I’ve spent a good few days reflecting on this and decided it really is something that needs to be addressed. So I’ll do it now and not end the review on a downer. I know different people enjoy gigs in different ways. I know there were mosh pits going on that night and that people do and did have legitimate objections to them. People can and do get injured. But that is a subject for another day.
I want to address the dancing. You may enjoy head banging. You may enjoy jumping. You may dance using your hips which is entirely down to personal preference. But if that’s you, please make sure you’re not pressed up against the backside of the person in front of you when you’re doing it. I get that there was a crowd, but reality – the song had finished, we were not sardining. All this guy had to do was take one step sideways or backwards and he could have ground to his heart’s content as he would no longer have been pressed up against me.
Literally ground his bones until the Nephilim could make all the bread they wanted. I’ll give him his due, I did bring it up with him and he was embarrassed, he did stop. But come on, let’s have some spatial awareness. Let’s keep the alternative scene a safe one.
So, unfortunately I was not there in time for the first support act and just caught the second support act who I believe were Balaam and the Angel. I did enjoy the look, dark but definitely not gloomy. Classic rockers with their long hair and leathers. But the music itself had a very upbeat, fun feel to it. Imagine combining Status Quo with Halloween. Sorry not sorry.
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Whilst waiting for the headline act to come out the tension in the room was palpable. You could tell some people had travelled a long way and waited a long time to see Fields of the Nephilim (FotN) in about the most perfect venue. The O2 Academy as it stands today is a replica of the original Victorian church built in 1825. The interior now resembles a Victorian theatre with its picture frame effect around the stage. Its main dance floor, multi-level flooring and upper level seating. In the dimmed lighting with the stage spotlights searching and flashing it certainly made for a gothic and almost otherworldly experience.
As someone who’s dipped her toe into what FotN have to offer over the last few years, I can certainly say that seeing them live was the icing on the cake. And that a live show is the only way to get the full experience. The “fourth layer” to their art combined with the long and dramatic intros. The sudden thunder in the form of the drum beat coming in. Followed by high-power guitar riffs and finally the slow, melancholic, almost pained lyrics. The razor sharp pick slide of the guitar to bring the music back in following instrumentals. The experience is very ethereal.
The entire auditorium was so filled with smoke from the stage that the lights gave you the impression of a spaceship landing. Or even a ghost ship coming out of the mist. The music all the time heightening the suspense. Who are these mysterious travellers? Are they the Nephilim? Or the coming of Atlantis? The leather-clad, spaghetti western and goggles look with the cowboy hat but still dredged in flour as though having just emerged from the ground.
One of the things that stands out to me about FotN is what I would call a “circular rhythm”. The music seems to follow a tune that goes round, down, round, up, repeat. Another example would be Avatar’s “Smells Like A Freakshow”. The kind of music that inspires windmilling moshing perhaps?
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It’s very difficult to try and decipher the music at first glance, there’s so much to take in. Once you’ve unravelled the layers to the band’s image, not forgetting the logo itself. The appearance of a compass but not with cardinal points. The script represents Theban or Witch’s script at first glance but then you realise it is actually English but barely decipherable. Elements of prehistoric Bronze Age lore blended with phrases meaningful to the band I wonder.
This does fit with what I was able to follow of the lyrics, that seem to oppose mainstream religion. The choir and church bells convey an atmosphere of doom and gloom, rather aggressively at times but disguised by melodies as they wash the message rapidly but placidly over the audience like the sea carrying the aforementioned mysterious pirate ship.
“Trees Come Down” does have a theme of hopelessness in this regard. But then “Moon Child” (a personal favourite) and “Love Under Will” almost seems to place the moon on a pedestal. Appealing to a gentle, childlike energy and willing it to spirit them away to a place of healing and peace.
There is an overwhelming sense of reverence of nature and the supernatural but disguised by a veil of eccentricity like the gatekeeper (in particular the lead singer gave vibes just like Wenanty Nosul, the gatekeeper from the 1990s VHS game Atmosphere) that one must pass by to gain access to their realm. Lesser rock fans may be frightened off by this but others will embrace it.
Encores. I never know if the band intend to play them all along but make the audience work for it. If they are spur of the moment. Or if it all comes down to having enough time left. Either way, “Moon Child” was played during the main set and my incessant screaming for a second encore possibly got me “Mourning Sun”. So I definitely went home happy.
