Review Time!

Graham Scala from aptly named Richmond, VA based RVA magazine (www.rvamag.com/articles) had some real nice things to say about the Cloud Rat LP on the magazines blog. Grind blog Grind and Punishment also gave it a good review. Jeremy Jones mentioned the Parasitic Twins cassette in the first issue of the Face to Face zine. Iceberg's "Born as Bastards" is also listed as one of the year's best EP's in the zine and we are nearly sold out of the first pressing. That issue also contains interviews with Bitter End, Product of Waste, and Rattletooth. You can pick up a copy at http://www.facetofacehardcorefanzine.bigcartel.com/. Parasitic Twins made the cover of new issue of the excellent Negative Trend (http://www.treehouseinitiative.blogspot.com/) zine out of Indianapolis.

Thanks to everyone who took some time to review our stuff, and Grey and I encourage anyone who has not yet done so to check out each of these publications and continue to support a real DIY culture.

More End of Year Sale Info.

From now until the first of the year whenever you purchase any MXD release at the webstore or from either Grey or I personally through the distro you'll recieve a copy of the Bodycheck/Resilient split and the Karloff EP for free. That's 3 discs for $5!

Also, the Parasitic Twins cassettes are finally available in the webstore. Check it out at http://www.midwesterndecline2.bigcartel.com/.

Finally, for anyone looking for a copy of Close Only Counts' "You're Not Gonna Like What I Have To Say" we have you covered and should be re-stocked shortly after the first of the year.

Parasitic Twins Cassettes Available Tuesday the 16th

Just a heads up, the Parasitic Twins 8 song debut cassette will be available on Tuesday at their show at The Dojo in Indianapolis with Parasytic, Chaotic Neutral, and Raw Funeral.

On Wednesday it will be available to order from the Midwestern Decline shop, for $3 plus shipping. Every copy comes with a code to download the music, in case you don't have a cassette deck around the house.

Sales at the Midwestern Decline shop

Karloff's "Bled Dry" and the Bodycheck/Resilient split have been marked down to $1 plus shipping on the webstore. This means that after shipping you can score both for only $5. If you already own either of these, this is a great chance to pick up a copy for a friend and at the same time support a local label committed to promoting local music and treating bands right. Check out the sale at http://www.midwesterndecline.bigcartel.com/.

Parasitic Twins

We're pleased to announce that we'll be releasing the upcoming Parasitic Twins cassette next month. Download codes will be included with each cassette, and a short run of t-shirts will also be available. Parasitic Twins plays abrasive early 80s styled hardcore taking cues from Negative Approach, Black Flag, SSD, and Minor Threat. The band is comprised of members from Daisycutter and Karloff and will be playing shows throughout the region for the rest of the year. For more info check out their blog at http://www.parasitictwins.blogspot.com/.

Game On!

After some long talks with friends and my wife over the last week and a half or so I've come to the conclusion that I probably pulled the plug on Midwestern Decline too quickly. I realize that this flip-flopping comes off as more than a little wishy washy and for that I'm sorry. However, it is what it is and I can't deny that often the pressures of running my lable, even with how small it was, proved to be frustrating more often than not. I realized though that once I wasn't doing it anymore that I very much missed it and it was probably worth all of the stress, money, and risk. I only get to live once, so I might as well do something that I find both meaningful and enjoyable (when it's working right).

With all that being said, consider this my official statement that Midwestern Decline is operational once more, and several projects are currently being planned.

First off, Karloff had some material recorded prior to their breakup, and in the upcoming months that will see release as a free high quality mp3 download. Grey and I are also looking to publish a bi-annual zine complete with CD-R compilation of music from various genres we find interesting. We will also be repressing the Close Only Counts CD which sold out of it's initial run of 100 on release night. Also, some t-shirts, buttons, and stickers should be out early next year.

Thank you to all of those who have purchased some of the music Midwestern Decline has released, you all make it worth it. It feels good to be back.

Close Only Counts and Iceberg CDs are In

While there may be no more new music coming from Midwestern Decline, that doesn't mean anyone should sleep on the two new releases that just came out. Both Iceberg's "Born as Bastards" and Close Only Counts' "You're not gonna like what i have to say" have been added to the midwestern decline shop. "Born As Bastard's is available for order now, and Close Only Counts CD will be available after October 9th.

Once again thank you to anyone who has shown an interest in what is going on with Midwestern Decline. I wish I were able to maintain it going forward.

The End of The Decline

Midwestern Decline is no more. After the upcoming Close Only Counts and Iceberg releases, which are both excellent, I will no longer be able to maintain this record label. I knew going into this that it would be an uphill fight. It seems that in today’s digital age, the desired price to pay for music is “free”. I’m not going to bash file sharing, or “illegal” downloading of music. As a musician, I think it’s awesome that people have so much access to music.

However, giving away something I had to pay for in the first place makes the situation a win for everyone but me, and I can’t afford to keep it up. I know that when a kid at a show tells me he downloaded something I released that he’s trying to compliment me but it really just shows me where the mindset is right now.

I’ve entertained the notion that music as an actual product is going the way of the dinosaur, and that it’s the collector who is mostly interested now. I think it’s great, more people are going to hear more bands. Those bands are going to have more touring opportunities and a broader audience in general if it’s so easy to hear what they are putting out. Likewise if the band puts together a 7” or hand packaged cassette, those who are interested in collecting have something awesome to hold in their hands and put on their shelves. I just can’t afford to do vinyl and package records the way I would like to.

Aside from the downloading issue, I’ve learned that while I love championing music from the Midwest, I don’t always have the time to run this label right. I haven’t kept lines of communication between myself and the bands as open as they should be. Likewise, I haven’t had the time I need to dedicate to this to do it right. Convincing myself to send promos, inquire about ad rates, and self promote every night after putting in a full day at work can be a gargantuan task. One I’m just not cut out for.

There are many people who would excel at this sort of frantic pace, always working, always keeping busy, and pushing on with their dreams. A lot of them are my friends, and the people in the bands I’ve been fortunate enough to put records out for. I’m just not that person, and as a result Midwestern Decline can’t be the label it should be.

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has helped me over the last year as I’d especially like to thank Grey Gordon who has been with me since the start and is my co-conspirator in this matter as well as Nate, Nick, and Eric at the Harrison House who have been kind enough to let me use their home for CD Release shows. I’d also like to thank Dusty Neal, Nate Click, and Adam Sidwell for their outstanding artwork, Rorick from Cloud Rat, Nevin from IFB records, Ty Brinneman from Metavari and 12 Bursts booking and promotion, and most importantly anyone who has bought any of the Midwestern Decline releases.

Sincerely,


Dan Kinnaley

Bodycheck/Resilient splits are in

The Bodycheck/Resilient split is now available for order at the Midwestern Decline shop. They are $5 plus $2 shipping anywhere in the US. Please email midwesterndecline@gmail.com if you would like to place an order form anywhere outside of the states. There are only 100 copies in the first pressing so if you are interested order now, because most of them will be gone after the CD release show on August 27th.

Bodycheck/Resilient Split Release Show

The Bodycheck/Resilient Split will see the light of day on August 27. The always amazing people of the Harrison House are again volunteering to put up with our crap and let us host another release show at what is in my opinion the best venue for music in Fort Wayne. I've had the masters for a few weeks now, and I couldn't be happier with what either band turned out.

Bodycheck play fast thrashy hardcore in the vein of Terror while Resilient prefer a more slow, brooding approach and frequently remind me of Integrity and even Unbroken at times.

The show is $5 and you get a copy of the CD with admission. There are only 100 copies that will ever be pressed so if you want one you'll probably have to be at the show.

This show will be the last show for Bodycheck and the first local show for Resilient since Midwest Hardcore Fest. It will also be KARLOFF'S FINAL SHOW.

Also playing are Iceberg and Parasitic Twin with another TBA.

New Iceberg EP coming by way of Midwestern Decline

Iceberg have been representing Northern Indiana hardcore for the better part of five years now, and we feel honored the dudes in the band wanted to work with us to put out their first official release. They play straight forward no bullshit modern hardcore that doesn't get bogged down in beatdown cliches and packs a huge whallop without regurgitating the same metallic hardcore stuff we've all heard before.




The band is finished with recording, and the record is currently being mixed and mastered. It should be out in September in time for their fall mini tour. In the meantime check out their myspace. They've got some older demo versions of tracks up, as well as all of their upcoming shows.

Cloud Rat

The Cloud Rat LP is finally in! As of this writing, I only have 47 copies left, so please get your orders in/let me know you want one as soon as possible if you are interested. I expect them to go quick.

Reviews are coming in Short Fast + Loud, Maximum Rock N Roll, Give Me Back, and some other zines and web sites as well. In the mean time you can stream the track Athena from the Midwestern Decline facebook page, which is finally linked on the side of the page. Also, for more news on Cloud Rat including show dates check out their blog at http://www.cloudrat.blogspot.com/. Lastly, this release would not have been possible if it weren't for Nevin Marshall at IFB Records or Sock at Otherwise Dead. If you have a second, please check out what each of them are doing as well, they are proof that there are still plenty of people out there who care about real DIY music and culture.

Ordering info for the LP is as follows:
The LP is $10 shipping included.
Checks and money orders can be made out to Dan Kinnaley and can be sent to:
Midwestern Decline
1515 Columbia Ave.
Fort Wayne IN, 46805.

Paypal is also available at midwesterndecline@gmail.com

The LP is also available on Big Cartel.

Update

It's been a while since we've posted any news, but we wanted everyone to know we were still alive. Here's what's been going on at Midwestern Decline over the last few weeks.

Close Only Counts debut EP is currently being mixed and mastered by Joel Lauver of Burning Bridges Studios (Roadrunner, Goodfellow, Metal Blade). It was recorded by Matt Riefler of Fort Wayne Indiana, and it's sounded excellent to say the least.

The Resilient/Bodycheck split CD is still on the way. It should be at the pressing plant very soon, and both bands are playing shows around the region all summer.

As previously mentioned, the Cloud Rat LP is currently being pressed and the artwork is being finalized. You can all expect that one sometime this summer as well.

Karloff is headed in to the studio on Saturday, the 15th to record new material and one old favorite for an upcoming split with Sick To Deth, featuring Eric and Nick from Daisycutter. This release will be a partnership between Midwestern Decline and Insurgency Records.

All in all, we're way stoked for how the summer is shaping up and hope to have more news to share with you soon.

MD

Cloud Rat LP Is at the Pressing Plant

Today is a good news day. First of all, I got word from Rorick of Cloud Rat that their debut LP is currently being pressed. This is a joint venture between Midwestern Decline, Otherwise Dead, and IFB Records. I couldn't be more happy to work with such amazing labels to help put out a band that I honestly feel is one of the best new bands I have heard in a long time.

Even better news is that Cloud Rat has been generous enough to post the entire LP unmastered for download on their blog. Seriously check it out. You can also hear the song Athena from the upcoming release on the Midwestern Decline facebook page.

I'll only have 50 copies of this, and ordering instructions will be posted shortly. I reccomend moving quick on these, because I doubt they will be around for long.

Cloud Rat: www.cloudrat.blogspot.com

IFB Records: www.ifbrecords.com

Bodycheck/Resilient Split Cover Art

Here is the cover art for the upcoming Bodycheck/Resilient split. The artwork was done by Adam Sidwell, and you can check out more of his work at www.52baddudes.tumblr.com. A release date and release show details will be coming soon. In the meantime each of the bands have posted songs from the split on their respective myspace profiles. Links to each can be found under resources on the right side of this page.

Also, Close only counts are in the studio tonight, and more details about that release will be up shortly.

Big News

Midwestern Decline is pleased to announce our two newest partnerships. First off, is Close Only Counts from Fort Wayne, Indiana who is currently working on material for the first release, and are lining up their first batch of shows. Spencer (drums) and James (bass) most recently from Fort Wayne pop-punk/hardcore band Party Foul are joined by Kyle (AXP, The Unfolding), Jared (Agatha) and Eric (Canaan) to continue on where Party Foul left off dropping much of the hardcore influence and delivering hooky melodic pop-punk in the same vein as The Wonder Years and Blink 182. You can check out their song She's Lying, I'm Dying on their myspace page and at the Midwestern Decline facebook page. Look for their release sometime later this year.

Second, from Mount Pleasant Michigan, is Cloud Rat, a grindy post-hardcore punk trio that evokes the everything goes mentality of the late 90s scene, and delivers a scathing aural assault. think Pig Destroyer meets Circle Takes the Square and Botch only in a more dirty, grindy, hardcore sort of way. Check them out on their blog at www.cloudrat.blogspot.com, and listen to the first track off their upcoming LP which will be a collaboration between Midwestern Decline, Otherwise Dead out of Muskegon Michigan, and possibly some others here.

Bled Dry Reviews

I'll keep this post updated with any reviews I find for the new record.

MouthForWar.net gave it a 3.5/5 and said some pretty nice things about it.
"Blending that hardcore base with influences of grind and punk, these dudes hit hard and heavy with thick bass, bruising guitars and beefy drum work. Vocally, there’s usually a couple of dudes shouting their balls off at you, but for the most part it settles in a mid-range raspy shout. The EP is short (like an EP should be), but packs a solid punch to the ribs."

Read the full review here.

Cerebral Metalhead doesn't give scores, but Etan was kind enough to write a review as well. As I can't figure out how to copy and paste any of the review onto this blog, you can check the whole thing out here.


Razorcake had this to say:
A horror fan could easily be misled by this band's name and by the cover of the disc, which features an image from Jean Rollin's Eurosleave classic The Rape of the Vampire. There are no songs about Frankenstein's monster or Dracula on this bleak and vicious album. The monsters here are politicians, religious institutions, and the personal failures that eat away at you day after day until there's nothing more left to consume. These monsters are presented on a sonic platform of rumbling concrete and knives against bricks. Not exactly uplifting. -MP Johnson (Midwestern Decline)

Bled Dry is Officially Out Tomorrow!

The new Karloff CDEP "Bled Dry" will be out tomorrow. The CD will be available directly from the band for $5 at shows, including the release show at 1624 N. Harrison St. It's also available nationwide for $7 (shipping included) through the paypal link on the right side of the page. To place an international order please email Dan at midwesterndecline@gmail.com.

Also, if anyone running a label or distro would like to trade for some copies please contact Dan via email.

We hope to see everyone at the release show.

Bled Dry Cd Release Show at 1624 N. Harrison

I just wanted to remind everyone that the new Karloff EP will be released on Friday February 26, and the first place you'll be able to get it is at our show at the Harrison House. I'm excited we get to play with some of our best friends and in my opinion some of the best bands in Northern Indiana. After the release show, Bled Dry will be available via paypal through this blog or our myspace and traditional mail order will of course also be offered. I'm sure I speak for everyone in the band when I say we couldn't be happier with the way the disc turned out, and we hope you all check it out.

History Lesson

Every now and then my generally fruitless myspace lurking has some benefits. One of which was stumbling across the Indiana Punk and Metal Flyer/Poster Archive. There are a ton of awesome 80s flyers just like the Samhain one featured above, and I was truly impressed with just how vast the collection was. It stretches way back to 1978 and continues to the present and features everything from Slayer and Type O Negative to TSOL and Black Flag. I spent a good hour taking everything in. You can check it out for yourself at www.myspace.com/punkandmetalflyers.

Likewise, Fort Wayne's own Adam Lewis of the Lurking Corpses and the recently defunct Graves of The Endless Fall hosts a similar collection that's entirely Fort Wayne focused at www.myspace.com/ftwpunkmetalhardcore260. Along with his Fort Wayne flyer collection, Adam has links to some older Fort Wayne bands, and he details his favorite local releases of the past two years. I also recommend keeping an eye on his myspace as well, especially if you are from Fort Wayne.

Last Graves of the Endless Fall show Ever!

Graves of the Endless Fall logo by Jake Sauer.



On Sunday, January 24th Graves of the Endless Fall will play their final show at the Cinema Center at Indiana Tech following a screening of guitarist' Sean Townsend's film "Below the burning light skin and floating viscera. For me, it's the end of an era.

I first saw GOTEF sometime in 2004, around the time they released their full length, and I remember being stoked that someone in Fort Wayne was doing something really different. Graves was a hard band to pigeonhole into a genre. To me they always sounded like a punk band playing stoner rock with a soft spot for 70s and 80s metal and just a slight hint of post-metal. It's similar to the experimental nature of bands like Botch, Converge, or Isis, but absolutely no one was doing anything quite like it in Fort Wayne at the time, and Graves of the Endless Fall has a definite sound that they have made their own.

To my knowledge Graves released one self titled full length and a double three inch CDEP titled Film at Eleven: Six Inches of Doom. Last I checked they were both still available at some of the Wooden Nickel locations around Fort Wayne. They are both well worth seeking out.

More information about the show can be found at www.myspace.com/gravesoftheendlessfall. I hope to see you all there to send a great band off in the proper fashion.

Dan

Show Update

Also:

January 15:
Lord Green, Hate, Graves of the Endless Fall, and Swan at 1624 N Harrison St. Fort Wayne IN

January 16:
Controversy, Karloff, Downtime, Great Reversals, Rescuer at Epsilon Place. Flint MI

January 17:
Controversy, Karloff, Resilient, Piranha at Discount Comic Book Service. Fort Wayne IN

If you run a venue, or are a band and would like your show information posted on this blog, I'd be more than happy to do it as I plan to post weekly show updates. I just don't have the time to dig for every show happening in multiple states. So just let me know and I'll make sure the details get posted.

Dan

Bled Dry is headed off to press!

Our first release, is headed off to be pressed, and here is the cover art. The cover image was taken from a French film called The Rape of the Vampire (Le Viol du Vampire) that the people at Salvation Group were nice enough to let Dusty use. The CD will be available on February 5, with the CD Release show at 1624 N. Harrison in Fort Wayne Indiana on February 6. Ordering details will be posted soon and will include a pay pal link on the blog and the band's myspace for any out of state orders. Grey and I are also looking for any labels willing to trade, so we can build up our distro a bit.

Dan

Midwestern Decline 002 Bodycheck/Resilient Split CD

Top Resilient, Bottom Bodycheck. Photos copyright 2009 Jeremy Jacobs


Grey and I are happy to announce the second release on Midwestern Decline. Fort Wayne Indiana's Bodycheck are teaming up with Resilient from Lima Ohio to release a split CD sometime in late spring or early summer. Both bands plan to record at The Ensomberoom with Geoff Montgomery.

Bodycheck has been playing around Fort Wayne and the surrounding area for nearly two years, perfecting their brand of straight ahead metallic hardcore with plenty of thrash. Think Terror, Maximum Penalty, or older Hatebreed and you are getting pretty close. They have a few older tracks and some lyrics up on their myspace which can be found here.

Resilient is a bit newer to the scene, but they impressed the hell out of us with their dark, groovy hardcore that gave off a definite "holy terror" vibe. They have a collection of old recordings posted on their myspace as well.

We couldn't be happier about helping each of these bands get their music out, and we're pretty confident you'll dig it when it hits later this year.