Fields Of The Nephilim / The Church (live at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire)

London
31 October 2018

Years ago, back in the early 1990s, I had a friend (well, I say “had”– we’re still friends and he’s here tonight) with whom I shared a lot of common ground in terms of musical taste. He used to always be on at me to listen to The Church. These days I probably would have, given that it’s super-easy to just find music online if you just have the name of the band, but back then it was a little more complicated, and quite frankly I couldn’t be arsed.

But here I am tonight, watching that self-same band supporting Fields Of The Nephilim, and by crikey I kinda wish I’d listened to him at the time. I’d almost certainly have become a huge fan. While they sound nothing at all like New Model Army, I can see why they used to (and still do) share so much of the same fanbase. There’s a lyricism and intimacy to their wide-screen cinematic epics that tickles many of the same parts of the brain (possibly even the part known as Shatner’s Bassoon).

For the most part there are three guitars all pouring out waves and waves of sumptuous, all underpinned by that almost-industrial (small “i”) post-punk rhythm section. It’s a winning formula, and on the plus side I now have thirty-odd years of great music to catch up on. Finally I have to tell my mate that he was right all along. And you know how much THAT hurts.

But onward to tonight’s headliners. And the Nephilim have picked a perfect night for their spaghetti Western-themed occult gothic rock. Not only is it Hallowe’en/Samhain, it’s also a mere five days after the release of Rockstar‘s dick-drawing and dog-petting simulator Red Dead Redemption 2,so my head is already full of cowboys.

So when they take the stage with their masterfully sinister take on Ennio Morricone‘s theme to Once Upon A Time In The West, I am totally on board. And they’re majestic. For a band who aren’t exactly prolific, they’ve still got enough of a back catalogue to deliver a different set of all-killer-no-filler bangers every time. Tonight we get nothing from Elizium, but aside from that it’s a career-spanning set, from “Trees Come Down” to “Prophecy” and all points (except Elizium, which they played in full last time, so that’s an understandable omission) in between.

And the more times I see the recent line-up, the more I become convinced that “Dawnrazor” might be their greatest song. Tonight it’s storming, a great slab of horror movie magnificence. And of course there’s an equally stunning rendition of “Moonchild”. Which is thirty years old. Meaning that it’s about as long since then and now as it was between then and Buddy Holly‘s “Peggy Sue”. Which is an appropriately terrifying thought. And “Psychonaut” is the bubbly psych-prog epic it was always meant to be.

But I have a problem, and the problem is this. I want new songs. Today’s line-up is tight and mean, and I don’t doubt Carl McCoy‘s still got the ideas. As I say, they vary the set every time so it never really gets stale, but come on, guys. Wouldn’t it be cool to have some new shit to lay on us? Please?
In the meantime, though, what they lack in surprise they make up for in atmosphere. A spooky and celebratory night to fit the season.

-Words: Justin Farrington-
-Pictures: Dave Pettit-