The stage is set. The lights go down. The play begins. In what can safely be described as one of the most theatrical and dramatic approaches ever found in modern metal music, enigmatically veiled collective CURSE OF CAIN are bringing a much-needed dose of innuendo and embellishment to the scene, creating an apocalyptic »Mad Max« style wasteland with their cinematic metal grandeur few are capable of pulling off convincingly.

The Swedes do. Their self-titled debut is a world of its own, more theatre play than metal record, a dystopian narrative set in a lost world. “Everyone in the band have the urge to do something more than just music on stage. We all love movies and dreaming ourselves into a fantasy world,” the collective say of their creed. “We want to play music that fits to the visual aspects and could fairly well be a soundtrack, too.”

CURSE OF CAIN haven’t just written a debut record, ranging from modern metal stompers to bitingly aggressive melodic death grandezza, from traditional heavy metal hook magic to menacing soundscapes from a future in ruins; they have created their own universe. “This has been cooking for a while now,” the band say. “It’s about 20 years from where the idea first was born till where we are today.” Centre of the story is biblical Cain, brother slayer, maybe the first persona non grata ever to walk this earth. “We have always been fascinated by the story of Cain and have not really seen anyone do something with it, so we wanted to put that story to life with a big twist.”

What that is of course remains a secret. We’re not here to spoil it for you. Suffice to say that each band member becomes a bizarre character in this twisted narrative, fulfilling a role that goes far beyond mere making music with some pals. “Everyone of us has a purpose for Cain as he needs them to help him finish his mission.” Meet the sickest band of outlaws heavy metal has to offer: Cain’s right hand, Soulkeeper, lead singer in a cover band to conceal his true purpose; Rainbow, the lunatic girl with a penchant for hunting; the Pirate, as every crew needs a ship to travel around in; Mechanic, the disturbed result of a droid military project that went wrong; and Timekeeper, a riddle of a man obsessed with time.

Elaborating the ecclesiastical and bloodthirsty story of Cain, son to Adam and Eve and thought by some to be the father of all vampires, we follow this cursed character through his immortality in a ruinous and crumbling world. “How would you feel if you could not die and everything around you dies but you keep on living?” the band ask, making Cain both the plague and saviour of a tormented mankind in the war-ridden year 2076.

In other words: This is an epic sci-fi blockbuster turned addictive metal record, a new chapter in terms of heavy metal storytelling. The magic and the mundane, good and evil, light and darkness, future and past, heaviness and lavishness all flow together neatly balanced in their anthemic songs, all the time maintaining equilibrium. Tracks like ‘Alive,’ ‘Embrace Your Darkness,’ ‘Hurt’ or ‘Blame’ are short movies gone metal, impressive demonstrations of their cunning prowess. Influenced by comic legends like »2000 AD« or »Judge Dredd,« their love for graphic novels and heavy metal flows together to form this majestic leviathan of an album. Recorded between 2017 and 2020 in their own studio with Alexander Backlund handling producing and mixing duties, »Curse Of Cain« is the overture to an epic poem the world of heavy metal hasn’t yet seen. “We will expand Cain’s story further and focus on every character around him. The second album is already set to be recorded.” And with their more than successful live premiere at last year’s Sabaton Open Air in Sweden, a new power is about to rise, taking us with them into a menacing and yet alluring world. Brace yourselves. This curse is coming for you all.

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