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)