Near Death Experience – Brief Is The Light

Near Death Experience
Brief Is The Light
Label: Wormholedeath
Out: May 30^th, 2025
Playing time: 47:59

Near Death Experience were founded in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic in May 2020 by drummer Mathieu Bonfardin as an instrumental project. Two years later, it became a permanent band based in Nantes (France). The band plays Melancholic Gothic Metal with clear and lyrical female vocals. The band’s influences are extremely diverse. They range from Paradise Lost, Draconian, through Katatonia and Metallica to Black Sabbath. The vocals are inspired by bands such as The Gathering and Nightwish. ‘Brief is the light’, with 10 songs, is a concept album about a woman who was a victim of domestic violence and is now in a coma and has near-death experiences.

A two-minute intro? Yes, that’s exactly what ‘And Then There Was Silence’ is. Although, rather atypical for an intro. The piano and guitar melodies(!) create a very gloomy atmosphere. You can hear raindrops splashing. It has more the status of a short overture that is intended to prepare the listener for the following tracks. The rain continues in the first ‘real’ song ‘No Tomorrow’. Rolling thunder intensifies the gloom. What follows are hard Doom sounds. The walls of guitars seem to literally crush you. Anne Soazig Couëdel’s vocals exude a powerful gothic flair. After a few spoken words, the title track ‘Brief Is The Light’ becomes harder and more Heavy Metal. But also darker, to which the dark piano playing contributes. Without leaving the mid-tempo range. ‘As Life Fades’ is not inferior in terms of heaviness, Metal and darkness. Clean guitars are accompanied by rough riffs. Dark guitar melodies introduce ‘Stolen Seasons’, together with once again crushing walls of guitars. Here, however, the vocals take centre stage a little more. Anne sings in a slightly higher pitch at times. And again, clean guitars introduce a song. But ‘Her Wounded Soul’ sounds melodic despite all the darkness. Near Death Experience walk a tightrope between stringently following their own musical style and still bringing variety to the individual songs. On the next two songs, ‘A Voice In The Dark’ and ‘The Neverending Journey’, the French band show how to showcase a female singer who is at home in the Goth-Rock realm while toning down the Metal part. Piano sounds, whispers, tones of whistling, synths, piano sounds and powerful, dark melodic arcs support the vocals. The tempo picks up a little on ‘The Neverending Journey’ in particular. ‘Dreaming Of Oblivion’ then rocks a little more again. Also, thanks to the heavy, distorted guitars. Anne’s vocals seem seductive. The instrumental outro ‘And I Return To Nothingness’ closes the circle. Once again, a thunderstorm can be heard. The beautiful guitar melodies form a strong contrast to this.

In keeping with the theme, ‘Brief Is The Light’ is a very dark album. This is ensured by the gloomy guitar riffs, the oppressive bass and the powerful drums. But above all the voice of singer Anne Soazig Couëdel. Only the presence of one or two lead guitar melodies provides some light in the darkness. And even if the song structures are very similar, Near Death Experience manage to bring a little variety to the individual songs. This also applies to the expressive vocals. The mixture of Doom Metal and Gothic that is heard provides the right sound structures for the serious theme that takes centre stage on the album.

Near Death Experience – A Voice In The Dark: https://youtu.be/METfeY4YxSA?si=G1ciR9l-9EbFHO9O

Lineup:

Mathieu Bonfardin – Drums
Jonathan Prudhomme – Rhythm Guitars
Frédéric Paume – Lead Guitars
Thibault Rousseau – Bass
Anne Soazig Couëdel – Vocals

Track list:

• And Then There Was Silence
• No Tomorrow
• Brief Is The Light
• As Life Fades
• Stolen Seasons
• Her Wounded Soul
• A Voice In The Dark
• The Neverending Journey
• Dreaming Of Oblivion
• And I Return To Nothingness