Doomed Confessionary: Mathieu Bonfardin (Near Death Experience)
Near Death Experience is a female-fronted gothic/doom metal band from Nantes, France.
Born from the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic in May 2020, Near Death Experience emerged as a testament to artistic resilience. What began as Mathieu Bonfardin’s solo instrumental project (founder, composer and live drummer) has blossomed into a powerful five-piece ensemble that defies musical boundaries, weaving a tapestry of sound that is at once brutal and breathtakingly beautiful.
The band’s sound is a masterful alchemy of gothic doom metal, characterized by Anne Soazig Couëdel’s ethereal, lyrical vocals that float above a landscape of crushing riffs and introspective melodies. Drawing inspiration from legends like Paradise Lost, The Gathering, Draconian, Katatonia, and Moonspell, the band crafts a sonic experience that is both visceral and vulnerable.
Near Death Experience’s debut album »Brief Is The Light«, released in April 2024, is a ten-track exploration of near-death experiences and the raw, often unspoken realities of domestic violence. Each song serves as a window into profound emotional territories, challenging listeners to confront the darkness within and without. »Brief Is The Light« will be re-released their on May 30th, 2025 via Wormholedeath Records.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Near Death Experience is gothic doom with clean lyrical female singer, from France. Our influences are Paradise lost, Draconian, The Gathering, old Anathema, Moonspell, Black Sabbath and Metallica for the riffs as well as The Gathering, Cellar Darling and Nightwish for the vocals.
During the first Covid lockdown (spring 2020) I started writing some riffs that would become ‘no tomorrow’ that is present on the album, it has always been an objective for so many years to have my own project and write my own music but i never could find the time. So Covid and teleworking gave me the opportunity of finally starting it.
I wrote and recorded all instruments (except the voice) that you can hear on the album, as I play the guitar, drums, bass and piano.
It was supposed to remain an instrumental project in the beginning, but after almost two years of writing songs and getting comments that it would be a lot better with a voice, I decided in january 2022 to find musicians to play live and a singer to record the voice on the album. So I made some ads on the internet and I found all my bandmates that are still in the band today, we grow together.
This first abum »Brief Is The Light« is a concept album about a woman who has suffered of domestic violence for a long time by her husband, but the last time she fell into a deep coma and is from now on experiencing various near death experiences, she remembers her past life, has a lot of thoughts about what happened, thinks about the good and the bad moments with him (mostly the bad moments), and tries to reach the light to “come back to life”. But the light is brief and she might not reach it…
I have always been a fan of paranormal things (X Files is my favorite show, as a kid it was kind of interesting, scary, and I did not miss any episodes on TV on saturdays evening) and the mystery of near death experiences testimonies as well, not the ones that speaks about meeting God and are about religion, but the ones speaking about the fact that your whole life flashes before your eyes, about astral projection, the tunnel of light and so on.
The topic of near death experiences was the perfect match to speak also about domestic violence, as this is unfortunately something that is too often seen on the news.
Both themes (NDE and domestic violence) were adequate for everything I wanted to put into my music: fear, despair, melancoly, anger, hope, hold on to life, so it fits perfectly with gothic doom style in metal.
This first LP was released on April 12th, 2024 by French Label M&O music for France and Benelux, and will be re-released by Italian label Wormholedeath on May 30th, 2025 in the USA, Japan, Australia, South America and rest of the EU.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
There were five actually:
• writing the entire album myself was a tough experience, you never know if people will like it and these songs were the first i ever wrote, it comes from the heart so you have high expectations but also the fear of having bad feedbacks, but so far so good 🙂
• finding the right persons and musicians to follow me in this incredible journey to play my songs live and create the live band
• after the departure of the singer (the woman you hear on the first record) and one guitarist last year, it was hard to find their replacement, but we managed it 🙂
• being signed on a record company, when you receive a proposal one day after sending 100 emails you are like a child 🙂
• finding some shows to play live is always a challenge, especially in metal (and in France)
What can you be most proud of so far?
Being signed by two labels and distributed all over the world, playing my music live with good teammates, being played in radios, getting good reviews from specialized webzines.
I still have to pinch myself to believe it, when I think about me writing some riffs alone 5 years ago! This is truly a dream come true!
What was your biggest regret?
As commented above, losing two of the musicians that started it all (live and the voice singing on the album) and that were playing for almost two years with us was hard, you never know if you will be able to keep going forward.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
I think the very first one in June 2023 in front of 200/300 persons was quite intimidating as this was a big moment for me and the band, we had been working in rehearsals for almost a year before doing it, and almost three years after I wrote the very first riffs for it, all my friends were there so this is a memory I will always cherish, and surprisingly I think it was the best show we ever played (out of a dozen until now), everyone was so eager to deliver a good performance despite the ‘pressure’.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
How hard it is to find some shows and being paid for them 🙂 It’s “war” with all the other bands out there, and it’s very difficult for us as we play a niche metal style, meaning we are not doing ‘trendy’ styles such as stoner, metalcore, hardcore… that are being booked for shows here in Nantes all the time.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
I listen to a lot of metal styles, right now I would say the new Cradle Of Filth, Arch Enemy, Marilyn Manson, The Halo Effect, Iotunn, Avantasia albums. I really expect the new Paradise Lost and Ghost albums this year! Quite eclectic, isn’t it?
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Practice, practice, practice your instrument and never give up! And if they don’t want you (bookers and festivals) to enter by the door, you will enter by the window 🙂 In other words, count only on yourself!
What are your guilty pleasures?
Huge fan of craft beers, smoking weed, travelling around the world and being in metal shows and festivals.
Can you say something more about current music scene in Nantes?
Nantes is the sixth or seventh biggest city in France, so the music scene is quite “alive” here, regardless of the genre.
When it comes to metal, we have several good places to play this style but unfortunately as explained we often see the same bands and genres (stoner, metalcore, hardcore, black and death) playing and not less “trendy” genres, such as gothic, doom, heavy, prog…
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We will make four shows in Nantes so far, in May, June and October 2025. Our last show was in July 2024 right before the departure of two members, so we are really excited about ‘coming back’ on stage soon.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
The second album has already 6 instrumental songs written, so it’s in good progress! We want to make shows all over France, not only in Nantes, and why not our first show abroad (Belgium for instance) soon.
How can people best support your band?
The best way is of course to buy merch from us, whether it’s a CD and / or a t-shirt, this is the only source of nice and consistent revenue for us, as Spotify and other streaming platforms income are near 0.
Following us on Facebook and other social medias is also very important. All the links are HERE.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thank you very much for the support, for listening to our music and for following us on social medias! Stay metal!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well