Fields of the Nephilim
Encyclopedia
Fields of the Nephilim are an English gothic rock
band formed in Stevenage
, Hertfordshire
in 1984. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Carl McCoy, saxophonist Gary Whisker, Tony Pettitt on bass, guitarist Paul Wright and drummer Alexander "Nod" Wright. Following the release of the debut EP Burning the Fields, Whisker left the band to be replaced by Peter Yates as second guitarist. The band's name refers to a Biblical race of giants or angel-human hybrids, known as the Nephilim
. Although they have not received substantial mainstream success, the band's seminal sound has proved highly influential, especially in the genre of gothic rock
and, later on rock noir
. The current incarnation of the band has released one authorized recording of new material since 1990 and performs infrequently.
, gothic rock
, metal
and psychedelic rock
, and comprised a bass
and guitar
driven sound underpinned by McCoy's growled vocals. Lyrically, the band incorporated magical
themes, referencing the Cthulhu Mythos
, the Sumerian religion
, Chaos magic
and the works of Aleister Crowley
.
The band had a "dust and death" image, associated with characters from Sergio Leone's
Spaghetti Western
s and often wore cowboy dusters
with a weather-beaten look during photoshoots. 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 in 1986 to release "Power" and "Preacher Man", and their first album, Dawnrazor
. The next release, "Blue Water", was the first Fields of the Nephilim single to reach the UK charts (#75). It was followed by "Moonchild", lead single from the second LP The Nephilim
which reached number 28 in the UK charts.
Psychonaut was released in May 1989 and peaked at number 35; this ten minute track indicated a slight shift for the band toward a more experimental and intense sound. This single/EP was a candle-bearer for the polished and highly-produced Elizium
album (1990). Produced by Pink Floyd
/ David Gilmour
engineer Andy Jackson
(taking over from previous band producer Bill Buchanan), the album was preceded by the single "For Her Light", which clipped the British Top 40 in its first week of release. A remixed version of "Sumerland (Dreamed)", released in November 1990, peaked at number 37.
In 1991, the band played their final gigs, a two-day 'Festival of Fire' in London. The final releases of this era are the live CD Earth Inferno
and video Visionary Heads, followed by the compilation Revelations
.
. The band released two albums before disbanding: What Starts, Ends in 1992 and Room 101 in 1995.
Meanwhile, McCoy formed a new version of the group called Nefilim
with guitarist Paul Miles, drummer Simon Rippin and bassist Cian Houchin. The band played some gigs in 1993, showcasing some of their new material. According to McCoy, the release of their debut album, Zoon
, was held back for several years due to disagreements with the record label. Zoon was eventually released in 1996 and featured a distinctly heavier sound than McCoy's previous works.
According to different original band members, the band was rehearsing and writing the next Fields of the Nephilim album (with exception of Yates). However, the awaited reunion of the original band line up never happened.
In May 2000, McCoy released "One More Nightmare (Trees Come Down)", the first Fields of the Nephilim single under their new label Jungle Records
. It contained newly worked versions of "Trees Come Down" and "Darkcell", both originally released on the Burning the Fields EP in 1984.
In 2002, Jungle Records and Metropolis Records released the first Fields of the Nephilim studio album since Elizium, entitled Fallen. McCoy publicly disassociated himself from the album, claiming that the record label had acted without his direct consent in issuing unfinished works, when the label allegedly breached the terms of his recording contract. Subsequently, Jungle have issued further unauthorised works.
Following the single release, Fields of the Nephilim (now featuring former Nefilim members Rippin and Miles) played their first live shows in nine years, appearing at Woodstage, Eurorock, Roskilde
and M'era Luna
music festivals.
The following year, Pettitt was hired as a session player for NFD, after yet another fall out with McCoy. Two new Nephilim demo tracks were leaked to the internet, allegedly by McCoy himself. The tracks were entitled "Dead to the World - The Way That We Were - Thirst" and "Sensorium / Subsanity".
, his fourth full-length studio album under the name Fields of the Nephilim. The album had seven original songs, with a cover version of Zager and Evans
' "In the Year 2525
" included as a bonus track on the first 5000 copies.
In interviews following the release of the current album Mourning Sun, McCoy claimed to have been using session musician
s, whom he referred to as "ghost musicians" although only John 'Capachino' Carter is credited as bassist, drummer and guitarist. Carter had previously worked with McCoy at the outset of Nefilim
on such tracks as "Red777", "Chaocracy" and "Zoon".
In 2006, some European venues announced a tour was to take place, although this was never officially confirmed by the band. In spite of high ticket sales, none of the gigs occurred. Through the band's official website, McCoy took pains to emphasize that he had at no time confirmed these dates with promoters or venues, and reiterated to fans that nobody should buy tickets for such events until they had heard official announcements through the band's website that such live performances were to go ahead.
In May 2007, McCoy performed as Fields of the Nephilim for the first time in seven years, at the London Astoria
. The band was made up of new musicians including Gizz Butt
, a former live guitarist for The Prodigy
. According to the band's website, the event was filmed by video director Richard Stanley, who had directed videos for the original band's singles: however, there has so far been no confirmation as to if or when this video will ever be released.
Since this concert, McCoy has performed several times under the name Fields of the Nephilim at venues and festivals across Europe, with a changing roster of musicians. Highlights of this period included the headline slot at the 2008 M'era Luna Festival, where the band headlined in front of 23,000 people.
In June 2008, a DVD entitled Live in Düsseldorf 1991 was released.
EMI
have announced that the live DVD and double album Ceromonies will be released in 2012, consisting of recordings and footage from the two-night event held at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire in 2008.
: this band released two full-length albums, Guided by Light (2001) and The Many Forms (2005).
Pettitt and guitarist Stephen Carey are currently recording and performing as The Eden House
, a musical collective with a changing line-up of artists including Julianne Regan
, Monica Richards
, Bob Loveday (violinist in Bob Geldof
's band), and Andy Jackson
.
John Carter is currently gigging & recording a debut album of brand new material under the name 'XII'.
began to run various spoof articles about the band. This culminated in a regular feature called The Nod Corner which purported to be written by Nephilim drummer Nod Wright and which regularly debunked the band's baleful and dramatic image. Nod was portrayed as an earnest and incurably naive figure, perpetually eager to please Carl McCoy (who was himself presented as a brooding, pretentious, egomaniacal martinet obsessed with mythology and apparently unable to distinguish between image and reality). Nod's efforts were consistently sabotaged by the remaining band members - generally referred to as "the uvvers" - who were presented as giggling, relentless practical jokers devoted to embarrassing and frustrating both Nod and McCoy.
The fictional Nod's assorted misadventures always began as attempts to advance the band's fortunes (or, more often, to indulge McCoy's whims). They would quickly degenerate into slapstick and failure, usually due to deliberate manipulation and/or misinformation from "the uvvers". His disastrous actions included accidentally urinating on the flour used to dust McCoy's costumes, swapping the band's intro tape for a recording of the theme tune from It Ain't Half Hot Mum
, and feeding McCoy's priceless scarab ornament to a dog. Invariably, his efforts ended in embarrassment and a disciplinary punishment of "ten press-ups" meted out by McCoy. The final Nod's Corner was published in 1991, immediately following McCoy's departure from the band. The spoof storyline on this occasion was that Nod had been tricked into relaunching the band as an EMF
-style "techno-baggy" group, precipitating the exit of the enraged McCoy.
Nod Wright appeared to take the spoof graciously (perhaps recognising that it helped to maintain the band's profile with both press and broader public). At one point, he took advantage of the affection and recognition generated by the spoofs in order to gain an interview of his own in Melody Maker, in which he was treated more seriously and was given due credit for his integral contribution to the band's music.
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
band formed in Stevenage
Stevenage
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
in 1984. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Carl McCoy, saxophonist Gary Whisker, Tony Pettitt on bass, guitarist Paul Wright and drummer Alexander "Nod" Wright. Following the release of the debut EP Burning the Fields, Whisker left the band to be replaced by Peter Yates as second guitarist. The band's name refers to a Biblical race of giants or angel-human hybrids, known as the Nephilim
Nephilim
The Nephilim are the offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" in Genesis 6:4, or giants who inhabit Canaan in Numbers 13:33. A similar word with different vowel-sounds is used in Ezekiel 32:27 to refer to dead Philistine warriors....
. Although they have not received substantial mainstream success, the band's seminal sound has proved highly influential, especially in the genre of gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
and, later on rock noir
Rock noir
Rock noir is a term used to identify a sub-genre of rock characterized by dramatic performances of theatrically rendered lyrical storytelling. It was originated by Italian band Belladonna, whose debut album Metaphysical Attraction is the first full-length Rock noir album ever released...
. The current incarnation of the band has released one authorized recording of new material since 1990 and performs infrequently.
Early years (1984–91)
Fields of the Nephilim's initial sound incorporated elements of hard rockHard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
, metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
and psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, and comprised a bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
driven sound underpinned by McCoy's growled vocals. Lyrically, the band incorporated magical
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
themes, referencing the Cthulhu Mythos
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
, the Sumerian religion
Sumerian religion
Sumerian religion refers to the mythology, pantheon, rites and cosmology of the Sumerian civilization. The Sumerian religion influenced Mesopotamian mythology as a whole, surviving in the mythologies and religions of the Hurrians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and other culture...
, Chaos magic
Chaos magic
Chaos magic is a school of the modern magical tradition which emphasizes the pragmatic use of belief systems and the creation of new and unorthodox methods.-General principles:...
and the works of Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
.
The band had a "dust and death" image, associated with characters from Sergio Leone's
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre.Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots...
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
s and often wore cowboy dusters
Duster (clothing)
A duster is a light, loose-fitting long coat.The original dusters were full-length, light-colored canvas or linen coats worn by horsemen to protect their clothing from trail dust. These dusters were typically slit up the back to hip level for ease of wear on horseback and were the recommended...
with a weather-beaten look during photoshoots. Their debut EP, Burning the Fields, was released in 1985 by Situation Two
Situation Two
Situation Two, aka Situation 2, was a record label created in 1981 by Peter Kent as an offshoot of the larger Beggars Banquet label. At the time, Beggars Banquet records were distributed by WEA Records; so, to appeal to the indie audience and to get releases into the indie charts, the Situation Two...
records (an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...
). The band "upgraded" to Beggars Banquet in 1986 to release "Power" and "Preacher Man", and their first album, Dawnrazor
Dawnrazor
Dawnrazor is the debut album by Fields of the Nephilim released during May 1987. The record contains the singles Preacher Man and Power which was co-produced by the band and Iain O'Higgins....
. The next release, "Blue Water", was the first Fields of the Nephilim single to reach the UK charts (#75). It was followed by "Moonchild", lead single from the second LP The Nephilim
The Nephilim
The Nephilim, Fields of the Nephilim's second studio album, was released in September 1988 by Situation Two/Beggars Banquet Records. The record debuted at number 12 in UK album charts.- Track listing :# "Endemoniada" – 7:15# "The Watchman" – 5:31...
which reached number 28 in the UK charts.
Psychonaut was released in May 1989 and peaked at number 35; this ten minute track indicated a slight shift for the band toward a more experimental and intense sound. This single/EP was a candle-bearer for the polished and highly-produced Elizium
Elizium
Elizium, Fields of the Nephilim's third studio album, was released in October 1990 by Beggars Banquet Records. The record peaked at number 22 in UK album charts.-Crowley's speech:...
album (1990). Produced by Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
/ David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
engineer Andy Jackson
Andrew Jackson (recording engineer)
Andrew Jackson is a British recording engineer famous for his work with the British band Pink Floyd. He first helped out on the film soundtrack to Pink Floyd The Wall in 1982...
(taking over from previous band producer Bill Buchanan), the album was preceded by the single "For Her Light", which clipped the British Top 40 in its first week of release. A remixed version of "Sumerland (Dreamed)", released in November 1990, peaked at number 37.
In 1991, the band played their final gigs, a two-day 'Festival of Fire' in London. The final releases of this era are the live CD Earth Inferno
Earth Inferno (album)
Earth Inferno is a mixed version of three live performances by Fields of the Nephilim which shares its name with a self-published book by occult artist Austin Osman Spare. The live venues used for the recordings were from the group's 1990 Sumerland tour at Wolverhampton Civic Centre , Brixton...
and video Visionary Heads, followed by the compilation Revelations
Revelations (Fields of the Nephilim album)
Revelations, Fields of the Nephilim's compilation, was released in 1993 by Beggars Banquet Records.-Track listing:# "Moonchild " – 5:40# "Chord of Souls" - 5:10# "Last Exit for the Lost" - 9:31# "Preacher Man" - 4:54...
.
Departure of McCoy and hiatus (1991–98)
Frontman McCoy left the band in 1991, amid rumours that he had fallen out with the rest of the band over future direction, and counter-rumours that it was a feign in the hope they could get out of their recording contract owing to disagreements over back royalty payments. The remaining members, together with singer Andy Delaney, did not continue to use the "Fields of the Nephilim" name and recorded instead under the name RubiconRubicon (band)
Rubicon was an early 1990s offshoot of the band Fields of the Nephilim who released two albums.What Starts, Ends on Atlantic Records and on Beggars Banquet Records in 1992 was produced by Mark Freegard, and featured two singles: "Crazed" and "Before My Eyes" .Room 101 was released on Beggars...
. The band released two albums before disbanding: What Starts, Ends in 1992 and Room 101 in 1995.
Meanwhile, McCoy formed a new version of the group called Nefilim
Nefilim
The Nefilim was a Carl McCoy project formed after the disbanding of Fields of the Nephilim.-History:Originally formed with John Carter, Nefilim featured McCoy on vocals, Paul Miles on guitar, Simon Rippin on drums and Cian Houchin on bass...
with guitarist Paul Miles, drummer Simon Rippin and bassist Cian Houchin. The band played some gigs in 1993, showcasing some of their new material. According to McCoy, the release of their debut album, Zoon
Zoon
Zoon, Nefilim's only studio album, was released in October 1996 by Beggars Banquet Records . The album saw a move away from the rich soundscapes that characterised earlier works from Fields of the Nephilim towards a darker, more industrial / death metal sound...
, was held back for several years due to disagreements with the record label. Zoon was eventually released in 1996 and featured a distinctly heavier sound than McCoy's previous works.
Reunion and new album (1998–2002)
On 15 August 1998, McCoy and Pettitt held a press conference at the Zillo Festival in Germany, announcing their future plans to collaborate under two separate monikers, Fields of the Nephilim (along with the Wright brothers) and The Nephilim (an altered spelling of McCoy's solo project).According to different original band members, the band was rehearsing and writing the next Fields of the Nephilim album (with exception of Yates). However, the awaited reunion of the original band line up never happened.
In May 2000, McCoy released "One More Nightmare (Trees Come Down)", the first Fields of the Nephilim single under their new label Jungle Records
Jungle Records
Jungle Records is a British-based record label formed in 1982, specializing in classic punk rock, post punk, gothic and alternative releases.They recorded albums by Johnny Thunders such as 'Copy Cats' and 'Que Sera Sera' and are licensors of the classic Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers tape...
. It contained newly worked versions of "Trees Come Down" and "Darkcell", both originally released on the Burning the Fields EP in 1984.
In 2002, Jungle Records and Metropolis Records released the first Fields of the Nephilim studio album since Elizium, entitled Fallen. McCoy publicly disassociated himself from the album, claiming that the record label had acted without his direct consent in issuing unfinished works, when the label allegedly breached the terms of his recording contract. Subsequently, Jungle have issued further unauthorised works.
Following the single release, Fields of the Nephilim (now featuring former Nefilim members Rippin and Miles) played their first live shows in nine years, appearing at Woodstage, Eurorock, Roskilde
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...
and M'era Luna
M'era Luna Festival
The M'era Luna is a festival of goth, metal and industrial music. It is held annually on the second weekend of every August, in Hildesheim, Germanyat Flugplatz Hildesheim-Drispenstedt, a former British Army airbase....
music festivals.
The following year, Pettitt was hired as a session player for NFD, after yet another fall out with McCoy. Two new Nephilim demo tracks were leaked to the internet, allegedly by McCoy himself. The tracks were entitled "Dead to the World - The Way That We Were - Thirst" and "Sensorium / Subsanity".
Mourning Sun and Ceromonies 2008
Fifteen years after Elizium, McCoy released Mourning SunMourning Sun
Mourning Sun, released in November 2005, is the fifth studio album by Fields of the Nephilim...
, his fourth full-length studio album under the name Fields of the Nephilim. The album had seven original songs, with a cover version of Zager and Evans
Zager and Evans
Zager & Evans were a Lincoln, Nebraska rock-pop duo of the late 1960s and early 1970s named after its two members, Denny Zager and Rick Evans, who met at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Fellow Nebraska artists Dave Trupp and Mark Dalton backed up the duo on drums and bass respectively...
' "In the Year 2525
In the Year 2525
"In the Year 2525 " is a hit song from 1969 by American pop-rock duo Zager and Evans. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks commencing July 12, 1969. The song was written by Rick Evans in 1964 and originally released on a small regional record label in 1968...
" included as a bonus track on the first 5000 copies.
In interviews following the release of the current album Mourning Sun, McCoy claimed to have been using session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
s, whom he referred to as "ghost musicians" although only John 'Capachino' Carter is credited as bassist, drummer and guitarist. Carter had previously worked with McCoy at the outset of Nefilim
Nefilim
The Nefilim was a Carl McCoy project formed after the disbanding of Fields of the Nephilim.-History:Originally formed with John Carter, Nefilim featured McCoy on vocals, Paul Miles on guitar, Simon Rippin on drums and Cian Houchin on bass...
on such tracks as "Red777", "Chaocracy" and "Zoon".
In 2006, some European venues announced a tour was to take place, although this was never officially confirmed by the band. In spite of high ticket sales, none of the gigs occurred. Through the band's official website, McCoy took pains to emphasize that he had at no time confirmed these dates with promoters or venues, and reiterated to fans that nobody should buy tickets for such events until they had heard official announcements through the band's website that such live performances were to go ahead.
In May 2007, McCoy performed as Fields of the Nephilim for the first time in seven years, at the London Astoria
London Astoria
The London Astoria was a music venue, located at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. It had been leased and run by Festival Republic since 2000. It was closed on 15 January 2009 and has since been demolished...
. The band was made up of new musicians including Gizz Butt
Gizz Butt
Gizz Butt is a British musician, best known for playing the guitar during live performances by band The Prodigy in the late 1990s.-Early years:...
, a former live guitarist for The Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
. According to the band's website, the event was filmed by video director Richard Stanley, who had directed videos for the original band's singles: however, there has so far been no confirmation as to if or when this video will ever be released.
Since this concert, McCoy has performed several times under the name Fields of the Nephilim at venues and festivals across Europe, with a changing roster of musicians. Highlights of this period included the headline slot at the 2008 M'era Luna Festival, where the band headlined in front of 23,000 people.
In June 2008, a DVD entitled Live in Düsseldorf 1991 was released.
EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
have announced that the live DVD and double album Ceromonies will be released in 2012, consisting of recordings and footage from the two-night event held at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire in 2008.
Legacy
In 2001, Nod and Paul Wright formed a new band, Last RitesLast Rites (band)
Last Rites are an English goth-industrial band formed by the Wright brothers of Fields of the Nephilim and Rubicon, Alexander "Nod" Wright and Paul Wright, with Bob Ahern and James Quinn.-Discography:*Guided by Light ....
: this band released two full-length albums, Guided by Light (2001) and The Many Forms (2005).
Pettitt and guitarist Stephen Carey are currently recording and performing as The Eden House
The Eden House
The Eden House is a collaborative musical project, initiated by Stephen Carey and involving a collection of guest musicians and vocalists; then later joined by Tony Pettitt .Their debut album Smoke & Mirrors was released on April 6, 2009 in the United States and...
, a musical collective with a changing line-up of artists including Julianne Regan
Julianne Regan
Julianne Regan is an English singer, song writer, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboard player. She is best known for being the lead singer of the band, All About Eve.- Early life :...
, Monica Richards
Monica Richards
Monica Richards is a singer, songwriter, artist and writer from the United States. A graduate of the American University with honors in literature and a minor in anthropology, she is considered to be an icon of the goth subculture and has been the frontwoman of numerous bands including Madhouse,...
, Bob Loveday (violinist in Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
's band), and Andy Jackson
Andrew Jackson (recording engineer)
Andrew Jackson is a British recording engineer famous for his work with the British band Pink Floyd. He first helped out on the film soundtrack to Pink Floyd The Wall in 1982...
.
John Carter is currently gigging & recording a debut album of brand new material under the name 'XII'.
Parody
From 1988, during the band's period of mainstream attention following the release of Dawnrazor and Psychonaut, the British music newspaper Melody MakerMelody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
began to run various spoof articles about the band. This culminated in a regular feature called The Nod Corner which purported to be written by Nephilim drummer Nod Wright and which regularly debunked the band's baleful and dramatic image. Nod was portrayed as an earnest and incurably naive figure, perpetually eager to please Carl McCoy (who was himself presented as a brooding, pretentious, egomaniacal martinet obsessed with mythology and apparently unable to distinguish between image and reality). Nod's efforts were consistently sabotaged by the remaining band members - generally referred to as "the uvvers" - who were presented as giggling, relentless practical jokers devoted to embarrassing and frustrating both Nod and McCoy.
The fictional Nod's assorted misadventures always began as attempts to advance the band's fortunes (or, more often, to indulge McCoy's whims). They would quickly degenerate into slapstick and failure, usually due to deliberate manipulation and/or misinformation from "the uvvers". His disastrous actions included accidentally urinating on the flour used to dust McCoy's costumes, swapping the band's intro tape for a recording of the theme tune from It Ain't Half Hot Mum
It Ain't Half Hot Mum
It Ain't Half Hot Mum was a British sitcom about the adventures of a Royal Artillery Concert Party, broadcast on the BBC between 1974 and 1981, and written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of Dad's Army...
, and feeding McCoy's priceless scarab ornament to a dog. Invariably, his efforts ended in embarrassment and a disciplinary punishment of "ten press-ups" meted out by McCoy. The final Nod's Corner was published in 1991, immediately following McCoy's departure from the band. The spoof storyline on this occasion was that Nod had been tricked into relaunching the band as an EMF
EMF (band)
EMF were an indie dance band from the United Kingdom. The band, from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, came to prominence at the beginning of the 1990s. During its initial eight year run , EMF had released three studio albums and had gone on hiatus and reformed twice...
-style "techno-baggy" group, precipitating the exit of the enraged McCoy.
Nod Wright appeared to take the spoof graciously (perhaps recognising that it helped to maintain the band's profile with both press and broader public). At one point, he took advantage of the affection and recognition generated by the spoofs in order to gain an interview of his own in Melody Maker, in which he was treated more seriously and was given due credit for his integral contribution to the band's music.
Albums
| Year | Title | UK Indie Chart UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered... |
UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
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| May | 1987 1987 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... |
Dawnrazor Dawnrazor Dawnrazor is the debut album by Fields of the Nephilim released during May 1987. The record contains the singles Preacher Man and Power which was co-produced by the band and Iain O'Higgins.... |
#1 | #62 |
| Sep | 1988 1988 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert.... |
The Nephilim The Nephilim The Nephilim, Fields of the Nephilim's second studio album, was released in September 1988 by Situation Two/Beggars Banquet Records. The record debuted at number 12 in UK album charts.- Track listing :# "Endemoniada" – 7:15# "The Watchman" – 5:31... |
#2 | #14 |
| Sep | 1990 1990 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze... |
Elizium Elizium Elizium, Fields of the Nephilim's third studio album, was released in October 1990 by Beggars Banquet Records. The record peaked at number 22 in UK album charts.-Crowley's speech:... |
#22 | |
| Apr | 1991 1991 in music See also:* 1991 in music Record labels established in 1991-Summary:The year 1991 is the year that grunge music made its popular breakthrough. Nirvana's Nevermind, led by the surprise hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", becomes the most popular U.S. album of the year... |
Earth Inferno Earth Inferno (album) Earth Inferno is a mixed version of three live performances by Fields of the Nephilim which shares its name with a self-published book by occult artist Austin Osman Spare. The live venues used for the recordings were from the group's 1990 Sumerland tour at Wolverhampton Civic Centre , Brixton... (live) |
#39 | |
| Oct | 1996 1996 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact... |
Zoon Zoon Zoon, Nefilim's only studio album, was released in October 1996 by Beggars Banquet Records . The album saw a move away from the rich soundscapes that characterised earlier works from Fields of the Nephilim towards a darker, more industrial / death metal sound... |
#39 | |
| Oct | 2002 2002 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI... |
Fallen Fallen (Nephilim album) Fallen is the fourth studio album by Fields of the Nephilim, released after an eleven year hiatus. None of the original band-members aside from vocalist Carl McCoy appear on the album, and upon release, the band's website described the disc as an unauthorized cash-in of unreleased demos, "pilfered"... |
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| Nov | 2005 2005 in music -Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:... |
Mourning Sun Mourning Sun Mourning Sun, released in November 2005, is the fifth studio album by Fields of the Nephilim... |
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Singles
| Year | Title | UK Indie Chart | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
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| Oct | 1986 1986 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-January-June:*January 23 – The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place... |
"Power" | #24 | |
| Apr | 1987 1987 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... |
"Preacher Man" | #2 | |
| Jul | 1987 | "Burning the Fields (EP)" | #2 | |
| Oct | 1987 | "Blue Water" | #1 | #75 |
| Jun | 1988 1988 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert.... |
"Moonchild" | #1 | #28 |
| May | 1989 1989 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR... |
"Psychonaut" | #2 | #35 |
| Jul | 1990 1990 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze... |
"For Her Light" | #54 | |
| Nov | 1990 | "Sumerland (Dreamed)" | #37 | |
| May | 2000 2000 in music See also:* 2000 in music Record labels established in 2000-Events:*January – Gary Glitter is released from jail, two months before his sentence for sexual offences ends.*January 1**John Tavener is knighted in the New Year's Honours List.... |
"One More Nightmare (Trees Come Down A.D.)" | ||
| Sep | 2002 2002 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI... |
"From the Fire" | #62 | |
Other releases
- Burning the Fields, 1985 (EP)
- Returning to Gehenna, 1986 (EP)
- BBC Radio 1 - Live in Concert, 1992
- Laura, 1992 (compilation)
- RevelationsRevelations (Fields of the Nephilim album)Revelations, Fields of the Nephilim's compilation, was released in 1993 by Beggars Banquet Records.-Track listing:# "Moonchild " – 5:40# "Chord of Souls" - 5:10# "Last Exit for the Lost" - 9:31# "Preacher Man" - 4:54...
, 1993 (compilation) - From Gehenna to Here, 2001 (compilation)
- Genesis and Revelations , 2006 (unofficial release & DVD)
Videos
- Forever Remain, 1988 (live)
- Morphic Fields, 1989
- Visionary Heads, 1991 (live)
- Revelations, 1993
- Revelations/Forever Remain/Visionary heads, 2002 (compilation DVD)
- Paradise Regained (Live in Duesseldorf), 2008 DVD