Back in the mid-nineties, the lone Nefilim album ‘Zoon’ must have been quite a shock for anyone who expected a continuation of the cinematic gothic rock sound that Fields Of The Nephilim was known for. There are similarities with the Fields’ sound, but those are not immediately apparent. Upon first spin, the music on ‘Zoon’ has much more in common with the industrial thrash metal leanings Ministry had around the same time. ‘Zoon’ still has plenty of atmospheric clean guitar moments and meticulous arrangements, but this is certainly a heavier, more industrial take on Carl McCoy’s visions than Fields ever was.

Then again, the gothic music landscape had changed in the nineties. Instead of desperately clinging to his past, McCoy and his fellow musicians apparently kept up with the times without forsaking their roots. McCoy largely sheds his “gruff Andrew Eldritch” label in favor of something that is pretty damn near a death grunt, but even the clean vocals sound more gruff than usual here. Also, in less than two minutes, you will have heard more distortion on Paul Miles’ guitar than Paul Wright and Peter Yates ever had. The combination of fast, palm-muted thrash riffing and chorus-heavy arpeggios works surprisingly well.

Any metalhead curious about the gothic industrial sound of ‘Zoon’ should start with the riffier songs, such as opening track ‘Xodus’, ‘Penetration’, the relatively complex ‘Pazuzu (Black Rain)’ and the almost full-on thrash metal of ‘Venus Decomposing’. Aside from its brooding middle section, the latter sounds like it could be the missing link between Sepultura’s ‘Arise’ and ‘Chaos A.D.’. All of these songs have super tight riffing courtesy of Miles and particularly intense drumming by a musician with the impossibly metallic name Simon Rippin. The blunt riffing causes the immediate impact of these tracks, but don’t be fooled: the production is surprisingly sophisticated.

Songs like ‘Shine’ and the titular trilogy – though the three parts span two tracks – make ‘Zoon’ a surprisingly smooth transition from ‘Elizium’, however. It is here where McCoy gets his chance to, well… Shine. That song in particular shows him building from the mournful verses to the barely contained anger of the chorus and the surprisingly emotional climax. ‘Zoon’ in particular feels like an industrial reimagining of the longer suites on ‘Elizium’. It builds from a dark ballad through industrial ambience into the epic grandeur of the third part, subtitled ‘Wake World’. That particular part also starts out with McCoy singing as I prefer him: deep and clean.

Is this better than Fields Of The Nephilim? Of course it isn’t. ‘Elizium’ is a work of uncommon beauty. It is worth noting, however, that the “reunion” album of Fields Of The Nephilim – ‘Mourning Sun’, released almost a full decade later – sounds like a combination of their classic sound and the heavier industrial approach of ‘Zoon’. McCoy was obviously serious about this sound and despite familiar influences, ‘Zoon’ is quite a unique-sounding record. Admittedly, I personally prefer the more gothic moments of the record, but there’s some of the best industrial thrash metal of the nineties on the album as well.

Recommended tracks: ‘Shine’, ‘Zoon (Part 3) (Wake World)’, ‘Xodus’