''Dawnrazor'' is the debut studio album by English

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

band

Fields of the Nephilim Fields of the Nephilim are an English gothic rock band formed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in 1984. The band's name refers to a Biblical race of angel-human hybrids known as the Nephilim. Career Early years (1984–1991) Fields of the Nep ...

. It was released in May 1987, through record label Situation Two.

Background

The introductory track contains a sample of the

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

theme "Man with the Harmonica" from

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...

's epic 1968 western film ''

Once Upon a Time in the West ''Once Upon a Time in the West'' ( , "Once upon a time (there was) the West") is a 1968 epic Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone, who co-wrote it with Sergio Donati based on a story by Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Leone ...

''.

Critical reception

''Dawnrazor'' was generally well-received, though the band and the album were often criticised for the perceived similarity to the work of the British gothic rock band

The Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...

. ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' called it "an enjoyable creation, with some great songs .. but the Sisters' influence is so strong that it tends to overshadow the Nephs' unique qualities." Dave Dickson of the British music magazine ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' praises the band for the concept of "Spaghetti-metal", inspired by the characters portrayed on the screen by

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

, but he is less warm on the execution, starting with "the plagiarising of the master musician of

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

, Ennio Morricone" and the "truck loads of effects" used to recreate the atmosphere of the movies. For these reasons, he gave the album two different scores.

Track listing

All tracks by

, except "Intro" by

US LP has added "Preacher Man", "Power" and "Blue Water" singles but misses "Reanimator". CD version has "Preacher Man" + 4 tracks from Italian "Returning to Gehenna EP" excluding title track but misses "Blue Water" which is available on "Revelations" compilation.

Personnel

Fields of the Nephilim * Carl McCoy – vocals * Peter Yates – guitar * Paul Wright – guitar * Tony Pettitt – bass * Alexander Wright – drums Production * Bill Buchanan – producer * Iain O'Higgins – producer on "Secrets", "Power" and "The Tower" * Fields of the Nephilim – producers on "Laura II", "Secrets", "Power" and "The Tower" * Martin Stansfield, Stephen Stewart – engineers * John Fryer – mixing *

Vic Maile Vic Maile (1943 – 11 July 1989) was a British record producer. After starting his career as sound engineer with Pye mobile studios for the Animals on their song "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", Maile worked with some of the biggest names in th ...

– mixing on "Power" * Greg Copeland, Richard Stanley, Justin Thomas – photography

References

External links

* {{Authority control Fields of the Nephilim albums 1987 debut albums Beggars Banquet Records albums Situation Two albums