Fields of the Nephilim: Classic or Dud?

And whoever said that Earth Inferno is great is clearly a perceptive individual (flour-ed up hat doffed in your direction, whoever you are).

But most of all, the Neff were great for appearing on a 'compare and contrast' piece on About Anglia, with those other scions of the Stevenage music scene, the Barron Knights. Glorious stuff.

Been loading up my iPod of late with discs I haven't spun in many an age, and recently put on "Psychonaut", "Sumerland" and "Preacher Man," and it had me stalking about my aparement in a state of bug-eyed gloomiosity, frantically searching for ominous white powder to artfully scatter all over my black poncho.

Yes, the Nephilim were INDEFENSIBLY SILLY, but goddamn were they ever fun. And take away the Spaghetti Western hand-me-downs, the dry ice and the arty sleeves, and the tunes STILL hold up, despite the hoary theatrices.

Bless'em.

week was non-music .. except on the last day i saw a german family going for their breakfast (lots of healthy fruit - the b*stards ! i really should be a more resonsible parent) and there was the dad was wearing a pristine fresh Fields of Neph t-shirt ..

nearly choked on my choco-corflakes ..

are they still going .. or on a comeback trail ?

Dude, that man is a hero, and should be duly lauded as such.

it was great to see an otherwise lovely looking family (cute, well behaved kids .. grrrr its just too damn sickening ..) and the cooler than f*ck dad in his oh-so-cool T. i mean - a blacker than black T on a scorching day - and he wasn't sweating - not that i checked too much

.. and the realisation that there are lots other families who still have to suffer Dads and their college days infatuations

glorious.

i did wonder briefly .. 'wonder if he knows ILM' but the sun was shining and i had to get back to life - so i never followed up on this ..

Replace "children" with "child, replace "Fields of the Nephilim" with "Killing Joke" and you have my pathetic little life in a nutshell.

.. that statement re replacing stuff and getting to you was soooo close to my second thought after i wonder if he knows ILM its just too spooky ..

that and it mirrors my own situ with AOC

.. but my T's are no longer pristine ..

not easy after 18 (18! fuck - time to grow up? nahhhhh) years ..

"LONGEVITY, LONGEVITY, I MELT DOWN WHERE I BURN BEFORE!

To this day, I still have precious little clue what the Nephs were hollering about -- some Lovecraftian musings on the encroaching End Times, doubtlessly -- but DANG if their hoary exhorting didn't scorch itself into my adolescent cerebellum like a cattle brand.

"JOIN US, LUKE, WE ARE YOUR FATHER!

THEY'RE WEARING SHADES.....IN THE DARK!!!! EAT MY FUCK, COREY HART!

When the apocalypse finally arrives, all the true hepcats will be sporting cowboy finery and glacier glasses. Just you wait!

*Grim Goth Fact: On the anniversary of the cat's death, my mum pulled out a cheap lucky dip photo album containing a single picture of me and Liz, plus a clump of her bloody matted hair.

**'For Her Light' was a towering pop moment, though.

God, I hope I didn't. That they followed after was clear enough but the two bands had much different reference points.

I wouldn't have said that.

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.

(So I think you were reading too much into things there. ;-) )

SEIZE HIM!

http://justforaday.blogspot.com/2005/05/earth-inferno.html

Fields Of The Nephilim (well probably just Carl but he's using the old moniker) released a new album in November! No-one noticed! It's called, wait for it, Mourning Sun - quality play on words there (though I'd have gone with "Son"...).

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000BR6FCE.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Anyway, it sounds like Fields Of The Nephilim! Only not as good, but still! Probably closer to Elizium than any of the earlier stuff. There's a limited edition that comes with a cover of In The Year 2525 that I've sadly yet to hear.

Anyway, if only for fond memories of them BLASTING MY FUCKING EARS OFF at the Mayfair - CLASSIC

Xiberia (Seasons in the ice cage)

So does the audience at a Fields of the Nephilim concert chant "Fields! Fields! Fields! Fields! Fields!" before the band steps on stage?

Good question. On another topic though, I was watching the video for Blue Water and wondering whether or not it puts paid to the idea that The Nef were never ironic or humourous. I mean, it begins with him hanging from a noose AND SINGING. Shortly afterwards he's in a big cannibal pot with some skull-masked chaps prnancing around him wildly - yet he's still singing the backing vocals. Then Jesus seems to be nailed up on the drumkit and ....etc etc. Sorry, can't take it seriously.

I'd imagine it's more along the lines of "Nephs! Nephs! Nephs.."

Better than the Mission, not as good as the Sisters of Mercy.

they are a lot better than the Mission (who, in retrospect, are near total rubbish). They were really hardcore about the doominess, which is of course a good thing.

I work with one of their daughters.

mr mccoy's daughter no less.

The one who had an album dedicated to her or the other one?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_McCoy

Listening to Earth Inferno again for the first time in 150 years, getting to Sumerland: oh god, THIS is where I recognized great post rock outfit Maserati's bass sound from!

yes that one... haha, didn't know about Zoon being dedicated to her. I know her fella fairly well too.

What I thought in '91 about Earth Inferno still stands: that 16 minute intro to Earth Inferno is ultra classic. The rest is also classic, but not that ultra :-)

I still love the whole thing. It's really kinda great.

I didn't say the rest was bad at all, just that I really really really like that intro.

They rock. You don't.

Sorry. I was just told I was overqualified for a job, so I'm intensely unpleasant to be around (more so than usual) at the moment.

No problem, you're right about them rocking and me not. And sorry to hear that.

"I've been around since Mooooses!" They don't write 'em like that these days, huh. hahaha I've never actually paid attention their lyrics until now. (and that's an elongated "Moses", not "mooses", btw. Great line regardless...)

I'm on such a weird goth kick this week. I dig The Nephilim out once every year or two, it seems, in a "lol high school goth fascination phase", and am surprised every time by how oddly affecting these guys are.

Take their haaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwses,
let em CRRAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWLLLLLL!!!

Go listen to the live version of "Dawnrazor" on Earth Inferno right now. DO IT!

Can't. Watching Sparks live show in London.

DON'T QUESTION MY DIRECTIVE, RAGGETT!

Just saying!

"FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM will play special London shows at the Shepherds Bush Empire on July 12th and 13th. The shows will be themed; the first billed as 'Ad mortem' the second as 'Ad Vitam', and each will present a different take on the band's musical journey from the point of view of mood and setting. The shows will both be filmed for a forthcoming live DVD release."

hahahahah

baaderonixx otm

Depends on "mood and setting" I suppose - if one of the moods is "club singer" then I'd want to see the results

alright, i've stopped laughing. I heard a few songs off that "new" album of theirs and it is .. pretty good!

BigLurks OTM up there - this band is so weird. They should be hilarious failures and everything about them is so embarassing and yet so many of their songs are quite simply amazing

"LET US BEAR WITNESS!"

The stuff on A Life Less Lived is great!

You should really get Revelations, Dan

"WE'RE GETTING CLOSE NOW!"

"Last exit for the lost" was my favourite Neph song, I think. Used to really like them.

This guy obv still is a big fan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkc44emSrPk

my least favorite thing is when the excelsior thread becomes people commenting on it/joining in because that's where the action is instead of COPYING AND PASTING FUNNY SHIT PEOPLE WERE SAYING ON OTHER THREADS. In order to make this post less of a problem, I am going to post it some old thread nobody cares about first.

poor the Nephilim ;_;

(I actually felt a wee tiny flutter of interest at this being revived, that there might be actual new Nephilim news - guess I'm the nobody that cares)

lol j0hn

well they've been touring eastern europe apparently

Come on man, release the DVD already. :-/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX_pxkz3Rco

In light of the Bieber/Sigur Ros thing I repeat this earlier post:

Actually, one of the greatest 'holy FUCK' experiences in terms of screwing around with vinyl -- the 12" version of "Sumerland," which is meant to be played at 45 rpm. Play it at 33 and it's slow motion apocalypse beauty in a nutshell, this ominous crawl that builds up and then GRINDS DOWN.

Fans from the Dawnrazor forums explain what's going on in the Neph's world:

http://www.imaginarywalls.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2985&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

2 examples:
http://www.grapheine.com/classiktv/index.php?module=see&lang=uk&code=0fe4e55cb3dcb7986aa9dab097d4e91d
http://www.grapheine.com/bombaytv/webdesign-uk-fc5427c6ccf5babf769c0899ff76b914.html

Why don't you play some new songs?

http://www.grapheine.com/bombaytv/graphiste-uk-2a0dd90e296b8ae1ef8454443c4171b5.html

Fields of the Nephilim can confirm that they will share the stage with The Mission at London's Brixton Academy on October 22nd 2011 with support from Gene Loves Jezebel.

now theres a line up for ex-residents of LS6

what's new in Neph world and can someone tell me whether I should pick up that last album of theirs?

Fields of the Nephilim can confirm that they will share the stage with The Mission at London's Brixton Academy on October 22nd 2011 with support from Gene Loves Jezebel.
This event represents a monumental coming together of two of the most influential bands of the dark music movement and will be a huge celebration of this powerful scene.

That live DVD they've been promising for (three?) years now seems to be forgotten? ( http://www.ceromonies.net is down, no mention on their site anymore)

Via the Quietus (and that live DVD is finally coming out):

http://thequietus.com/articles/08546-fields-of-the-nephilim-interview

A long needed piece! Beth Winegarner on the second album specifically as well as getting a slew of metal acts to confirm my long held suspicion that the Fields were a hell of an influence on many bands that followed:

http://www.popmatters.com/feature/175956-celebrate-fields-of-the-nephilims-the-nephilim-at-25-by-beth-winegar/

I listened to the first three discs in the boxset today. Absolutely awesome stuff. I'd heard some of it previously, but never a full album. It's exactly what I've been wanting since getting heavily into In Solitude's Sister, an album that I think has some clear Nephilim influence.

Also, I adore their look. Nothing embarrassing about it, those cowboys outfits rule.

Testify!

the love in the thread has urged me to do a u-turn on my earlier statement re all things goth, as i have just picked this boxset up.

not really heard much yet, but i'm really looking forward to the long weekend i have soaking all this up via my new hq rattling floorstanders.

question : in the box set there is a disc with remixes etc, was this ever released as a separate album, or is it a boxset special.

oh, and 'dust' just kicked in .. oh yes, this is more like it ..

Classic, mostly.

I have all the albums in various formats scattered god knows where, so I'm tempted to pick up the box set for convenience's sake - have the albums been remastered by any chance?

re. remixes - I think a lot of them were oincluded in the 2 CD version of the 1993 Best Of compilation (god, how many times I listened to that twofer at that time)

detail re mastering and other stuff (umm 'lo ned) :

http://archive.beggars.com/releases/215/fields-of-the-nephilim-5-albums

by album #3 they really discovered they liked long songs ..

Supposedly they are remastered, but I don't know if the remasters were newly done for this set. There's some info here: http://archive.beggars.com/releases/215/fields-of-the-nephilim-5-albums

Mastering notes – The only album in this set to have been fully re-mastered from the analogue tapes is Elysium. Due to the limited budget (and in some cases non availability of analogue) the other albums / tracks have been mastered from digital sources.

Either way, the sound quality is excellent. Great bass sound throughout.

I haven't listened to any Neph stuff since the 1st couple of albums, but I note that one of the recent line-up - Gav King - is also playing in Conflict these days as well.

by album #3 they really discovered they liked long songs ..

I love that. "Sumerland" especially -- 11 minutes and it maintains just the right tension the entire while.

Quite so. Still majestic and perfect.

- Due to the limited budget (and in some cases non availability of analogue) the other albums / tracks have been mastered from digital sources.
- (due to time constraints some appear as bonus tracks on the original CDs)

Were Beggars Banquet legally or otherwise forced to put this box set out against their will or something?

oooh .. not thought of that.
wonder if the rights revert back to the band in near future, and so they rush released this to cash in.

I love that. "Sumerland" especially -- 11 minutes and it maintains just the right tension the entire while.

just 'experienced' this track on the new speakers.

damn. shivers all over.

and i would suggest there is actually a big difference in the sonics of the non-analogue remasters.
disc 3 sounds immense in comparison to the others.
thankfully, disc 3 is clearly the highlight of the boxset.

I see what you mean. It might just be a consequence of the original production aesthetics. I take it this band is purposefully going for a kind of smoky, murky vibe a lot of the time. Maybe when someone familiar with these albums hears this set they can tell us.

It might just be a consequence of the original production aesthetics.

and the budget available ..

still, i have no complaints as this stuff is ace ..

so I got myself the box set as my own personal xmas present to myself - excited to hear it all again but boy did they keep packaging costs to a minimum _ I guess that's what made the package so cheap. At this point I could have gotten the MP3s instead

Listening to Elizium which i'd never really heard before. Stuff like Submission is great, somewhat surprisingly it sounds like a cross between Bark Psychosis, Clock Dva and Porcupine Tree.

All that, and more!

For a long time I hadn't bothered with much goth that didn't have some Cure, Banshee, Cocteau or Dead Can Dance blood in it. Tried Bauhaus - In The Flat Field years ago and it didn't do much for me (should try another album).

But then Sisters Of Mercy impressed me because it's just so different and I have trouble making sense of them coming from the time and place they did, they seem like such an oddity to me.

Now in the past few weeks, Fields Of The Nephilim's Dawnrazor... even more of an oddity considering the time and place. It conjures up such an interesting world that seems so complete.

I don't think I ever heard Sisters or Fields when I was a child so this stuff is super fresh to me.

Good choices both.

Bonus track "Blue Water" is great.

I'm trying to describe what they're achieving in more detail but cant find the words. Maybe that it seems like some of the songs are more than just regular songs, like fleshed out scenes or something like that?

They get even more cinematic over the next few records too.

Hypnotic drones are what set these guys apart.

Didn't like the second album quite as much, but it's an interesting one. "Shiva" is my favorite by a long distance, just awesome track, but it isn't on the earliest versions of the album somehow.

I think it's their best.

I think "Phobia" is great but the guitar is a tad too close to Motorhead's "Ace Of Spades".

I think I like "Shiva" so much because it's just so overtly sinister, a seductive monster quality.

I'm slightly gutted that "Psychonaut" is just a bonus track and not the real ending of Elizium. Seems perfect to me.

Pretty awesome album. Sad that this box set only has 3 studio albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F6AhVj7lHI

Can anyone explain what the heck they're doing on a North American Campus Activities Promo Tape?

lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHSgQpgNOO0