Mourning Sun

Fields Of the Nephilim (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 16, 2007)
• Original Release Date: July 16, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: SPV
• ASIN: B000BR6FCO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #197,529 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Shroud (Exordium) 5:45

2. Straight To The Light 6:24

3. New Gold Dawn 7:58

4. Requiem XIII-33 (Le Veilleur Silencieux) 7:21

5. Xiberia (Seasons In The Ice Cage) 7:33

6. She 9:26

7. Mourning Sun 10:33

8. In The Year 2525 9:28

Editorial Reviews

You should take plenty of time to listen to Fields Of The Nephilim’s music. Their albums are anything but an accidental stringing together of arbitrary songs; they are fascinating works of art, all of them, revealing their all-encompassing complexity in their overall context. Their brand-new recording, Mourning Sun, is another one of those haunting sonic journeys which lead their listeners into that uncharted world of mysteries and secrets that band mastermind Carl McCoy has been famous for in the past twenty years. Mourning Sun links spherical sonic images with driving rhythms, telling stories of a still uncharted future. "The lyrics of Mourning Sun are the words of today that give me a glimpse of tomorrow," explains McCoy, adding: "The whole thing is about looking forward as opposed to dwelling in the past."

To be able to fully concentrate on his ambitious work, McCoy retreated into total isolation, writing the album in a relatively short time. Based on the typical Nephilim sound, he worked on an evolution of his tried-and-tested stylistic devices and arrived at new artistic horizons. "Mourning Sun is a progression of the previous Nephilim albums, from Dawnrazor through Elizium to Zoon", he points out, "no comparison, only progression". He expresses himself in a total of seven epic numbers that live off their breathtaking density and haunting atmospheres. Tracks such as Shroud (Exordium), Requiem XIII-33 (Le Veilleur Silencieux), or the title track Mourning Sun (clocking in at over ten minutes) all stand in their own right, while at the same time complementing each other, blending into a complex whole. McCoy: "Every track has to be listened to in the context of the album".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Mourning Mr. McCoy....., June 7, 2006

By 

Desert Rat "DR Nomad" (Black Rock) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mourning Sun (Audio CD)

Dear Carl,

10 years... we have waited 10 years for this album. We have waited for YOUR touch, YOUR story, YOUR blessing. That other "album" that came out between Zoon and now... well, we KNOW it wasn't YOURS. We could tell... I have one thing to say to you - thank you.

If the opening portion of this review isn't enough of an indicator, I will make it plain and simple for those reading - I admire and respect the mind of Carl McCoy. In other words - I am a pretty big fan of the Nephilim in all its incarnations.

In FotN speak - McCoy has proven his statement - "I am the Nephilim." After he said these immortal words, our boys dropped off the radar. The Nephilim are back... and McCoy is looking alot like the 5th Horseman.

If you have never heard of the Nephilim, feel free to purchase this album - this is where the Nephilim has evolved to. This is the now of Carl McCoy.

I have seen some people liken this to Elizium. While there are certain similarities, I think it is fairly myopic to say there is no musical progression from then til now. Elizium was a smooth progression from "The Nephilim"... just as that album was a progression from "Dawnrazor". With each album we heard Carl tell us that his vision was becoming clearer... I read where he stated that it took him three albums to get that message across. It was almost a coaxing of will that created those albums. Always over the top, always bombastic, the Nephilim ARE larger than life. He also stated that with his Nefilim release of Zoon, he said what he wanted to with one album... Where his first message was a gradual and melodic surge, his second message reflected an explosive urgency... almost volcanic in nature. Fans of the Fields of the Nephilim were thrown back and many shunned the album as Carl's experiment with Death Metal...

Mourning Sun is the next step. We hear the melodic elements of early the Fields v1.0, but we also hear some of the harshness of Zoon. There is an urgency here...

My first listen to this album was difficult - I was hoping for Elizium v2.0. I needed to put it away for a few days after the first couple of listens and see if what happened. It didn't take long. I accepted the fact that Elizium was the past... that Zoon was the past. McCoy was back with lessons learned. I started to hear bass lines in my head... lyrics started to creep into my consciousness again... "I'll fly again!" "We didn't fall from Heaven, we didn't fall for you!" Hello?

Roots... Welcome to the Requiem for our first Gods... welcome to a mourning for the Simurgh. This is the past given homage. Combine the writing of Andrew Collins, religions, and the mystical ponderings of Mr. McCoy, add a dash of genius, a pinch of incredible song writing, and just a touch of over the top production and showmanship... and you have the idea. From this end, here we find the new beginning in a New Gold Dawn. THis is our future.

Mourning Sun is nothing short of phenomenal. When I am not listening to it, I miss it. The energy in this album will take you by the hand and lead you to where McCoy wants you to go. For a first listen, I highly recommend a good set of speakers.. you first need to FEEL this album... after that. Put it aside for a day or two. Things will start calling to you from the layer upon layer that you heard.. the next time, listen with headphones and a glass of your favorite mellowing intoxicant. Absorb this album as a whole and you will find something that music these days just fails to offer any more-

THIS ALBUM HAS A SOUL.

If you think the vocals are over the top, listen closer... It isn't an act. It isn't an affected attitude. The Preacherman has indeed returned. His Watchers are thankful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The return of The Preacherman, May 5, 2006

By 

Joachim Vetter (Denmark) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mourning Sun (Audio CD)

I always get in a special mood,when I hear the voice of mr. mccoy. Bought my first album in 1989, "Dawnrazor", and have been a diciple since then. Waited 10 years for this album, which was released on my 34 yrs. birthday. It's still hypnotizing, elegant and complex, but I FOR SURE MISSES THE WRIGHT Brothers, whom has left the band long ago. The album is a lot better than ZOON, that i definately finds was a deroute from the nephilims musical universe, now wre back in the dreaming universe from the times before we were born. It's beautyfull, dark, emerging and declining in the way that only FOTN can do it. Buy it, and send them a mail, to go on concert. (none has been announced yet)

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing less than perfection, July 1, 2006

By 

Frankland S. Strickland (Memphis, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mourning Sun (Audio CD)

Let's all "Celebrate" the "Power" this album reveals. For some fans, this is nothing short of "Paradise Regained" and they will gladly sink into the "Submission" this album demands. Leave all doubts "At the Gates of Silent Memory" and join Fields of the Nephilim on this latest journey. Once you buy this album, I promise "There Your Heart Will Be Also." Okay, sorry, enough of my cheesy silliness! If I'm trying to make a point with all of this, then it is to say that "Mourning Sun" sounds nothing like any of its predecessors, yet, at the same time, it sounds like ALL of them---all of them simultaneously, I might add!

So . . . am I suggesting that one track on this album might sound like something from "Dawnrazor" while another sounds like something from "Elizium"? Well, no, not exactly. What I am suggesting is that all of the ingredients that went into the band's former albums are found here in one recipe. It's sort of a shepherd's pie, if you will . . . no, I got it . . . Cajun gumbo! I don't mean to imply that "Mourning Sun" is a "one size fits all," but I am confident that all fans will be satisfied and will find the elements most palatable from former albums contained herein.

"Straight to the Light" --- McCoy gets the album going at full steam with this one! Those unfamiliar with the band might think this is Death Metal, but we all know better. Still, this one reminds me of "Zoon" more than any other. It is actually preceeded by "Shroud (Exordium)," but "Shroud" is a rather lengthy introduction to the album and is mostly instrumental save for some background voices---think "Intro (the Harmonica Man)" or "Still Life."

"New Gold Dawn" --- Originally, this one was my favorite track since it sounded most like something from "The Nephilim." "The Nephilim" was the first album I ever bought from the band and so I'm naturally inclined to it.

"Requiem XIII-33 (Le Veilleur Silencieux)" --- This one sort of slows the pace down a bit and, at times, is quite reminiscent of what we all loved about "Elizium."

"Xiberia (Seasons In The Ice Cage)" ---- INSTANT CLASSIC ALERT!!! INSTANT CLASSIC ALERT!!!
This song, hands down, is one of my favorites and not only from Fields of the Nephilim, but from all bands of all time! This is a "Stairway to Heaven" caliber song----epic and timeless!!! Want to take a journey that at times reminds you of "Dawnrazor," then "The Nephilim," then "Zoon," and all with "Elizium" going full blast at the same time? Try this one!!! Seriously, as much as I've liked many of the band's other songs through the years, this is now my favorite!!!

"She" ----coming down from the frenzied, cosmic orgasm of the previous track, "She" brings us back to earth. It's a beautiful earth, but still dark and filled with uncertainty. Clocking in at over nine minutes, this is one of the album's longer epics.

"Mourning Sun" ---- The title track, at over 10 minutes in length, is the longest on the album. It goes without saying that this is another epic. Awesome song, awesome journey!

"In the Year 2525" ---- This is a cover song that McCoy makes into his own, if you know what I'm saying. Not found on the original release, it is included here an obligatory "bonus track." I can't say yet how much I like it or whether it actually fits thematically with the rest of the album. Time will tell. Remember though, it is a bonus track!