Goth, is an alternative, to an alternative? Or an alternative to the alternative of the alternative? An alternative-alternative, as it were, that is to say, there is no alternative. Alternative- (oh shut up - Ed).

Fields of the Nephilim. The Four Horsemen of the pop apocalypse, perhaps? Fugitives from some unimaginable Sam Peckinpah nightmare where men are mere shadows in the desert, and their women are worth less than the grit in their stirrups? Or fugitives from their mums' kitchens from whence they have stolen the Homepride flour, only to be traced to their hideaway in the cupboard, given away by the tell-tale white-satin footprints on the carpet.

We talked to Carl McCoy perhaps the most enigmatic of the band members, about the Nephs, their hopes, fears, desires and dreams. Using our inquisitional methods, as it were, as a lasso, we tried to haul the truth from the myth, the method from the madness.

You're something of a man of mystery Carl. Would it be fanciful to suggest that you are, in a very real sense, The Man With No Name?

"I gotta name, ain't I? It's Carl"

Yes but...

"You need a name. It's like, the band. No-one's gonna come and see you if ain't gotta name. It's sort of identification thing innit? But I don't wanna go too deeply into that. We got our name from a book."

Your new single is called "Moonchild". Would you like to go to the moon, Carl?

"What, the Half Moon? Bad sound system. Good crowd, though." No, Carl, I meant the full moon in the fullest sense.

"What would I wanna go to the moon for? There's no venues up there? This band made it the hard way, playing the venues, building up a following. It's a loyalty thing, like. The moon? Naah. A bit off the beaten track. You learn soon enough not to stray off the beaten track in this game."

And the mysterious "child" of the title. Are you a "child" of sorts, Carl?

"Yeah, well in my early days, yeah. But then you become a man y'know? It's a natural thing. maturity an' that. But I don't wanna go too deeply into that. Just so long as people know this isn't Stock, Aitken and Waterman shit."

You seem to fall somewhere between the darkness and the light. Would it be fair to say that there is a certain dimness about you?

"Eh?"

A certain dim state of being.

"Dim, Yeah. Yeah, that's us."

We seem to have uncovered a truth, of sorts. Fields of the Nephilim are, in a very real sense, a dim band.