Elizium

Fields Of The Nephilim

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 9, 1997)
• Original Release Date: 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Beggars UK - Ada
• ASIN: B00000189O
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #112,975 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entrancing Elizium, August 5, 2001

By	Dancing Ganesha "Dancing Ganesha" (Northern Hemisphere) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I bought this cd because of the song "For Her Light," but was pleasantly surprised at how wonderful all the songs on it were.

Fields of the Nephilim, unlike most bands, never create second rate music, which is one reason I've always liked them so much (one of my goth friends recommended I listen to them quite a long time ago and I'm very glad I took her advice!)

The opening song, "Dead But Dreaming", is an aural soundscape, a great introduction to the album, leading into "For Her Light" which is probably one of the best songs on here, enigmatic as always, spiritual, dark, yet upbeat (never sinister). It's strange how after having listened to this song so many times, it never sounds old or dated. I especially like the lines "can't wake up, can't wake up...you can't wake up..." It's hard to describe the effect the music has...especially when the song slows tempo and breaks into "At The Gates of Silent Memory"...with lines read by Aleister Crowley himself, it seems like you are entering a higher reality of sorts, which is what McCoy's intentions are. He has said that he makes his music for himself and those who may "catch on" and find something in it. (For those who don't, this music probably won't mean anything to you. Stick to your top 40 tunes; Fields will probably seem like a big waste of time to you.)

"Paradise Regained" is a sort of reprise of tracks one and two, much more upbeat, almost manic in comparison. Like a Sonata, working in three parts, the songs mirror and compliment one another.

"Submission" I've heard, is a love song of sorts, albeit a very strange one. Not sure as to the lyrics (there are no printed lyrics of any of their songs, so I've read). It's much more mellow than the first three songs, but has a very eerie entrancing feeling to it as McCoy begins reading a few lines...

"It moves between us - for one moment - like opium and your heart - We've remedies from the ancient gods - to heal the morals of our shadow devil - Come to me open up the door - lead me Ciahra to the centre of it all - she opened and cried - with arms outstretched..."

After this follows "Sumerland (what dreams may come)"...A song which opens up seemingly innocous, then leads into some very beautiful moments, with the hypnotic

"Take the dream - Take me - I'll wait for you - Take the dream - I'll wait forever"

What I love about this song, as many of their works, is how the music is very dimensional; you think you've heard everything, and then the song will break into something completely different, but it works very well.

"Wail of Sumer" (again, another song with the subject matter being the ancient mysteries of Sumer). Quiet and subdued, it leads directly into "And There Will You Heart Be Also,"

"We must suffer - To free our pain - Can you help us - To find our way - You're here to stay - Stay here in paradise - I'd end this moment - To be with you - Through morphic oceans - I'd lay here with you"

The songs ends with the same exact mood and dreamy quality that the album began with. Never sinister, never evil, but always moving and uplifting (in a dark sort of way); the beauty of this music has the power to move some listeners very deeply (my friend attests that she is often moved to tears by their songs).

Truly an epic album, I highly recommend this cd to all fans of the Nephilim.

If you've never heard of them, I first recommend listening to either this album or else Revelations, to get a good idea of what they're all about.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transcending Time, Space and Reality, February 5, 2004

By	SandmanVI (Glen Allen, VA United States) - See all my reviews

Within the space of just 3 albums Fields of the Nephilim transformed from a band who cranked out power Goth singles to the group who created this masterwork of mood and atmosphere. The surreal, interwoven tapestry of sound and concept created on "Elizium" may dwarf anything that Pink Floyd ever did on DSOTM or "Wish You Were Here"; I love both of those Floyd albums but have never heard an album as capable of transporting the mind and spirit as this. FotN hinted at what was coming on the last 3 songs of "The Nephilim", each an epic work heavy with texture. Still, one could hardly have anticipated the scope and cohesiveness achieved here.

The album opens with a 4-song, 20-minute movement containing both calm and storm, quiet and power, hope and despair. The sound rises and falls in sync with the prevailing emotions of the moment. The major shifts within the movement are listed as separate songs, but the blending is so seamless that you'll be surprised that the track listing has changed. Songs 5 & 6 are the only 2 that stand as individual pieces. "Submission" features a brooding yet gentle rolling bass matched with subdued, spoken vocals. It's clear that there is an underlying energy waiting to be released, but it's uncertain whether it will be. "Sumerland" sends the soul on a journey, soaring above ancient Sumeria in a transitory state so that we can see the Earth as well as touch the gods. The final 2 songs, like the first 4, blend together with the song change marking an energy shift more than a change in direction. As with the rest of the album there are swirling guitars, amazing basslines that add texture without taking over, and lyrics that blur the lines between life and death, spirit and matter, yet able to connect the end back to the beginning.

Vocalist Carl McCoy is making a spiritual and philosophical statement with his lyrics, but the band is making an equally powerfully statement without words. The 2 work together to stunning effect. Elizium is the perfect album to take a break from the mundane and meditate on greater things.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars essential, February 10, 2004

By	"nsmpeglit" (Athens, GREECE) - See all my reviews

I cannot stress how wonderful this album is... Not being a goth fan, although i have some goth CDs in my collection, i got really surprised when i listened to Elizium for the first time. It was my first Fields of The Nephilim record and i was thinking that it would be like Sisters of Mercy or sth. It suprised me in the same way Pink Floyd did many years ago, sth that happens not so often nowadays. I spent the whole night listening to it repeatidly and honestly i got so excited that i was chasing my friends, in the middle of the examination period, in order to gather and listen to it. The funny thing is that everybody disagreed but when i managed to convice them, the reaction didn't let me down. For the next few days my cell phone was under SMS attack "oh my god", "what was that?", "unbelievable" etc etc. The truth is that Elizium is a great record, one of the thousand great records that are around, and if you are prejudiced about gothic you will really get surprised! It has atmosphere, sound quality, lyrics, well... a reason to exist! The music is between rock and metal, that is it is quite heavier than the usuall '80s goth like Siouxsie, Bauhaus etc with influences from Pink Floyd and with a voice from the outer space. The artwork is also very beautiful, the frond cover is very clever and the European edition from Beggars Banquet that i own includes lyrics. Andy Jackson did the sound engineering and John Carin played keyboards. If you like good music you should check it out, whether you enjoy this style or not. It is a necessity in any serious collection.

Definitely one of the top '90s rock records.