Journey Into Darkness

Near Death Experience (None Of The Above)
by Scott Hefflon

While the cover may be misleading, make no mistake, the band name is Journey Into Darkness. The name suits them, more so than Near Death Experience (changed due to contractual problems), as Journey… is an electronic symphony of dark mood music. With one main keyboard sound, layers of additional backup synth sounds, and bare-bones percussion, Near Death Experience is the soundtrack to the movie your mind creates as the music plays. Instead of the inverse, the “movie,” the images flickering in response to the sound, is secondary. From lumbering repetition, to a chaotic climax, each song is a scene, building drama, expressing mood, yet at the same time, linked with the rest to form a whole.

There is an important point of reference needed to appreciate this conceptual release. If you are expecting ambiance, this only creates one vibe – a lurking darkness, an occasional spine-tingle, and an uneasy feeling of impending doom. If you were expecting dance/house/techno; this sucks to dance to, except perhaps some stumbling zombie-esque moves that make you look foolish and get you shut off at the bar. If you’re expecting Reznor howls, croaks, screams and temper tantrums; this has no vocals, no guitars, and no instantly quotable bad-ass phrases you can whisper to your lover/slam partner while locked in a preferably obscene carnal embrace. If experienced as pure electronic darkness, this is a release like no other.

Journey Into Darkness is the creation of Brett Clarin, whose musical career began with the death metal band Apparition (one of the first 7″s ever released by Relapse Records). Later signed to Roadrunner as Sorrow, the band put out two albums before falling victim to, in Brett’s words, “Roadrunner’s mass exodus from death metal.” After being dropped from their label, the drummer quit and the guitarist/singer soon followed. Rather than reform, the band disbanded, and guitarist-without-a-band Brett began tinkering on a keyboard.

“I’ve always enjoyed the intros and breaks of death metal, and especially black metal. Much of the song structure comes straight from classical music.” Brett decided to create an entire album of darkly atmospheric electronic music without the standard crunching guitars and growl/scream vocals. “The keyboards carry the melodies. Distorted guitars would only bring it back to the traditional parameters. I have unlimited sounds at my disposal.” Interestingly enough, Journey Into Darkness doesn’t use harsh industrial sounds, nor samples, nor excessive tribal percussion; the sound revolves around one thick keyboard sound, complemented by a few supporting tones similar to those used in horror movies or frightening science fiction flicks. “The soundtrack to The Omen is the scariest music I’ve ever heard. That is definitely not music to listen to alone in the house with no lights on.” While Near Death Experience is not the chilling masterpiece The Omen is, it is Journey Into Darkness’ first step into the yet-uncharted realm of electronic dark music.