Fields of the Nephilim

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Fields of the Nephilim is a Gothic rock band, active throughout the 1980s. They formed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire in 1984. Carl McCoy, Gary Wisker, Tony Pettitt and Paul and Nod Wright were the starting lineup, and Peter Yates joined by the time of their first release.

The band's name refers to (magnetic) fields and the biblical Nephilim race.

Their sound was innovative in the gothic scene, incorporating heavy metal elements to make a hard, bass and guitar driven sound underneath McCoy's growly, doom metal-esque vocals. The band was famous for wearing clothing associated with the characters from Sergio Leonne "Spaghetti Westerns" such as "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" covered in flour to give a weather-beaten look.

Lyrically, they incorporated mystical themes, epecially relating to The Cthulhu Mythos, Sumerian Mythology, chaos magic and Aleister Crowley.

Their debut release, the EP Burning the Fields, was released in 1985. It showcased the raw power and melody that would earn them a big underground following. The band signed to Beggars Banquet Records in 1986 (1986 in music) to release "Power" and "Preacher Man". Both singles were alternative rock hits, and Dawnrazor (1987 in music), their debut album, did similarly well. Dawnrazor was a powerful Gothic rock collection of modern horror-film themed songs. Standouts included "Dust" (a live favourite), "Vet for the Insane" (a quieter melodic showcase for Yates' guitar and McCoy's dramatic gruff vocals), and the tremendously powerful ten-minute title track.

The band next released "Blue Water". This was the first Fields of the Nephilim single to reach the main UK charts, and it made a large impact on the Independent chart listings for their label, Situation Two. The next single was "Moonchild", followed by their assured second album The Nephilim. Displaying a more confident and polished sound, the band cemented their status as one of the biggest underground acts on the circuit. The standout tracks were "The Watchman" (later released as a live single outside of the UK), "Phobia" (a live favourite), "Celebrate", "Love Under Will" and the anthemic "Last Exit for the Lost". The tour that followed had a sophisticated light show and a wide array of visual effects, something the band would become known for as they started making videos. They were also playing larger venues at this point, building on their fan base and becoming more popular.

"Psychonaut" was released in 1989; this ten minute track indicated a slight shift for the band toward a more experimental and intense sound, that became a popular song on dance floors throughout Europe that year. This single/EP was a candle-bearer for the polished and highly produced Elizium (1990 in music) album. Produced by ex-Pink Floyd producer Andy Jackson (taking over from previous band producer Bill Buchanan), the opus represented the band at the zenith of their creativity and powers. The album was preceded by the single "For Her Light", which clipped the British Top 40 in its first week of release.

1 The Break Up, Or Not...
2 The Return of The Nephilim
3 Discography
4 See also
5 External links

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The Break Up, Or Not...

Frontman Carl McCoy "left" the band in 1991 (1991 in music), after apparently paying a large undisclosed sum to the rest of the band's members for the rights to the Nephilim name. The remaining band members formed Rubicon, while McCoy began a new group called Nefilim. Nefilim released Zoon in 1996. The collection of mostly hard metal and speed-metal tracks pointed in a new direction.

Rubicon - often compared with Marillion - disbanded after two albums, What Starts, Ends and Room 101. Nod and Paul Wright formed a new band, the jokily entitled Last Rites, while Tony Pettitt worked on Nefilim along with musicians Cian Houchin and Paul Miles. After Nefilim disbanded, Houchin went on to create Saints of Eden. Last Rites has released two full-length albums to date, Guided by Light and The Many Forms. Pettitt is now working with the band NFD along with McCoy soundalike Peter "Bob" White. NFD released the full-length No Love Lost in 2005 and is set to release a new album, Dead Pool Rising, in 2006.

However, throughout this period, rumours circulated that the break-up was not quite what it seemed. Members of the band were seen together in a number of Stevenage pubs during the time they were meant to be "officially" (ie. in the music press) not on speaking terms. One long held claim was that the "split" was a plot by McCoy & the Wright brothers to extricate themselves from Beggar's Banquet records owing to disputes over back royalties and a perception that the label was not helping the band as much as they could be: Nefilim & Rubicon were little more than means to playing out their contracts when they discovered that by splitting up Beggar's Banquet refused to release them.

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The Return of The Nephilim

Fields of the Nephilim "officially" reformed in the late 1990's. Fallen, a collection of out-takes and assorted unreleased recordings, was released in 2002, sparking rumours of new material. However, the prologue single, One More Nightmare, contained newly worked versions of old material (new versions of "Trees Come Down" & "Darkcell" that were originally intended for a film soundtrack). Fallen has been disowned by all band members, who insist that the album was released by the label, Jungle Records, without their wishes or permission.

Ironically, "One More Nightmare (Trees Come Down)" was subject to rave reviews, & both it & the follow up "Through The Fire" gave the band its first appearences on the world's pop charts since the 1990s. In the case of "One More Nightmare", its success was made even more incredible by the fact Carl McCoy had posted the track on the net to download for free the year before as a present for long suffering Nephilim fans to assure them that work was progressing on new material - leaving McCoy & co with a Bialistockesque moment of wondering "where did we go right?"! Whatever faults "Fallen" may have had, it proved that the band had neither lost their touch, nor their fans.

Fifteen years after Elizium, Carl McCoy has fourth full-length studio album under the name Fields of the Nephilim. Mourning Sun was released in Europe on November 28, 2005, with the North American release scheduled for April, 2006. The album is viewed by some critics as a synthesis of Elizium and Zoon - more restrained than the sheer metal fury of McCoy ca. 1996, but with a harder edge than the 1990 release. The seven original songs show deep, dense production and extensive and exemplary musicianship. (An eighth track, a cover of "In the Year 2525", will be found on the first 25,000 copies only.)

Despite the rumours, original band bassist Tony Pettit is not one of the 'ghost' musicians on the album - the rest of the Nephilim members had abandoned McCoy in disillusionment with the stop-start nature of recording, as he sought to build on the success of his "Sheer Faith" graphic design company. From the lustrous atmospherics of the first track "Shroud", to the loud crunching guitars of "Xiberia" the album never fails to interest and, at times, thoroughly excite.

According to their official website, the band will tour in 2006: "A series of key note and rather prestigious concerts are planned around the globe".

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