Fields Of The Nephilim - Blue Water 12”

Few bands have as strong an identity as Fields Of The Nephilim. Even seen in silhouette (partly obscured by a dry ice fog; wearing their trademark wide-brimmed hats, mirrored sunglasses, long duster coats, cowboy boots, and a shroud of mystery) they’re unmistakable. Musically, there’s nothing quite like their pairing of what would become Goth signatures (baritone vocals, chiming chords, bleak soundscapes, a bass player convinced they’re lead guitarist) with twangy Spaghetti Western slide guitar. And lyrically, Carl McCoy’s interests (religion, the occult, the Victorian underworld) shaped a post-apocalyptic world to match the music’s brooding sense of unease. But we’re here to talk about Blue Water, so let’s begin because as much as Burning The Fields is a fantastic debut, most of the early Nephilim stuff is quite patchy. Dawnrazor is a good album, but only has three or four songs on it I'd consider really good. I like the B-side of Preacher Man more than I actually like Preacher Man. Same goes for Power, relatively dull A-side, one good and one absolutely fantastic B-side (I'm talking of course, about The Tower). Blue Water is easily the best single they released pre Moonchild. Not really a transitional song, it could've fitted in on Dawnrazor with a sparser sound replete with cowboy guitars and groovy, driving bass lines, but has more atmosphere and power than much of what came before it. And then there's the cover of Roxy Music's "In Every Dreamhome a Heartache", a mournful, melodramatic, overblown ballad about... Well, it's funnier when you discover it for yourself.

Fields Of The Nephilim - From The Fire 2xCD

From the Fire accompanied the album Fallen (an album of demos/works in progress) in three formats, 2xCD singles and a 10” vinyl (if anyone happens to have?).

Fields Of The Nephilim – Fallen

What was touted as a rebirth of the seminal gothic troupe, the first new material from bandleader and vocalist Carl McCoy as Fields of the Nephilim in over a decade, might have been more of a marketing ploy than anything else; none of the original band members aside from McCoy and Tony Pettitt appear on Fallen, but more damning was the band's website, which, upon the release of the disc, insisted in no uncertain terms that they wanted nothing more to do with the name Fields of the Nephilim and accusing the disc as being an unauthorized cash-in of unreleased (and, they further claimed, unfinished) demos that were pilfered by their label. Without bearing this unique situation in mind, Fallen is a decent enough album. It fits between early The Sisters of Mercy, the crunch of Zoon, and the more gothic-flavoured of the nü crew (think Godhead) -- all without seeming outdated or contrived. Considering the current state of affairs, however, one doesn't know what Fields of the Nephilim wanted us to think, except that the band makes some high-quality demos.

The Nephilim

Having built a considerable and passionate fanbase, the Nephilim approached their second album with confidence and a clutch of stunning new songs. The resulting, semi-self-titled release blows away the first by a mile (the art design alone, depicting an ancient, worn book with strange symbols, is a winner), being an elegantly produced and played monster of dark, powerful rock. Even if McCoy's cries and husked whispers don't appeal to all, once the listener gets past that to the music, the band simply goes off, incorporating their various influences (especially a good dollop of pre-Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd (think songs like "One of These Days")) to create a massive blast of a record. Buchanan again produces with a careful ear for maximum impact, whether it be the roaring rage of "Chord of Souls" or the minimal guitar and slight keyboard wash of "Celebrate"; McCoy's vocal on the latter is especially fine as a careful, calm brood that matches the music. Perhaps most surprising about the album is that it yielded an honest-to-goodness U.K. Top 40 hit with "Moonchild," which is very much in the vein of earlier songs like "Preacher Man" but with just enough of a catchier chorus and softer guitar part in the verse to make a wider mark. Though the first part of the album is quite fine, including such longtime fan favourites as "The Watchman" and "Phobia," after "Moonchild" the record simply doesn't let up, building to a fantastic three-song conclusion. "Celebrate" is followed by "Love Under Will," a windswept, gloomily romantic number with a lovely combination of the band's regular push and extra keyboards for effect. "Last Exit for the Lost" wraps everything up on an astonishing high; starting off softly with just bass, synths, one guitar, and McCoy, it then gently speeds up more and more, pumping up the volume and finally turning into a momentous, unstoppable tidal wave of electric energy.

Once Upon A Time In The West; Dawnrazor

Losing the saxophone player from earlier EPs and taking advantage of better budgets and studios, the Nephilim on their first full album established themselves as serious contenders in the Goth world. It certainly didn't hurt having signed to Beggars Banquet, home of such acts as Bauhaus and the Cult, though the more obvious source of the Nephilim's sound at this point was The Sisters of Mercy, various attempts to deny it aside. Like Eldritch's crew, the Nephilim five some weren't aiming just for the clad-in-black audience, but at being a great group in general; while that goal wasn't quite achieved on Dawnrazor, the band came very close. With sympathetic and evocative production throughout by Bill Buchanan, the album strongly showcases another chief element of the Nephilim's sound: Ennio Morricone. The at-the-time totally outrageous fusion of smoky, cinematic spaghetti western guitars with the doom-wracked ominous flavour of the music in general, not to mention McCoy's growled invocations of pagan ceremonies and mystic energy, provoked a lot of merriment from outside observers. The Nephilim stuck to their guns, though, and by wisely never cracking a smile on this album, they avoided the cheap ironic way out. Songs here which would become classics in the band's repertoire included the fiery "Preacher Man," which sounds like what would happen if Sergio Leone filmed a Stephen King story; the quick, dark gallop of "Power" (originally a separate single, then added to the album on later pressings); and the slow, powerful build of the title track, featuring McCoy practically calling the demons down on his head. For all of the undeniable musicianship and storming fury of the songs, sometimes things just get a little too goofy for words, as revealed in a classic, unintentionally hilarious lyric by McCoy from "Vet for the Insane": "The flowers in the kitchen...WEEP for you!."

A grating buzz-saw guitar riff echoes over the windswept landscape as five shadowy figures emerge out of the dust clouds and walk slowly but purposefully towards the camera. Their grimy duster coats flap in the wind as they arrange themselves in a line and coldly regard the young boy staring up at them from the corpse littered farm. Frank's icy blue eyes stare down at the child as he considers whether to blow him away.

You can do a lot worse than base your band's image on one of the most enduring portraits from movie history. Henry Fonda's famous villainous turn in Sergio Leone's masterpiece 'Once Upon A Time In The West' shocked audiences across the world on its release in 1968. Goth act Fields Of The Nephilim took note of the strong imagery and duly adopted the dusters and cowboy hats for their live shows. Replace the dust with copious amounts of dry ice and the guns for musical instruments and you have a fair idea of how the band announced their presence on stage from venue to venue. 'The Nephs' were indeed an electric live act during their peak. This album, their debut, attempted to capture their energy and vitality in a studio setting. Sadly, the overall package proved to be a rather diluted representation of their latent power.
Not content to merely base their image and stage show on the aforementioned film this album opens with a piece of music lifted straight from Ennio Morricone's soundtrack. 'Harmonica Man' sets the scene admirably with its haunting abrasive guitar and slow crescendo but unfortunately the anticipation engendered by this classic opening falls somewhat flat as the band launch into 'Slow Kill'. The song itself is a decent slice of mid-tempo Goth rock which proved to be a real belter in a live setting but the lacklustre production on here renders it murky and soft around the edges. Throughout the album the overdriven guitar sounds are far too indistinct and lost in the mix which sadly pulls the teeth from a lot of the performances. The classic 'Dust', with its memorable bass line and stomping rhythm, is similarly reduced to a leaden imitation of its stage cousin. Front-man Carl McCoy's voice cuts through the gloom on a number of the tracks but even the potential of his deep guttural rumble is largely wasted.
This isn't a bad album at all. The Nephs ear for a good pounding melody and the partly successful application of a suitably dark and atmospheric soundscape go some way to making this a convincing debut. Maybe the neutering of their ground shaking live sound was a conscious attempt to make things more palatable to the masses but in any case this was largely a missed opportunity.