RAW MAY 31-JUNE 13, 1989
PSYCHOKILLERS
Pretentious occultists or the real McCoy? The flour-powered FIELDS
OF THE NEPHILIM ride out of the sunset with the new single, 'Psychonaut...'
The Nephilim in the flesh belie their image on record and onstage. There,
in their element, they stretch out and clutch the hearts of a growing
legion of fans with hands as cold as steel. They rifle through the darker,
concealed and shrouded parts of the mind where hidden fears are kept
away from the harsh light of day. They turn over the
stones under which lie the scaly and menacing aspects of our lives,
speaking of a universe helter-skeltering beyond control into a time of
unmitigated chaos. Such is the course of the
Nephilim's journey through the denser reaches of the human soul.
But in person, in the flesh, they seem far removed from this projected
imagery. They seem like regular guys doing an irregular job.
So which is the artifice and which is the reality?
Well, neither really. Fields Of The Nephilim seem set on a course of
dark and obtuse exploration through the mythology of Aleister Crowley,
HP Lovecraft and Indian Shamans. But this doesn't stop them being good
guys too. A journey through the dark side doesn't necessarily indicate
either a malevolent soul or a hunger for cheap publicity.
Such is the nature of the beast that is the Nephilim.
The Nephilim have just issued a new single, 'Psychonaut Lib. III' on
Situation Two (through Beggars Banquet). The Lib. III, I presume, is Latin
for 'Book Three'. The single comes out after the band have spent
some six months sporadically recording music that, in the event, is
unlikely to see vinyl, at least not under the 'Nephilim' banner. The
passages, with the exception of the single are all instrumentals and
more geared towards film scores than stage entertainment.
There is still a new album to be recorded and released, but the
Nephilim are currently engaged in attempting to
find a finer balance between recording and touring. Some elements
within the band enjoy life on the road, others the enclosure
of the studio. Since the one cannot exist without the other a balance has
to be struck, hence the current mini-UK tour in support of the
single prior to a return to the studio to track their third album.
But balance implies order, and one of singer Carl McCoy's contentions is
that the universe is naturally inclined towards chaos.
But then I get the impression that the Nephilim want everything and such
goals are not about to stand in their way.
McCoy and bassist Tony Pettit are the Nephilim spokesmen, guitarists Peter
Yates and Paul Wright, and drummer Nod Wright are dispatched
to the rehearsal studio while these two submit to the bemused questioning.
What, for instance, is a 'Psychonaut?'
"It's a modern term for a sorcerer or shaman," explains McCoy, himself
largely responsible for the mystical tract of the Nephilim. "Parts
of the Occult are now becoming blended with science. It comes out of
my interest in quantum mechanics, magic and the development of a
'chaos science'."
Producer Bob Erzin once described the recording process as the application
of science to create something magical. This combination was clearly
strong during the Nephilim's sojourn in the studio if, ultimately,
unproductive.
"In the past we've never actually achieved the sounds we imagined," says
McCoy, "so this time we spent a long time getting the sounds we like
in the studio."
"We were experimenting a lot," explains Pettit, "you can still
tell 'Psychonaut...' is us, but we took a different approach to it."
"We used a lot more keyboards," smiles McCoy, freely admitting the
Pink Floyd influence that has been absorbed here, describing them as
"inspiring". He is also convinced that keyboards will once again
be introduced into the Nephilim live set. Not that they're about to wimp
out.
"We can't be that subtle, when we play live we have to be pretty raw to
make it work," says Pettit.
"There's a certain amount of frustration that comes out when you play
live," admits McCoy, "because that's the only chance you have to
be yourself. It's a good opportunity to let all that energy out."
Which kind of brings us back to that other energy outlet, the Nephilim
music, and in particular the often obtuse lyrical content. McCoy
is guarded in his approach to this line of questioning, he is not anxious
to lecture on his beliefs, nor to get into the conversion business. But,
as he says himself, "There's certain things I'm interested in, which are
natural to me, which are my life. I can only write about things
that inspire me.
"I've got a fascination for the Occult, always have had since I was young.
As a child I was brought up religiously and forced to go to church.
It was a Christian religion - I'd rather not say which - but it made
me think: 'What kind of religion does that to young kids? To say that this
is right? And to try and put the fear of God into them?'
"One of my parents was religious and the other more interested
in the Occult, so I managed to read all these books
when I was little. Since then I think I've witnessed a lot of things
that other people probably haven't - I actually 'felt' a presence in the
house as a kid. And that really opened up my eyes.
"I get a lot of interest from other Occult writers and I contributed
recently to a couple of books. I like doing that because
it's me, I can say what I feel and can bring in my own philosophy. But
when you're in a band with four other people who aren't involved
in those things you have to compromise. Whatever makes me conceive these
ideas, I don't think they're relevant in a band interview.
"I don't think I have to justify why I write what I
write. I don't think I'm harming anyone. I suggest things in
my lyrics, I don't preach. It's all suggestion so people can take it
either way, they can interpret it how they like."
The body of McCoy's lyrics is so dense and all but impenetrable that the
listener is liable only to get the haziest notion of what he's on about. I
wondered how he reacted to the more blatant use of Occult imagery by Heavy
Metal bands: are they Devil worshippers?
"They are. They all worship the flesh don't they? They do
it for shock value and I don't think it's in particularly
good taste because I don't think they really know
what they're dealing with. They shouldn't be so ignorant, they
should learn something about what they're saying. You get these bands with
pentagrams and skulls on their covers... it's pathetic, really."
Something else the Nephilim find a little pathetic are the 'audience
participation' rants much beloved by many bands. But then, they appear to
have an ambivalent attitude to this one: on the one hand decrying it, yet
on the other appreciating the value of control
over their audience. Today a Nephilim gig is often a carthartic
experience - intense and even brutal. Was there a time when the Nephilim
failed to inspire such response?
"Oh yes," Pettit recalls, "especially early on, playing in front
of skinheads and Hardcore fans. They weren't really indifferent, they just
sat there staring at us. But we didn't get any grief from them. It
didn't feel that good, though, playing to people who didn't shout,
just stared."
"In our early days we really knew how to shut a crowd up," recalls
McCoy. "We'd come on as a support band and people would be rowdy, making
noise. But after we'd played two songs the crowd would be quiet,
watching us. They wouldn't clap, but at least they'd be quiet for the rest
of the gig. And that was a hell of
an achievement considering the audiences we used to play to."
Those are hardly problems facing the Nephilim today. Indifference is
certainly not an emotion they inspire from today's audience. Indeed, the
degree of devotion they enjoy is quite startling. Yet paradoxically as
they have got older, they have noticed that their audience seems to have
gotten correspondingly younger.
"I think with a lot of these kids the sole reason they're into it is the
sound," assess Pettit. "They're not trying to go off too deeply into the
whole thing, they just like the sound of it. They like to get home and
listen to it."
"Our music triggers the emotions it should be triggering, and that's
good," McCoy determines.
Triggering the right emotional states in their audience will
be the prime objective on this tour, but after that, what then?
"After this tour, all we've got planned is to record the album. We've
been promised that nothing will be set up for us until it's finished. So
we haven't got the idea stuck in the back of our minds: we've got a
deadline to keep." Pettit sounds enthused by the idea of getting back into
the studio again.
"The only thing is," cautions McCoy, "we've got our audience to keep. So
everything, really, has to revolve around that."
"That's why I think taking our time over the album and doing it in the
best way possible is the way we are going to keep them," concludes Pettit.
Somehow I don't think the Nephilim are in danger of losing their audience,
nor they, in turn, of deserting the band. Fields
Of The Nephilim, after six years of development, have finally closed
'Chapter One' of their history. 'Psychonaut Lib. III' represents a
transition into 'Chapter Two', a chapter that should open with the
grandeur promised by their third album.
'Psychonaut...' is a fascinating glimpse into the future
of the Nephilim, retaining their old power and glory, now coupled
with a new freedom and experimentation as they push back the boundaries of
their art. It holds enthralling possibilities, and not a
little danger. But then, as Carl McCoy is the first to point
out: "It's the sense of danger that always makes us perform best."
Dangerous times lay ahead, but then what would life be without a
little danger?
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