Fields of the Nephilim: Classic or Dud?

Classic, mostly.

I have all the albums in various formats scattered god knows where, so I'm tempted to pick up the box set for convenience's sake - have the albums been remastered by any chance?

re. remixes - I think a lot of them were oincluded in the 2 CD version of the 1993 Best Of compilation (god, how many times I listened to that twofer at that time)

detail re mastering and other stuff (umm 'lo ned) :

http://archive.beggars.com/releases/215/fields-of-the-nephilim-5-albums

by album #3 they really discovered they liked long songs ..

Supposedly they are remastered, but I don't know if the remasters were newly done for this set. There's some info here: http://archive.beggars.com/releases/215/fields-of-the-nephilim-5-albums

Mastering notes – The only album in this set to have been fully re-mastered from the analogue tapes is Elysium. Due to the limited budget (and in some cases non availability of analogue) the other albums / tracks have been mastered from digital sources.

Either way, the sound quality is excellent. Great bass sound throughout.

I haven't listened to any Neph stuff since the 1st couple of albums, but I note that one of the recent line-up - Gav King - is also playing in Conflict these days as well.

by album #3 they really discovered they liked long songs ..

I love that. "Sumerland" especially -- 11 minutes and it maintains just the right tension the entire while.

Quite so. Still majestic and perfect.

- Due to the limited budget (and in some cases non availability of analogue) the other albums / tracks have been mastered from digital sources.
- (due to time constraints some appear as bonus tracks on the original CDs)

Were Beggars Banquet legally or otherwise forced to put this box set out against their will or something?

oooh .. not thought of that.
wonder if the rights revert back to the band in near future, and so they rush released this to cash in.

I love that. "Sumerland" especially -- 11 minutes and it maintains just the right tension the entire while.

just 'experienced' this track on the new speakers.

damn. shivers all over.

and i would suggest there is actually a big difference in the sonics of the non-analogue remasters.
disc 3 sounds immense in comparison to the others.
thankfully, disc 3 is clearly the highlight of the boxset.

I see what you mean. It might just be a consequence of the original production aesthetics. I take it this band is purposefully going for a kind of smoky, murky vibe a lot of the time. Maybe when someone familiar with these albums hears this set they can tell us.

It might just be a consequence of the original production aesthetics.

and the budget available ..

still, i have no complaints as this stuff is ace ..

so I got myself the box set as my own personal xmas present to myself - excited to hear it all again but boy did they keep packaging costs to a minimum _ I guess that's what made the package so cheap. At this point I could have gotten the MP3s instead

Listening to Elizium which i'd never really heard before. Stuff like Submission is great, somewhat surprisingly it sounds like a cross between Bark Psychosis, Clock Dva and Porcupine Tree.

All that, and more!

For a long time I hadn't bothered with much goth that didn't have some Cure, Banshee, Cocteau or Dead Can Dance blood in it. Tried Bauhaus - In The Flat Field years ago and it didn't do much for me (should try another album).

But then Sisters Of Mercy impressed me because it's just so different and I have trouble making sense of them coming from the time and place they did, they seem like such an oddity to me.

Now in the past few weeks, Fields Of The Nephilim's Dawnrazor... even more of an oddity considering the time and place. It conjures up such an interesting world that seems so complete.

I don't think I ever heard Sisters or Fields when I was a child so this stuff is super fresh to me.

Good choices both.

Bonus track "Blue Water" is great.

I'm trying to describe what they're achieving in more detail but cant find the words. Maybe that it seems like some of the songs are more than just regular songs, like fleshed out scenes or something like that?

They get even more cinematic over the next few records too.

Hypnotic drones are what set these guys apart.

Didn't like the second album quite as much, but it's an interesting one. "Shiva" is my favorite by a long distance, just awesome track, but it isn't on the earliest versions of the album somehow.

I think it's their best.

I think "Phobia" is great but the guitar is a tad too close to Motorhead's "Ace Of Spades".

I think I like "Shiva" so much because it's just so overtly sinister, a seductive monster quality.

I'm slightly gutted that "Psychonaut" is just a bonus track and not the real ending of Elizium. Seems perfect to me.

Pretty awesome album. Sad that this box set only has 3 studio albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F6AhVj7lHI

Can anyone explain what the heck they're doing on a North American Campus Activities Promo Tape?

lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHSgQpgNOO0