The Decline are an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

skate punk Skate punk (also known as skatecore and skate rock) is a skater subculture and punk rock subgenre that developed in the 1980s. Originally a form of hardcore punk that had been closely associated with skate culture, skate punk evolved into a mo ...

band from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

formed in 2005. They have been active since 2008 when they began releasing music and touring. The band's current line-up consists of vocalist/guitarist Pat Decline, vocalist/guitarist Ben Elliott, bassist Ray Ray and drummer Harry. This lineup has been consistent since the group recorded their third album Resister in January 2015. The band currently releases music on Pee Records (Australia) and is distributed internationally by Thousand Island Records (North America), Bearded Punk Records (Europe) and Disconnect Disconnect Records ( UK) In the past they have been distributed by Bird Attack Records (

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

), Oxford Records (United States), Bells On Records (

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

), Inya Face Records (

) and

Cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

/Finetunes (

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

). The Decline have toured extensively and have played shows in Australia, Europe and The United Kingdom, The United States,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and

. They have toured with notable bands including Face To Face,

Ignite To ignite is the first step of firelighting. Ignite may also refer to: Music *Ignite (band), a melodic hardcore band from Orange County, California * ''Ignite'' (Econoline Crush album), 2007 * ''Ignite'' (Shihad album), 2010 * "Ignite" (Eir Aoi s ...

, C.J. Ramone,

A Wilhelm Scream A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

The Flatliners The Flatliners are a Canadian punk rock band from Richmond Hill, Ontario. Since their formation in 2002, the band has been a growing influence in the Toronto punk/ska movement, with consistently well-received albums and live shows. History ...

Teenage Bottlerocket Teenage Bottlerocket is an American punk rock band formed in Laramie, Wyoming in 2000. The band was formed by twin brothers Ray and Brandon Carlisle, following the dissolution of their previous band, Homeless Wonders. The band's music is heav ...

Useless ID Useless ID ( he, יוסלס איי.די) is an Israeli punk rock band, formed in Haifa, Israel in 1994. Known as one of the most successful Middle Eastern punk bands worldwide. History Useless ID was founded in 1994 as a four-piece: Guy Carmel - ...

, Versus The World, Implants, Direct Hit, Local Resident Failure, Much The Same, The Fullblast, and MakeWar.

History

The Early Years (2005–2010)

The Decline were formed in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in 2005 by school friends Pat Decline, Dan Cribb and James Davies. The Decline performed at numerous punk shows in Perth during their formative years, most notably as an opening act for

Frenzal Rhomb Frenzal Rhomb are an Australian punk rock band that formed in 1992 in Sydney. Three of the group's albums have entered the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Chart: '' A Man's Not a Camel'' (1999), '' Hi-Vis High Tea'' (2017) and ''Smoko at the P ...

at Club Capitol in Perth on December 8, 2007. At this time, all of the members of The Decline were underage and lied about their age in order to be able to play the show. Between 2005 and 2008 The Decline were also joined by guitarists John Knowles and then James Bajrovic. In April 2008 Nathan Cooper was added to the lineup and The Decline recorded and independently released their first EP, The Same Kind. In August 2009, The Decline recorded their debut album ''" I'm Not Gonna Lie To You"'' at

The Blasting Room The Blasting Room is a recording studio in Fort Collins, Colorado. Founded by members of the punk rock band All in 1994, it is owned and operated by musician Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag, All, Only Crime) and Jason Livermore. Th ...

Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359 ...

with Bill Stevenson and

Jason Livermore Jason Livermore (born 25 April 1988) is a Jamaican track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. He has personal bests of 10.05 seconds and 20.13 seconds for the distances, respectively. He was the bronze medallist in ...

. The album was released independently on March 19, 2010 and generated the first Australian tours for the band.

I'm Not Gonna Lie To You and Are You Gonna Eat That (2010–2015)

In early 2010, James Davies left the band. His final show was supporting

No Fun At All No Fun at All (often abbreviated to just NFAA) is a Swedish punk rock band. History The band formed in the summer of 1991 in Skinnskatteberg. The group initially consisted of Mikael Danielsson (guitar), Jimmie Olsson (Singing, vocals, Drum kit ...

and

at Amplifier Bar in Perth on March 11, 2010. Davies was replaced by Harry, who first performed with The Decline on the album launch tour for I'm Not Gonna Lie To You in April 2010. In June and July 2010 The Decline embarked on The Pinkeye Tour with Newcastle

Skate Punk Skate punk (also known as skatecore and skate rock) is a skater subculture and punk rock subgenre that developed in the 1980s. Originally a form of hardcore punk that had been closely associated with skate culture, skate punk evolved into a mo ...

band Local Resident Failure. The tour visited

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and included both urban and rural shows. In 2011, The Decline signed to Australian punk and hardcore record label Pee Records and recorded and released their next album, ''" Are You Gonna Eat That?"'', on September 23, 2011. This album spawned a large touring cycle for the band in Australia, and was followed by their first international tours in 2013 in Europe, and in Japan with

and Implants. In November of 2013, The Decline received a nomination for "Punk Act Of The Year" at the West Australian Music Awards. On March 3, 2014 The Decline appeared at the Soundwave Festival in Perth alongside

Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxoph ...

and

Alkaline Trio Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Matt Skiba (vocals, guitar), Dan Andriano (vocals, bass) and Derek Grant (drums, vocals). Founded in late 1996 by Skiba, bassist Rob Do ...

. During this performance The Decline announced their upcoming fully crowd-funded EP Can I Borrow A Feeling and debuted new songs Yahweh or the Highway and Cool Kids Can't Die. Can I Borrow A Feeling was released on April 18, 2014 and was supported by a national tour.

Resister and Flash Gordon Ramsay Street (2015–2020)

On January 5, 2015 former bassist and vocalist Dan Cribb announced the departure of himself and guitarist Nathan Cooper from The Decline. On January 9 of the same year, Pat Decline announced that longtime friends of the band, Ben Elliott and Ray Chiu would be taking over guitar and bass duties and that The Decline were entering the studio to begin working on their third studio album. Subsequently, The Decline released a new single entitled "Giving Up Is A Gateway Drug" and embarked on a national tour, performing headline shows and as a support act for Local Resident Failure,

Guttermouth Guttermouth is an American punk rock band formed in 1988 in Huntington Beach, California and currently recording for Rude Records. They have released nine full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured extensively, including perfor ...

and

. On June 12, 2015, the band released their third studio album ''" Resister"'' through Pee Records. Resister was distributed internationally by Bird Attack Records (United States), Finetunes (Europe) and Bells On Records (Japan). In support of the album, the band went on a worldwide tour. This included appearances at European summer festivals including Punk Rock Holiday, Brakrock EcoFest, KNRD Fest, Dumb & Dumber Fest, Resurrection Fest and Rebellion Fest. The tour also included European club shows supporting

, a full tour of the United States including an appearance at The Fest in Gainesville, FL, a tour of Japan supporting

and Versus The World and a Mexican tour supporting

. After which, The Decline were invited to support

in Australia the following May. In October of 2015, The Decline were nominated for "Best Punk/Hardcore Act" at the West Australian Music Awards. In March 2016, Pat Decline played bass in

PEARS Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...

during their Australian tour with

Strung Out Strung Out is an American punk rock band from Simi Valley, California, formed in 1989. They are known mainly for their musical style, which fuses aspects of melodic punk rock, progressive rock and heavy metal to form their primary sound. They ...

. In May of 2016, The Decline's single "I Don't Believe" was nominated for "Punk Song of the Year 2015" at the WAM Song of the Year competition. In July 2016, The Decline embarked on the second touring cycle for their album Resister, visiting Europe and The United Kingdom during summer for festival season and club shows with

, or Manchester's Fair Do's. Following this, The Decline toured The United States with MakeWar and the Australian East Coast with Local Resident Failure on The Pinkeye Tour; Round 2. In October of 2016, The Decline were nominated for "Best Punk/Hardcore Act" at the West Australian Music Awards. In November of 2016, The Decline were featured on a Teenage Bottlerocket tribute album for Brandon Carlisle compiled by Ramone To The Bone Records, covering the song "Can't Quit You". In May of 2017, The Decline's single "Can't Have Both" was nominated for "Punk Song of the Year 2016" at the WAM Song of the Year competition. "Can't Have Both" was also nominated in the "Metal Song of the Year" and "Pop Song of the Year" categories, however it did not win in any category. In June 2017, The Decline performed at Jera On Air festival in The Netherlands and supported

CJ Ramone Christopher Joseph Ward (born October 8, 1965), better known as C. J. Ramone, is an American musician best known for working as the bassist, backing and occasional lead vocalist of the punk rock group the Ramones from 1989 to 1996. He is one ...

throughout Germany and The Netherlands. In August 2017, The Decline and Direct Hit embarked on a co-headlining tour of Australia. After the conclusion of these shows, The Decline commenced a West Coast tour of The United States with San Diego's Caskitt. Jared Stinson of Sic Waiting filled in on bass during these shows. In October 2017, The Decline played on the We Are One Tour in South America supporting Face To Face,

, The Fullblast and Much The Same. The tour visited Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Costa Rica. In July 2019, The Decline toured their latest single Verge Collection nationally in Australia and announced the upcoming release of their fourth studio album, " Flash Gordon Ramsay Street". During this tour, Josh Barker from The Bob Gordon's filled in on drums for Harry, who had broken his arm and dislocated his shoulder in a mountain biking accident. Flash Gordon Ramsay Street was released on Pee Records on August 30, 2019 and followed with an Australian tour in October 2019 supported by Nerdlinger. Flash Gordon Ramsay Street was distributed internationally by Bearded Punk Records (EU), Disconnect Disconnect Records (UK) and Thousand Island Records in North America, marking the closure of The Decline's contract with Bird Attack Records in the USA. Subsequently, The Decline were announced on festivals in Europe and as a support act for

Lagwagon Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, California, just outside Santa Barbara. They formed in 1989, went on hiatus in 2000, and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the band's tour van, which can ...

for the following summer, however these shows did not go ahead due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were rescheduled for the following years. In 2020, The Decline re-released their debut album I'm Not Gonna Lie To You on vinyl LP for the first time, and released a split EP with Sic Waiting on 7" vinyl which contained two new songs by each band. In 2021, The Decline re-release their second album Are You Gonna Eat That on a 12" picture disc to celebrate the album's 10th anniversary. In August 2022, The Decline commenced the Flash Gordon Ramsay Street European tour which had been rescheduled in 2020, appearing at summer festivals and as an opening act for Lagwagon, Mad Caddies, Get Dead, Useless ID, Belvedere, Anti-Flag and The Flatliners. This tour included The Decline’s first performance in Scandinavia. During this tour, The Decline played a cover of "The Answer Is Still No" by

No Use For A Name No Use for a Name (sometimes abbreviated NUFAN or No Use) was an American punk rock band from Sunnyvale, California, United States formed in 1986 by Chris Dodge (guitar), Steve Papoutsis ( bass) and Rory Koff (drums). The band's sound evolved con ...

each night in honour of the 10th anniversary of

Tony Sly Anthony James Sly (November 4, 1970 – July 31, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the front man of the punk rock band No Use for a Name. In his later years he also gained attention for his acousti ...

's death. A studio recording of this cover was subsequently released on digital streaming services.

Band members

Current members * Pat Decline – lead vocals, guitar (2005–present) * Harry – drums (2009–present) * Ben Elliott – lead vocals, guitar (2015–present) * Ray Ray – bass, backing vocals (2015–present) Former Members * Dan Cribb – lead vocals, bass (2005–2015) * Nathan Cooper – guitar (2008-2015) * James "Doody" Davies – drums (2005–2009) Honorary members * Josh Barker – Drums (touring) (2019) * Jared Stinson – Bass (touring) (2017) Timeline

Influences

The Decline have affirmed in interviews that their biggest influences and musical inspiration comes from the melodic, fast style of punk music that they grew up listening to, including other Australian bands such as

and

Bodyjar Bodyjar are an Australian pop punk band which formed in 1990. They began performing under the name Bodyjar in 1994; their previous names included Damnation (1990–91) and Helium (1992–93). The latter group released an album, ''You Can't Hold ...

Discography

Albums

* "I'm Not Gonna Lie To You" (2010) * "Are You Gonna Eat That?" (2011) * " Resister" (2015) * " Flash Gordon Ramsay Street" (2019)

EP's

* "The Same Kind" (2008) * "Can I Borrow A Feeling?" (2014)

Split 7” EPs

* "4 Way WA Punk Split 7"" (2013, with Scalphunter, The Bob Gordons & Silver Lizard) * "Great Thieves Escape 3" (2016, with Bad Cop Bad Cop, Success & The Bob Ross Effect) * "Local Resident Failure Vs The Decline" (2017, with Local Resident Failure) *"Year Of The Crow/Stay Awake" (2020, with Sic Waiting)

Singles

* "Life Sentence" (2008) ^ * "You Died, Losing 16 Experience Points" (2009) ^ * "Half A Beer" (2010) ^ * "We Lied" (2010) '' - CD release'' * "Showertime In The Slammer" (2011) ^ * "Excuse Me" (2011) ^ * "Worlds Apart II" (2011) ^ * "Treasure Island Was A Sausage Fest" (2014) ^ * "Giving Up is a Gateway Drug" (2015) ^ * "I Don't Believe" (2015) ^ * "Can't Have Both" (2016) ^ * "Verge Collection" (2019) '' - CD release'' * "The More You Know" (2019) ^ * "Brovine" (2019) ^ * "It Was Always You" (2019) ^ * "War" (2019) ^ * "Fast Food" (2020) ^ * "Kenneth" (2022) ^ * "Absent Mindlessness" (2022) ^ * "The Answer Is Still No" (2022) ^ + * "The Werewolf Of Fever Swamp" (2022) ^ * "I Never Cared About Christmas..." (2022) ^ ''^Digital release only'' ''+No Use For A Name cover song''

Music videos

Awards & Nominations

WAM Awards & WAM Song Of The Year Competition

The West Australian Music Awards, or "WAM Awards" are an annual awards night celebrating West Australian music. WAM also hold an annual Song Of The Year awards night. ! , - , WAM Awards of 2013 , ''The Decline'' , Punk Act Of The Year , , , - , WAM Awards of 2015 , ''The Decline'' , Best Punk/Hardcore Act , , , - , WAM Song Of The Year Awards - 2016 , ''I Don’t Believe'' , Punk Song Of The Year , , , - , WAM Awards of 2016 , ''The Decline'' , Best Punk/Hardcore Act , , , - , WAM Song Of The Year Awards - 2017 , ''Can't Have Both'' , Punk Song Of The Year , , , - , WAM Song Of The Year Awards - 2017 , ''Can't Have Both'' , Pop Song Of The Year , , , - , WAM Song Of The Year Awards - 2017 , ''Can't Have Both'' , Metal Song Of The Year , , , -

Trivia

* The song "Shit Yeah" contains two samples spoken by Comedian and Actor ''

Will Forte Orville Willis Forte IV ( ; born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Forte is known for being a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (2002–2010), a recurring character on the show leading to a feature film ada ...

'' on ''

Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! ''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'' is an American sketch comedy series created by and starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, which premiered February 11, 2007 on Adult Swim and ran until May 2010. The show features surreal and often sa ...

''. * The Decline have used samples from films ''

Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...

'', ''

Dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

'' and ''

Chasing Amy ''Chasing Amy'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee. The film is about a male comic artist (Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian woma ...

'' by director ''

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

'' on their tracks "I'm Not Alright", "Yahweh Or The Highway" and "I Don't Believe" * The song "Addison" is named after Addison Hall-Butson, the daughter of Ross Butson; The Decline's manager.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Decline Australian alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 2006 Skate punk groups Australian punk rock groups Australian pop punk groups *