Rubicon

After four albums marked by persistent rumors of internal friction, the British goth rockers Fields of the Nephilim disbanded in 1991, and the manner of their dissolution confirmed those reports. Rather than dispersing into separate endeavors, the four instrumentalists stayed together, recruited a replacement frontman, and carried on under a fresh banner, while original vocalist Carl McCoy launched his own project, the Nefilim, adopting the alternate spelling for legal protection.

With Alan Delaney—whose delivery proved more restrained than McCoy’s exaggerated dramatic gestures—now handling vocals alongside guitarist and keyboardist Peter Yates, guitarist Paul Wright, bassist Tony Pettitt, and drummer Nod Wright, the group adopted the name Rubicon, an allusion to Julius Caesar’s literal point of no return that was only marginally less grandiose than the previous moniker. They issued the album What Starts, Ends in 1992. Compared with the Fields of the Nephilim catalog, the record placed greater emphasis on guitars while also revealing a fresh fascination with ambient textures. The still more accessible Room 101 appeared in 1995, yet it received largely negative reactions from the band’s loyal cult audience, in contrast to the reception accorded What Starts, Ends.

Meanwhile McCoy’s Nefilim pursued a heavier black-metal course and encountered comparable indifference. The two sides eventually reconciled and, without Peter Yates, regrouped as the Nephilim in 1998.