The Mark of Cain (band)
The Mark of Cain (also seen as the initialism, TMOC) are an alternative metal band from Adelaide, South Australia. Their style has been likened to that of Helmet and Rollins Band, yet this band pre-dates both groups and was influenced by the early work of Joy Division, Big Black and United States hardcore groups. The Mark of Cain were formed in mid-1984 by brothers, John (guitar) and Kim Scott (bass guitar), with Rod Archer on vocals and Gavin Atkinson playing drums. 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 and Battles. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, 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 (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. Ian McFarlane, 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, Big Black, during their Australian tour. The band's first release was a single, "The Lords of Summer", issued on Sydney label, Phantom Records, 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