UK Band album was recorded on Echozone – BM08C148 (German Label)
CD Released in 2008
Goth Rock with a progressive edge and elements of ‘Stem Punk’
https://www.facebook.com/dmkrugermusic/
https://descendantsofcain.home.dark-promotion.com/
From London, UK, formed in 1998.
My Rating 85/100
Gathering information about this London based UK band titled ‘The Descendants of Cain’ was rather like trying to pick up clues at a detective mystery weekend, nothing very tangible to start with, which was then exacerbated by a seemingly not very well maintained Facebook page. And then somehow I came across the very useful descendantsofcain.home.dark-promotion.com the research needed to pull the basic info together was well worth the effort.
BTW They are not to be confused with a US Rapper of the same name.
Anyway:-
The brains behind the band is London based ‘Darryl Morningstar Kruger’ a South African born multi- instrumentalist, composer and record producer who has been involved in many other musical projects besides ‘The Descendants of Cain’.
Besides a fervent fan base ‘The Descendants of Cain’ first came to the attention of the music press towards the end of the 90s, when they performed together with Incubus Succubus at the ‘Camden Underworld. Their career then took a step forward with the release of several albums and a series of live shows supporting The Damned and NFD.
This then brings us to date with the rerelease of the incredible 2008 album “The Tao Of Wisdom And Misery“, again mastermind Darryl “D“ Kruger where apparently, and I quote, he holds a mirror up to mankind and points out the dualisms of the material world’.
From a Music Perspective: The album is a preverbal mixing bowl of strident guitar, rollicking drumming with lavish keyboard interventions that provide colour and sensitivity to an otherwise raucous top layer of musical direction. There is certainly a multitude of different influences that are infused within the structure of the music especially a flavour of ‘Steam Punk, New Wave Rock and the dark foreboding tones of ‘Gothic Rock’. But even then the album would definitely sit well with any aficionado of progressive rock where the melodic strains of the music and subtle changes of musical direction are well executed. Besides the interesting keyboard contributions the music is further enhanced with electronic interventions and pulses that one tends to notice more after subsequent plays.
The vocal arrangements are extremely well arranged with many examples of where two part harmonies are utilised with great effect. In this respect the use of an aggressive sounding lower range vocal offering is tempered by injections of a much softer slightly higher register creating extremely interesting vocal combinations. The actual voices themselves seem to suggest an overall rural feel to the proceedings.
Summary: A really good album, full of adventurous music, energetic foot tapping, head banging and full of melodic intent. An album well worth reissuing, hopefully it will find a more enthusiastic audience on this it’s second outing
Members:
D M Kruger, Dan Philips, Iain Smith, James Gambold, Philippa Moore
Track listing:
BonusTrack – Space Hulk (instrumental)
Bonus Track – The Illusionist (instrumental)
Bonus Track – The Face Within The Mirror
Bonus Track – Distance
