# Fields of the Nephilim
**Fields of the Nephilim** are an English gothic rock band formed in 1984 in [Stevenage](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevenage), Hertfordshire, England, built around vocalist and frontman Carl McCoy, who with bassist Tony Pettitt is among the surviving members of the original lineup[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-nephilims-mn0000175530) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/26/goth-life-fields-nephilim) • [15](https://louderthanwar.com/exclusive-interview-fields-of-the-nephilim-30-years-on-we-talk-to-carl-mccoy-and-tony-pettit/). The band incorporated elements of psychedelic rock and heavy metal into the predominantly post-punk goth sound of 1980s Britain, drew its philosophy from the occult, and cultivated a stage image drawn from Victorian art and [Sergio Leone](https://www.edgepedia.org/sergio-leone) spaghetti westerns[3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/fields-of-the-nephilim-goth-carl-mccoy-interview-ceremonies-2012). Their albums *Dawnrazor* (1987), *The Nephilim* (1988), and *Elizium* (1990) established them within the British goth rock movement, and their influence extends into gothic metal and extreme metal[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-nephilims-mn0000175530) • [3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/fields-of-the-nephilim-goth-carl-mccoy-interview-ceremonies-2012).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1984, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-nephilims-mn0000175530) |
| Genre | Gothic rock, with psychedelic rock and heavy metal elements[3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/fields-of-the-nephilim-goth-carl-mccoy-interview-ceremonies-2012) |
| Core figure | Carl McCoy, vocalist and frontman, one of the surviving original members alongside founding bassist Tony Pettitt[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/26/goth-life-fields-nephilim) • [15](https://louderthanwar.com/exclusive-interview-fields-of-the-nephilim-30-years-on-we-talk-to-carl-mccoy-and-tony-pettit/) |
| Signature image | Wide-brimmed hats, long duster coats, cowboy boots, dusted with white flour as a substitute for dust[4](https://fields-of-the-nephilim.com/pages/about-us) |
| Chart peak | "Moonchild" (1988) entered the UK singles chart at number 28 and was played on *Top of the Pops*[4](https://fields-of-the-nephilim.com/pages/about-us) |
| Studio albums | *Dawnrazor* (1987), *The Nephilim* (1988), *Elizium* (1990), *Fallen* (2002), *Mourning Sun* (2005 or 2006, sources differ)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-nephilims-mn0000175530) • [5](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a262543f-6ab4-4ac7-86f3-4fc09ff56f3b) |
| Side identity | *Zoon*, recorded in 1993 and released in 1996 under the name The Nefilim, an industrial and death metal album[3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/fields-of-the-nephilim-goth-carl-mccoy-interview-ceremonies-2012) |
## Origins and image
Carl McCoy grew up in south London in a religious environment; he was raised as a Jehovah's Witness and became familiar with the stories of the Watchers and the Nephilim, the biblical race of angel-human hybrids, at an early age[4](https://fields-of-the-nephilim.com/pages/about-us) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/26/goth-life-fields-nephilim). This background shaped both the band's name and its occult-themed lyrics, which make regular references to chaos magic (a modern magical practice emphasizing belief as a tool)[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/26/goth-life-fields-nephilim). McCoy has described his interest in magic as experiential rather than merely decorative: "It's knowing. I know. I've experienced things that are beyond reality"[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/26/goth-life-fields-nephilim).
The band's appearance was as distinctive as its sound. The group's signature look consisted of broad-brimmed hats, lengthy duster coats, and cowboy boots, typically black and coated in white flour in place of dust, and it set them apart during a period when designer-label clothing was quickly emerging as the era's street fashion.[4](https://fields-of-the-nephilim.com/pages/about-us) A 1988 Washington Post review of a Washington, DC show described the English quintet sustaining its "goth-punk-meets-spaghetti-western image" through an entire set, shrouded in mist and smoke-machine output, with McCoy's raspy, vibrato-drenched voice at the center of an imposing sound[6](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/1988/02/23/nephilim-striking-a-nebulous-note/c808b3b3-d75a-4716-99da-7c3a6e3cdbc8/).
Musically, critics have described the band's sound as equal parts [The Sisters of Mercy](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-sisters-of-mercy) and the film composer [Ennio Morricone](https://www.edgepedia.org/ennio-morricone), with dark, deep, smoky vocals coiled around a layered rush of swirling, twanging guitars[7](https://trouserpress.com/reviews/fields-of-the-nephilim/). McCoy has cited film soundtracks, psychedelia, and [Pink Floyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/pink-floyd) as formative influences, and the band treated the studio itself as an instrument, deliberately overdriving recordings and feeding them back[8](https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-outer-limits-fields-of-the-nephilim).
## Recording career
**Early years and breakthrough.** After the four-track EP *Burning the Fields* (1985) and the EP *Returning to Gehenna* (1986), which mixed then-current singles and B-sides, the band's first full-length album *Dawnrazor* appeared in 1987 on [Beggars Banquet](https://www.edgepedia.org/beggars-banquet), establishing them as serious contenders in the goth world[7](https://trouserpress.com/reviews/fields-of-the-nephilim/) • [9](https://www.allmusic.com/album/dawnrazor-mw0000193504). Both early singles did well on the independent charts; "Preacher Man" made it to number two, and later that year the band cracked the pop singles chart with "Blue Water"[10](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000175530).
The 1988 single "Moonchild", named after a magical novel by the English occultist [Aleister Crowley](https://www.edgepedia.org/aleister-crowley), entered the UK chart at number 28 and forced *Top of the Pops* to play its heavily occult-inspired video[4](https://fields-of-the-nephilim.com/pages/about-us). The album *The Nephilim* (1988) followed, which AllMusic's Ned Raggett called an elegantly produced and played record drawing on pre-*Dark Side of the Moon* Pink Floyd, with fan favorites including "The Watchman", "Phobia", "Love Under Will", and "Last Exit for the Lost"[11](https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-nephilim-mw0000197238).
**Elizium and the split.** The 1989 single "Psychonaut", titled after a magical grimoire by the chaos magician [Pete Carroll](https://www.edgepedia.org/pete-carroll), was a nine-minute psychedelic piece that pointed toward the next album[4](https://fields-of-the-nephilim.com/pages/about-us) • [7](https://trouserpress.com/reviews/fields-of-the-nephilim/). *Elizium* (1990), partly recorded at [David Gilmour](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-gilmour)'s houseboat studio Astoria, dropped the western flavor of earlier records for a smoother, dreamlike sound and explored recurrent themes of life, death, and resurrection[7](https://trouserpress.com/reviews/fields-of-the-nephilim/) • [8](https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-outer-limits-fields-of-the-nephilim). It was the first album since *Dawnrazor* produced by someone other than Bill Buchanan; Andy Jackson took over production duties[12](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r7211/review). At the height of their popularity after *Elizium*, the band fell apart in disarray[3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/fields-of-the-nephilim-goth-carl-mccoy-interview-ceremonies-2012).
**The Nefilim interlude and return.** Working mainly on his own, McCoy recorded the industrial and death metal album *Zoon* in 1993 under the name The Nefilim; it was released in 1996[3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/fields-of-the-nephilim-goth-carl-mccoy-interview-ceremonies-2012). Fields of the Nephilim returned with *Fallen* (2002) and then *Mourning Sun*, an album of new material; AllMusic dates it to 2006 while [MusicBrainz](https://www.edgepedia.org/musicbrainz) and a Metal Hammer feature date it to 2005[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-nephilims-mn0000175530) • [5](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a262543f-6ab4-4ac7-86f3-4fc09ff56f3b) • [3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/fields-of-the-nephilim-goth-carl-mccoy-interview-ceremonies-2012). McCoy subsequently abandoned regular touring in favor of one-off gigs with anonymous session players he called "ghost musicians", and in late 2008 the band played two sold-out nights at London's Shepherds Bush Empire billed as the Ceremonies[3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/fields-of-the-nephilim-goth-carl-mccoy-interview-ceremonies-2012). McCoy performs gigs under the Ceromonies name (his own spelling) on the anniversaries of the deaths of the occult artists [Austin Osman Spare](https://www.edgepedia.org/austin-osman-spare) and Aleister Crowley[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/26/goth-life-fields-nephilim).
## Influence and following
Fields of the Nephilim are regarded as a significant influence on dark metal acts. Metal Hammer credits them with shaping goth metal bands such as [Paradise Lost](https://www.edgepedia.org/paradise-lost) and [Nevermore](https://www.edgepedia.org/nevermore) and later extreme metal groups such as [Cradle of Filth](https://www.edgepedia.org/cradle-of-filth) and Behemoth[3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/fields-of-the-nephilim-goth-carl-mccoy-interview-ceremonies-2012). The band's sound has also been cited as a cue by gothic metal acts such as Type O Negative and by black metal bands including Dimmu Borgir[13](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/type-o-negative-october-rust) • [14](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/biographies/how-dimmu-borgir-became-the-biggest-band-in-black-metal).
The Guardian noted in 2012 that the band still played to packed houses of devoted fans, including a festival in Leipzig, Germany, that McCoy described as taking over the whole town for a week[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/26/goth-life-fields-nephilim). The band's commercial peak came, unusually, during the era of acid house and [Madchester](https://www.edgepedia.org/madchester), when Fields of the Nephilim, the Mission, and All About Eve all made the singles chart[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/26/goth-life-fields-nephilim). McCoy attributes the loyalty to the sincerity of the project: "When I formed Fields of the Nephilim, it was about things that were quite real to me"[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/26/goth-life-fields-nephilim).
## References
1. [Fields of the Nephilim Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-nephilims-mn0000175530)
2. [Goth for life, The Guardian (26 April 2012)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/26/goth-life-fields-nephilim)
3. ["I have my own ways of ritual magick": The otherworldly story of goth mystics Fields Of The Nephilim, Metal Hammer via Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/features/fields-of-the-nephilim-goth-carl-mccoy-interview-ceremonies-2012)
4. [About Us, Fields of the Nephilim official site](https://fields-of-the-nephilim.com/pages/about-us)
5. [Fields of the Nephilim, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a262543f-6ab4-4ac7-86f3-4fc09ff56f3b)
6. [Nephilim, Striking a Nebulous Note, The Washington Post (23 February 1988)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/1988/02/23/nephilim-striking-a-nebulous-note/c808b3b3-d75a-4716-99da-7c3a6e3cdbc8/)
7. [Fields of the Nephilim, Trouser Press](https://trouserpress.com/reviews/fields-of-the-nephilim/)
8. [The Outer Limits: Fields Of The Nephilim, Prog via Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-outer-limits-fields-of-the-nephilim)
9. [Dawnrazor review, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/dawnrazor-mw0000193504)
10. [Fields of the Nephilim biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000175530)
11. [The Nephilim review, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-nephilim-mw0000197238)
12. [Elizium review, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r7211/review)
13. [Type O Negative: October Rust album feature, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/type-o-negative-october-rust)
14. [How Dimmu Borgir became the biggest band in black metal, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/biographies/how-dimmu-borgir-became-the-biggest-band-in-black-metal)
15. [Exclusive Interview: Fields of The Nephilim 30 Years On - We Talk To Carl McCoy and Tony Pettit](https://louderthanwar.com/exclusive-interview-fields-of-the-nephilim-30-years-on-we-talk-to-carl-mccoy-and-tony-pettit/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Rock, indie, and pop groups › Indie and alternative bands › Post-punk and new wave bands › First-wave post-punk and gothic rock*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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