Early Years
Fields of the Nephilim's initial sound incorporated elements of gothic rock and heavy metal, and comprised a bass and guitar driven sound underpinned by McCoy's growly, doom metal-esque vocals. Lyrically, the band incorporated mystical themes, referencing The Cthulhu Mythos, Sumerian Mythology, Chaos Magic and Aleister Crowley.
The band is famous for their "dust and death" image, and often associated with characters from Sergio Leone's "spaghetti westerns" and often wore cowboy clothes covered in flour to give a weather-beaten look during photo shoots.
Their debut EP, Burning the Fields, was released in 1985 by Situation Two Records (an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records). The band "upgraded" to Beggars Banquet Records in 1986 (1986 in music) to release "Power" and "Preacher Man".
The next release "Blue Water" was the first Fields of the Nephilim single to reach the mainstream UK charts. It was followed by "Moonchild", lead single from the second LP The Nephilim, a release that cemented their status as one of the biggest acts on the underground circuit. The following tour became famed for it's light show and visual effects. 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.
Departure of McCoy
Frontman Carl McCoy left the band in 1991 after, apparently paying a large undisclosed sum to the rest of the band's members for the rights to the Nephilim name. The remaining members, together with singer Andy Delaney, formed Rubicon, while McCoy began a new group called Nefilim, releasing Zoon in 1996. This collection of mostly speed-metal tracks, pointed in a new Sepultura-like direction.
Rubicon disbanded after two albums; What Starts, Ends and Room 101. Nod and Paul Wright formed a new band, the jokingly entitled Last Rites, while Carl McCoy and Tony Pettitt worked on Fields of the Nephilim/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 former Sensorium vocalist Peter "Bob" White and Nefilim drummer Simon Rippin. NFD released the full-length No Love Lost in 2005 and a second, 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" (i.e. in the music press) not on speaking terms. One long held claim was that the "split" was a plot by McCoy and 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 and 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.
Recent Years
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" and "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 this and the follow up "From The Fire" delivered the band its first appearances 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 and company 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.)
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". However, even though recent dates began to appear, these have now been officially cancelled. According to the band's management, dates are currently being set for the first quarter of 2007.
I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.1
