When the stalwart British goth rockers Fields of the Nephilim broke up in 1991 after four albums and as many years' worth of rumors of internal dissent, the circumstances of the split seemed to verify the gossip. Instead of everyone scattering to different projects, the four musicians continued as a unit with a new lead singer, while singer Carl McCoy went on to form a new band of his own called the Nefilim (using a phonetic spelling for legal reasons).

Adding new vocalist Alan Delaney (whose voice is more modulated than McCoy's over-the-top theatrical posturing) to the lineup of guitarist and keyboardist Peter Yates, guitarist Paul Wright, bassist Tony Pettitt, and drummer Nod Wright, they changed the name to Rubicon (Julius Caesar's literal point of no return, an only slightly less pretentious reference than the earlier band's handle) and released the new album What Starts, Ends in 1992. A more guitar-oriented effort than the Fields of the Nephilim releases, the album also betrays a newfound interest in ambient-style music. The even poppier Room 101 followed in 1995, but unlike What Starts, Ends, it was largely dismissed by Fields of the Nephilim's still-devout cult following. When Carl McCoy's Nefilim, which had gone in a more black metal direction, met with similar indifference, the two factions mended fences and re-formed, minus Peter Yates, as the Nephilim in 1998. ~ Stewart Mason, Rovi