Career
The band formed in 1984. Following on from two EPs, their first album Dawnrazor was released in 1987. They produced two more full-length albums, The Nephilim and Elizium, plus a live album called Earth Inferno and a handful of singles, before splitting in 1991.
McCoy went on to form Nefilim.
The 1996 release of Nefilim"s album Zoon saw a departure from the ethereal gothic sound of Elizium in favour of an industrial metal and death metal direction. McCoy"s most recent studio album, Mourning Sun, was released in 2005.
Although it was released under the name Fields of the Nephilim, McCoy has been secretive about the musicians who play on Mourning Sun, though John "Capachino" Carter is the only named contributor. The Album was conceived and produced in Carl"s studio - Ice Cage.
In April 2012 the Ceromonies live box set, consisting of recordings and footage from the two-night event held at London"s Shepherd"s Bush Empire in 2008, was released as a Digital Video Disc & Double Civil Defense box set as well as a vinyl double LP (vinyl release comes without the live Digital Video Disc).
A limited Collector"s Edition coming in a handmade wooden box was also released. McCoy is well known for his mystical and occult-based lyrics and beliefs. Clay disc recordings of Crowley"s voice can be heard on a handful of Fields of the Nephilim songs, specifically on Elizium.
One of Fields of the Nephilim"s biggest hits, "Moonchild", shares a name with one of Crowley"s novels.
In interviews, McCoy has hinted that he sees his on-stage performances as theurgic, magickal or shamanic workings. He is also an admirer of Austin Osman Spare (the name of the Fields of the Nephilim live album Earth Inferno comes from one of Spare"s works) and has thanked "AOS" in dedications on his albums.
McCoy"s lyrics are heavily influenced by the work of H. P. Lovecraft, and mention Cthulhu in several places. McCoy owns a graphics company, Sheerfaith, which has supplied art and design for all of his musical projects.
Sheerfaith has also produced artwork for other projects, such as for the Storm Constantine book Hermetech and Andrew Collins" 21st Century Grail.
He himself is a 3D artist, a longtime user of LightWave 3D. McCoy appeared as the nomad in the motion picture Hardware (1990), directed by Richard Stanley. who had previously directed a number of videos for Fields of the Nephilim.