The Mark of Cain (also seen as the initialism TMOC) are an alternative metal band from Adelaide, South Australia. Their influences include Sonic Youth, and Henry Rollins financed and produced their 1995 breakthrough album, Ill at Ease. They released their first album, Battlesick, in 1989, following up with The Unclaimed Prize in 1991. Since Ill at Ease. A compilation album, Rock and Roll was released in 1996 and The Complete Recordings 88–98 in 1998. These were followed by This Is This... in 2001 and Songs of the Third and Fifth in 2012. They have since undertaken several tours of Australia and played at several festivals.
The Mark of Cain were formed in mid-1984 by siblings Josie (guitar) and Kim Scott (bass guitar), with Rod Archer on vocals and Gavin Atchison playing drums. In 1985, Archer left the group. Josie 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 ten different drummers over the years, including former Helmet member, American drummer John Stanier between 2001 and 2013. Eli Green stood in for Stanier from 2013 and is playing with them . They continue to write songs and rehearse together, with plans to release more songs.<!---according to Stanier's article, he's been back in the US playing with other bands for a while--->
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); Josie Scott on guitar (ex-Spiral Collapse), and her younger brother Kim Scott on bass guitar.
In July 2019, the band announced a national tour to play Battlesick in its entirety for the album's 30th anniversary. A national tour took place in October, and the album was re-released on vinyl. Eli Green played drums on the tour.
2020–present
A tour for 2020 marking the 25th anniversary of Ill At Ease was postponed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the "A Different Kind Of Tension Tour" was announced, starting in August with two shows in Adelaide coinciding with the band's induction into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame. they would be performing Ill At Ease live as part of The Eighty-Six Festival at the Croxton Bandroom in Melbourne in October. However, due to a bike accident with significant injuries to Kim Scott, all shows in September and October were cancelled.
TMOC performed Ill At Ease live in all states from November 2023 after Kim recovered from his injuries. Eli Green again toured with the band, marking 10 years since joining the band for tour duties. The tour coincided with a deluxe remastered vinyl reissue of the album. A companion piece titled Livid Live '96,
In February 2026, the band was continuing to rehearse every Saturday, and has been writing new songs, including a couple written by drummer Eli Green. There are plans to release more songs.
Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane has described the group's sound as "Gloomy, monotonous vocals and bleak slabs of metallic guitar [doing] battle over a lurching rhythm section to arrive at a harsh sound." wrote in 2026 that they were "A dark and powerful band that uses combat themes in its imagery — yet screams with an expressive intelligence that could start a riot in the right setting". She told an ABC radio interviewer that she had known who she was when she was eight or nine years old, but "it was just a matter of what I saw as trying to endure it". She had not even informed her brother Kim, but said that her identity had informed her music, with Ill at Ease describing how she felt. Her announcement was met with supportive comments from fans, other bands, and strangers.
|Songs of the Third and Fifth
| Best Independent Hard Rock or Punk Album
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ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by the Australian Recording Industry Association. They commenced in 1987.
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| 2001 || This is This || Best Rock Album|| ||
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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 [and] celebrate the great diversity of original live music" in South Australia. Since 2015 they're known as the South Australian Music Awards.
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| 2013
| The Mark of Cain
| Best Punk Artist
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South Australian Music Hall of Fame
The Mark of Cain has been inducted into the SA Music Hall of Fame, joining The Angels, Cold Chisel and The Masters Apprentices as legends of the local music scene.
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! scope="row"| Battlesick
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- Released: August 1989
- Label: Dominator <small>(DOMA006)</small>
- Format: LP, Cassette
| —
|-
! scope="row"| The Unclaimed Prize
|
- Released: February 1991
- Label: Dominator <small>(DOMA010)</small>
- Format: LP, Cassette
| —
|-
! scope="row"| Ill at Ease
|
- Released: November 1995
- Label: rooArt <small>(2068300010)</small>
- Format: CD
| 40<br />
|-
! scope="row"| This Is This...
|
- Released: June 2001
- Label: rooArt <small>(74321847672)</small>
- Format: CD
| 26
|-
! scope="row"| Songs of the Third and Fifth
|
- Released: November 2012
- Label: Feel Presents <small>(FEEL 012)</small>
- Format: CD, LP, digital
| 38
|}
Live albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Details
|-
! scope="row"| Attrition
|
- Released: 1988
- Label: EC Productions <small>(EC-013)</small>
- Format: Cassette
- Recorded live between 1986–1988
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! scope="row"| Livid Live '96
|
- Released: 2023
- Label: Cooking Vinyl Australia <small>(CVLP142)</small>
- Format: Vinyl
- Recorded live at Livid Festival in Brisbane, Australia 5 October 1996
|}
Compilation albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Details
|-
! scope="row"| Rock and Roll
|
- Released: December 1996
- Label: rooArt <small>(74321447042)</small>
- Format: CD
- Remix compilation
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! scope="row"| The Complete Recordings 88–98
|
- Released: October 1998
- Label: rooArt <small>(TMOCBOX1)</small>
- Format: 4×CD
|}
Extended plays
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Details
|-
! scope="row"| Incoming
|
- Released: June 1993
- Label: Dominator <small>(DOMCD017)</small>
- Format: CD
- Limited to 2500 copies
|-
! scope="row"| The Killer Is Within
|
- Released: April 1995
- Label: Dominator <small>(DOMCD020)</small>
- Format: CD
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:1em;"| Year
! scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUS<br />