead, a punk, or an emo kid, and hardcore became the thing? The band whose lyrics showed you what unity really means? Well, compare GEAR to them. Flying the Budapest Hardcore banner higher than ever, GEAR blends the mystique of the 2000s with the raw spirit of the early '90s.
"Their sound, together with themes such as finding your own identity, confronting transgenerational trauma, child neglect, and racial prejudice, offers a glimpse into what hardcore can mean in East-Central European society.
"Founded in 2018, GEAR has toured extensively across Europe over the past few years and released their debut LP, Defined Horizons. Vocalist Tamás Marton appears on a song called "Facing the Unknown" on the new Touch EP.
"Follow GEAR’s journey as they are going to be on the road again this month!"
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Oaken
"2 guitars, 4 synthesizers, 1 bass, and 1.5drumkits. Oaken is an atmospheric post-hardcore band from Budapest. Formed in 2012 from members of screamo, crust, and hardcore bands, the group aims to experiment with different writing approaches concerning orchestration and song length.
Oaken presents a savage, overpowering drift with a grim, tribal sound by incorporating instruments that are uncommon in darker hardcore music, such as percussion and synthesizers. Slow passages explode into a mixture of crushing hardcore riffs and monumental, eerie melodies, backed by a wide range of vocals featuring fierce lows.
"The band create a lunatic, primal mood paired with a performance that delivers heaviness as intense as you can handle. Their sound includes slow drone noises, blackened sludgy guitar themes, and the overwhelming voices of collective desolation.
"Over the years, the band has toured the UK and Europe several times, releasing numerous splits, one EP, and one LP, mainly on vinyl. Recently, they finished recording their latest material, From the Bonfire (on Fractions of Life Records), which consists of 3 songs exceeding a total of 30 minutes."
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Messer
"Messer is a fairly new hardcore/punk band from Budapest, formed in 2023. They've released a self-titled EP so far and are currently working on our first LP. The EP got great feedback – first press sold out in a few days, and the second press just came out.It was mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air, which already says a lot about the sound: mostly influenced by late '90s/early '00s U.S. hardcore (like American Nightmare, Panic, The Nerve Agents), with some UKHC vibes and a touch of Hungarian gloom under the Turanian curse.
"So far they've mostly played local shows in Hungary and had one show in Serbia, but soon they’ll be playing in Vienna and at the To Be Punk festival, followed by a short EU tour in 2026."
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VÉR
"VÉR is the filthy reeking amalgamation of old-school death metal spewing forth from Budapest’s active punk scene brought alive by members of various punk, metal and hardcore acts. Brutal mid-tempo death metal full of hooks, doomy crawls and skullbanging solos.
"Their demo was released by Me Saco Un Ojo and they are hard at work on their full length."
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Satelles
"Inspired by ’00s melodic hardcore and metalcore by the footprint of Shai Hulud or Misery Signals, Satelles is a Budapest-based band with three full-length albums.
"Previously, they played with the likes of Comeback Kid, Touche Amore, Bane or even bands like Rise Against or While She Sleeps. They recently released a music video based on their European tour from Spring, and on their next show they’ll support Atreyu."
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Seasons is out now via Corbata Records and Passion Means Struggle (order vinyl).
Touch on social media: Facebook | Instagram
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