The Mark of Cain (also seen as the

initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

, TMOC) are an

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...

band from

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, South Australia. Their style has been likened to that of

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

and

Rollins Band Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and " Liar", which both ...

, yet this band pre-dates both groups and was influenced by the early work of

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of N ...

and United States hardcore groups. The Mark of Cain were formed in mid-1984 by brothers, John (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

) and Kim Scott (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

), with Rod Archer on

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

and Gavin Atkinson playing

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

. Before long, Archer had left the group and John Scott took on the lead vocal role and the group has remained a trio ever since. The Scotts have been the core of the band which has featured 15 different drummers. Since January 2001, former Helmet member John Stanier has been their drummer; he is also concurrently with

Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Eur ...

and

Battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. Australian musicologist,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalis ...

, described the group's sound as "Gloomy, monotonous vocals and bleak slabs of metallic guitar did battle over a lurching rhythm section to arrive at a harsh sound." Rod Archer died on 26 February 2016. 2019 marks the 30th Anniversary of the release of the ''Battlesick'' album. A major national tour is planned to celebrate the occasion. Eli Green again tours with the band fulfilling the drumming duties.

History

1984–1989: Formation and ''Battlesick''

The Mark of Cain were formed as a punk rock group in Adelaide in mid-1984 by Rod Archer on lead vocals; Gavin Atchison on drums (ex-Spiral Collapse); John Scott on lead guitar (ex-Spiral Collapse) and his younger brother Kim Scott on bass guitar. Their name references the Hermann Hesse's novel, ''

Demian ''Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth'' is a Bildungsroman by Hermann Hesse, first published in 1919; a prologue was added in 1960. ''Demian'' was first published under the pseudonym "Emil Sinclair", the name of the narrator of the story, ...

'' (1919), which in turn recalls the Genesis story regarding the mark of Cain. John had read ''Demian'', which featured " a loner who thought his dark feelings were there for anyone to see as he walked down the street – the Mark of Cain." Atchison and John's earlier group, Spiral Collapse, broke up as John was concentrating on his university course, he also wanted a "new, harder sound" and disliked that band's lead singer. John assisted Kim to develop his bass guitar skill and met Archer at one of Spiral Collapse's last gigs.

, an Australian musicologist, described "the band's penchant for militaristic imagery and lyric themes (to say nothing of the members' close-cropped, marine-styled looks) only added to the sense of desperation and solitude displayed in the band's music." By the end of 1985 Archer had left and John Scott added lead vocals to his guitar work. They replaced Archison with a succession of drummers: David Graham, Roger Crisp, John Rickert, Neil Guive and then Campbell Robinson by late 1988. During 1987 they supported an Adelaide gig by United States group,

, during their Australian tour. The band's first release was a single, "The Lords of Summer", issued on Sydney label,

Phantom Records Phantom Records was an Australian record store and independent record label established in 1978 by Dare Jennings and Jules R.B. Normington. Phantom Records was one of Australia's first indie labels, and the store was known for its guerilla mar ...

, in September 1988. It was co-produced by the group with Anthony Bannister and was recorded at Adelaide's Soundtrack Australia studios in January of that year. They covered two tracks by former Phantom groups, "Journey by Sledge" ( the Visitors) and "Seein' Double" (Shy Impostors) for a gig give-away album, ''Assorted Desecrations and Magnificent Mutations'', in October, by various artists, to celebrate the label's tenth anniversary. Phantom's owners "had heard something different in the group than what they wanted to deliver, and their progress was periodically interrupted as they kept changing drummers." The band signed with local label, Dominator Records, which issued their debut album, ''Battlesick'' in August 1989. It was co-produced by Stuart Sheldon and the group, which was recorded at Artec Studios, Adelaide in February and March of that year. Patrick Emery of ''i-94 Bar'' felt ''Battlesick'' was "dominated by the band's Joy Division streak. On 'You Are Alone' John Scott intones in his best Ian Curtis manner while Kim Scott's bass pounds with the relentless precision of artillery session captured on loop." ''Ox Fanzine''s Joachim Hiller opined that it "combined gloomy early eighties sounds with brachial, bass-heavy Noiserock."

1990–1995: ''The Unclaimed Prize'' and ''Ill at Ease''

Their second album, ''The Unclaimed Prize'', was released in March 1991. It was recorded at Artec Sound Vision Productions during January to May 1990. Emery described how it "opens with the pummelling beat of "Fire in Her Heart", complete with John Scott's semi-demented ranting. It's a style the band built on – and arguably perfected – on its ''Ill at Ease'' album released in 1995 ... The lyrics suggest a love song of sorts, yet this is no sappy Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young 'Judy Blue Eyes' folkie-lust. It's as if the warmth and tenderness of the opposite sex merely serves to break down the narrator’s sense of self and internal emotional structure." Emery opined that the group's "style has been interpreted as misogynist, arrogant, aloof and even just too bloody loud, but its potency has never been questioned, nor the Scott brothers' commitment to duty. If ever there was a musical metaphor for human endurance, its TMOC. This music doesn't date, especially not in the current security-constructed climate." McFarlane felt the album "offered up more sonic blasts of rough-hewn guitar riffs and booming drums." In 1995 the Dominator label issued both albums, ''Battlesick'' and ''The Unclaimed Prize'', as a 2× CD set. The Scott brothers, each took sabbaticals from the band during 1990 (John) and 1991 (Kim) to undertake a "work-related project", including travelling to Chicago. In mid-1992 the group reconvened.

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...

(of Big Black) produced their next release, a six-track extended play, ''Incoming'', released in June 1993. Albini had met the Scott brothers back in 1987 when Mark of Cain had supported his group's tour. The EP was the recording debut for Robinson's replacement, Aaron Hewson (ex-Order of Decay, Grunter), who had joined on drums, after the release of their second album, ''The Unclaimed Prize''. The tracks were recorded at Artec Studios and Soundtrack, Adelaide and Chicago Recording Studios, from 1988 to 1991. Early in 1994 the group performed on the

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

tour and followed, in February, with a non-album single, "Tell Me", on the Insipid Vinyl label. McFarlane felt "the band's influences had broadened to include

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of t ...

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the title Fall of Because but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick ( guitar, vocals and programming) and G. C. ...

and Helmet." Dominator released their next EP, ''The Killer Within'', in July 1995. The group had supported a run of international visiting groups,

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their sty ...

, Albini's

Shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...

Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has ...

, Killdozer,

All All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

, Pavement and Primus. Albini's involvement with the Mark of Cain led to

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rol ...

(of Rollins Band) financing and producing the band's breakthrough album, '' Ill at Ease'' (November 1995). It was recorded at Nesci Studios, Adelaide, in July–August of that year. ''Ill at Ease'' became the band's first released to chart inside the ARIA top 100, peaking at number 73. It gained wide radio support for the group with national youth broadcaster,

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

, providing their singles, "First Time" and "LMA" with substantial airplay. ''

Tharunka ''Tharunka'' is a student magazine published at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Established in 1953 at the then New South Wales University of Technology, ''Tharunka'' has been published in a variety of forms by various ...

''s reviewer, opined that "LMA" is "One of the weaker songs on an album that's as heavy and intense as a death in the family. Verging very close to a ballad, 'LMA' displays all the trademark MOC stop/start syncopation at a much reduced tempo, showing that beneath the hard and tough engineering bloke exteriors they have sentimental sides." A national tour followed, after which Hewson left and Campbell Robinson returned.

1996–2007 ''This Is This''

In December 1996 the Mark of Cain released, ''

Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

'', a compilation album of remixes of the group's earlier material. McFarlane described the work as comprising "off-kilter remixes" of "band favourites." The group contributed two songs to the soundtrack of the Australian feature film, '' Idiot Box'' (1996): "Hindsight" and a cover version of "Degenerate Boy" (originally by early Australian punk band X). The latter track was issued as a single and listed at No. 78 on the

Triple J Hottest 100, 1997 The 1997 Triple J Hottest 100, was a countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J, and was broadcast on Australia Day 1998. A CD featuring 31 of the songs was released. A count ...

. Robinson was replaced by Stuart Baguley on drums in late 1998. Baguley was replaced in turn by John Stanier (ex-Helmet, also member of

and

) in early 2000. He provided the drumming on the Mark of Cain's next album, ''This Is This'', which was co-produced by Andy Gill of

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

, one of the Mark of Cain's early influences, and

Phil McKellar Phillip Jeffrey McKellar is an Australian record producer and audio engineer. At the ARIA Music Awards McKellar has received nine nominations in the categories of either Producer of the Year or Engineer of the Year. These include You Am I's " Go ...

(Grinspoon, Regurgitator, The Cruel Sea). It was released by BMG in mid-2001 with the announcement that Stanier was the band's permanent drummer. Australian rock music journalist,

Ed Nimmervoll Edward Charles Nimmervoll (21 September 1947 – 10 October 2014) was an Australian music journalist, author and historian. He worked on rock and pop magazines ''Go-Set'' (1966–1974) and ''Juke Magazine'' (1975–92) both as a journalist ...

, declared it as his Album of the Week for 30 June 2001, explaining "With each album they reach deeper into that well of human darkness, trying to finish what they started... hisalbum finds the Scott brothers linking arms with tanier It's an album that nails home its message, song after song, line after line. 'I never wanted this'. 'One time was too many'. 'I sleep better when I'm alone'. The thoughts of the outsider, which have fascinated literature forever and are at the core of rock and roll. When we lose that, rock and roll will be just entertainment." Jasper Lee of Oz Music Project opined that " tsees a more refined anger that is shown in particular by the drumming prowess of new drummer tanier which adds to the intense vocals of John Scott... the sound on this album is clear and crisp, bringing down the line all the bile and angry bits to be expected of the band with many a reeling, robust audio left hook that blasts the listener through the speakers." ''This is This'' peaked at number 26 on the ARIA Charts.

2008–present: ''Songs of the Third and Fifth''

The Mark of Cain, with Stanier aboard, commenced recording a new album, '' Songs of the Third and Fifth'' at Broadcast Studios (Adelaide, Australia) in February 2008, with engineer Evan James. Mixing commenced in December 2010 in Melbourne with Forrester Savell. In December 2011 its lead single, " Barkhammer", was issued and played on Triple J. A second single, "Heart of Stone", was released in September 2012 and finally the long-awaited album, ''Songs of the Third and Fifth'', appeared on 2 December of that year, through Fuse/Feel Presents, earning favourable reviews. ''i-94 Bar''s the Barman described how "TMOC occupies the space where hardcore, punk and metal collide and makes unique with a lyrical heaviness that makes listening to Black Sabbath a Sunday walk in the park." In March 2013 the band toured Australia with Eli Green on drums, sitting in for Stanier who was unable to tour due to his commitments with US band, Tomahawk. They completed further tours in 2014 and 2015, with Green on drums. Rod Archer, their original vocalist until 1985, died of cancer on 26 February 2016. In June 2015 the group had performed a benefit concert for Archer who was then undergoing chemotherapy. In July 2019, the band announced a national tour to play ''Battlesick'' in its entirety, for its 30th anniversary. A similar tour for 2020 marking the 25th anniversary of ''Ill At Ease'' was postponed. In 2022, The Mark of Cain was admitted into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame.

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:5 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1984 till:01/01/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Studio value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1984 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:2 start:1984 LineData = at:08/01/1989 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1990 color:black layer:back at:11/01/1995 color:black layer:back at:06/01/2001 color:black layer:back at:11/01/2012 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:archer text:Rod Archer bar:jscott text:John Scott bar:kscott text:Kim Scott bar:atkinson text:Gavin Atkinson bar:crisp text:Roger Crisp bar:rickert text:John Rickert bar:guiver text:Neil Guiver bar:robinson text:Campbell Robinson bar:hewson text:Aaron Hewson bar:lockey text:Charles Lockey bar:baguley text:Stuart Baguley bar:stanier text:John Stanier bar:green text:Eli Green PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:archer from:01/01/1984 till:01/01/1986 color:vocals bar:jscott from:01/01/1984 till:end color:guitar bar:kscott from:01/01/1984 till:end color:bass bar:jscott from:01/01/1986 till:end color:vocals width:3 bar:atkinson from:01/01/1984 till:04/30/1985 color:drums bar:crisp from:07/01/1985 till:01/31/1986 color:drums bar:rickert from:04/01/1986 till:05/31/1986 color:drums bar:crisp from:06/01/1986 till:07/31/1986 color:drums bar:rickert from:08/01/1986 till:01/31/1988 color:drums bar:guiver from:03/01/1988 till:08/31/1988 color:drums bar:robinson from:12/01/1988 till:05/31/1990 color:drums bar:hewson from:01/01/1991 till:10/31/1996 color:drums bar:robinson from:11/01/1996 till:03/31/1997 color:drums bar:lockey from:04/01/1997 till:06/30/1997 color:drums bar:baguley from:01/01/1998 till:07/31/1999 color:drums bar:stanier from:01/01/2000 till:end color:drums bar:green from:03/01/2013 till:end color:drums

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Singles

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - ,

AIR Awards of 2013 The AIR Awards of 2013 (or Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards of 2013) is the eighth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Revolt Art Space, in Mel ...

, ''Songs of the Third and Fifth'' , Best Independent Hard Rock or Punk Album , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

are a set of annual ceremonies presented by

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...

(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, , ''This is This'' , ,

Best Rock Album The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sev ...

, , , , ARIA Award previous winners. , -

Fowler's Live Music Awards

The Fowler's Live Music Awards took place from 2012 to 2014 to "recognise success and achievement over the past 12 months ndcelebrate the great diversity of original live music" in South Australia. Since 2015 they're known as the

South Australian Music Awards The South Australian Music Awards, also known as SA Music Awards, commonly SAM Awards, formerly Fowler's Live Music Awards (FLMA), are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary mu ...

. , - , 2013 , Mark of Cain , Best Punk Artist , , -

References

;General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. ;Specific

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mark of Cain, The Australian alternative metal musical groups Musical groups from Adelaide Musical groups established in 1984 Australian musical trios