There is always something exciting and magical about reviewing a brand new band (I hadn’t even seen any of their pre-release video clips before this review). That sense of unspoilt wonder that comes with knowing that a musical act has never released anything before and seeing how they announce their entrance into the musical world. My very first impression of the Curse of Cain came when I looked at their photo. Basically, the anonymous band members all look like a cross between the Cenobites from Hellraiser and characters from Mad Max, and they all go by monikers like “The Pirate” or “The Soulkeeper”. My first thought was “Do we really have another gimmick band in this day and age where a lot of Metal bands are more worried about looking like action figures rather than playing good music?”, so I started listening to the music right away. From their visuals, it seemed like Curse of Cain could either go the ultra-cheesy way like Lordi, or the Extreme Metal way like Gaerea. It turns out it was a little bit of both, plus many other influences and elements thrown in the mix. If I had to nail it down to a few words, I’d say Curse of Cain play (for the most part) a sort of Synth-infused Melodic Metalcore, where they occasionally throw in elements of Symphonic, Gothic, Nu, and even Industrial Metal. A pretty ambitious and varied mix for a debut release, but in the end I think it pays off and we actually get a nice collection of enjoyable music with a lot to uncover with every new listen.
The album opens with “The Mark” and its very cheesy narrated intro. Now, I’ve never been a fan of narrations and spoken word in my Metal, but fortunately, the song quickly kicks off properly and becomes a high-energy Metalcore anthem with some decent screams and very catchy clean vocals.
“The Mark” is a very good opening track with tons of hooks to sing along to. It is worth noting that throughout the album, the singer tries different singing styles.
While I absolutely love his clean and higher-pitched singing (reminds me a lot of the late Kyle Pavone from We Came as Romans!), to be honest, I was not a fan of his deeper voice. I just felt it was a bit forced at times. This deep Baritone-ish type of voice makes a first appearance in the next song, “Alive”, and it does feel a bit out of place or just added for the sake of variety and theatricality.
It achieves that purpose to a degree, but I don’t know if it was absolutely necessary as the song is a decent track by itself already. It is not as energizing as the previous one, but it is an enjoyable song. I wasn’t a big fan of the Disco sounding part at the end, though. “Embrace Your Darkness” is next, and this is probably the weakest song in the album for me. It starts with a quirky keyboard line straight out of a horror movie and some very cheesy monster sounds in the background. The chorus is very radio-friendly but ultimately is not a very interesting or memorable track. “Blame” is next and while it slows things down a bit and uses the deep voice again, it manages to be a very decent song with awesome keyboard lines in the background. The chorus becomes very Power Metal oriented (which I love) and manages to bring a lot of life to the song.
After a mixed 1st half, I was hoping for some more songs with the elements that I enjoyed for the 2nd half. Fortunately, these came quickly. “Hurt” is the next song and it brings back some of the heavier elements from the opening song, plus some Symphonic Metal influences that make it stand out from the rest. The guitar solos in this song are awesome and its overall tone reminded me a lot of Amaranthe with its syncopated riffing and intense pacing. “Never See The Light” drags you into its melancholic world with a beautiful piano intro that quickly becomes very atmospheric and turns into a mid-tempo song that does everything correctly. The higher-pitched vocals fit perfectly in the way of the verses, and the song becomes pretty epic with the use of some growls to highlight certain parts. The middle section with the violins is also beautifully crafted and elevates the song even more. Probably one of my favourite tracks so far. “The Ground” is next. This one is another slower and atmospheric song that absolutely benefits from where the previous song left us because it matches its mood almost perfectly but brings a bit more energy. This one is very Nu Metal-oriented, with tons of Synth backgrounds and an overall ethereal feel to it, but it works really good. “Dead and Buried” is next. It has, again a similar vibe to the previous song in terms of atmosphere and riffing, but it is not as memorable, so it kind of dilutes a bit. Probably if it had been placed in a different slot, if could’ve had a much stronger impact, but still an enjoyable tune. The album closes with “Blood the End”, an epic and anthemic song with a lot of Gothic elements. The singer uses a different vocal tone this time that deeply reminds me of Nick Holmes and Paradise Lost’s softer moments. This song feels vastly different to the rest of the album, but it is a good song and a very worthwhile album closer, although I would have wished the band went back to a high-energy and more aggressive finale.
Production-wise this album is very crisp, almost overproduced to my very own personal taste, but I think that when dealing with Modern Metal and Synth elements sometimes this might be needed in order to achieve a very clean sound where all the bits in the background have their moments to shine. All in all this is a solid first release from a new band that is trying to pave their own way and experimenting with a lot of different soundscapes and trying to find their own sound. This album can sound a little disjointed at times due to the sheer amount of variety of styles they want to cover, but this variety is not necessarily a bad thing, and I appreciate and admire the adventurous nature of the album and of the musicians. I do hope that in the future, this band can find a more defined sound that they can call their own, as they clearly have a decent budget (their video clips are mostly very well produced) and a lot of planning behind them, even if it at this moment they seem to be a gimmick band.
Metal Purists might have a hard time getting around the music in this album due to the fact that it draws a lot of elements from more Modern styles like Synth and Metalcore, but in the end, I liked what I heard for the most part, and I do believe it is a good album from a band with a lot of promise. They just have to identify the things that fit perfectly, the things that kinda work, and the things that maybe not so much, and grow in the future. I am genuinely curious about what the next releases will be for Curse of Cain and their music.
Album highlights: The Mark, Never See The Light, The Ground, Hurt
For fans of: Architects, We Came as Romans, Amaranthe, Metalite
Curse of Cain: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Atomic Fire Records
Category: Album
Country: Sweden
Reviewed by Roman Ibarra
