Fields of the Nephilim
From Gehenna to Here

THE REVIEW

I'll be honest: I couldn't care less about Fields Of The Nephilim, even more today than yesterday. Have they released a new album titled "Mourning Sung"? It doesn't concern me! I'm not writing these things to "trash" the band and their followers; I've just moved on to other music. I am certainly fed up with "metallic" gothic rock and no longer feel the need for lengthy digressions about Thelema, unusual ghosts, or the "Moonchild".

As they say, I've "changed" and have leaned toward a type of sound darkness that is sparse, minimal, and ruthless. That sound darkness has, in reality, few points of contact with McCoy's current offerings. If today I want to savor dire and gloomy moods put to music, I'll play "Streetcleaner" by Godflesh or "Second Edition" by PIL on the stereo. But, obviously, you probably don't care much about my most recent listens and, suspiciously, you might wonder why I decided to review an album by FOTN if, as already written, I no longer find their offering exciting.

The fact is, yesterday, while skimming through some CDs, I found a copy of this "From Gehenna To Here". Curiously, but also a bit perplexed, I put the disc in the player and... how many good memories!

In this album you won't find any gothic-metal pleasantries or psychedelic diversions (partially confirmed in the third "Elizium"), but you'll encounter a raw, visceral, and rotten goth 'n' roll. No, I'm not talking about a strictly Cramps-like proposition, but rather a sound closer to that of Christian Death, a sound therefore akin to the darkest post-punk and its "batcave" branches.

The good McCoy, as usual, doesn't skimp on vocal excursions in the style of Andrew Eldritch, but, generally speaking, he imposes a lamenting and desperate song.

"From Gehenna To Here" is not, however, an official album!

"From Gehenna To Here", from what little I've gathered, is a compilation including the first two EPs released by our dark-cowboys, namely "Burning The Fields" from '85 and "Returning To Gehenna" from '86. Prominent bass, deep graveyard voice (as already mentioned, halfway between Eldritch and "death rock" style), rock-like dynamism, and a damn saxophone that, from time to time, emits screeching and cutting notes.

THESE Fields Of The Nephilim are capable of delivering moments of sparse darkness! These recordings may be raw and profoundly distant from their more orthodox style, but please, don't touch tracks like "Trees Come Down", "Back In Gehenna", the two versions of "Laura", or the heartbreaking "Darkcell".

A collection that will undoubtedly please the staunchest fans of Fields but, incredibly, will also bring joy to those who have always been skeptical of them.

An extremely valid testimony.