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Exploring the doom/death metal genres they released their first demo tape As My Soul Reaches Infinity in 1996 under the membership of Richard Loudin (vocals/keyboards), Luisa Trierscheidt (bass), Yann Tomaïer (guitars) and J.B. Corgniard (drums). In the end of the same year, Despond recorded a concert in Paris, a concert headlined by Impaled Nazarene, and the live tape album Beheaded And Sanctified was released in spring 1997 featruing the membership of Richard Loudin (vocals), Luisa Trierscheidt (bass), Yann Tomaïer (guitar), Didier Maurice (guitar), Nicolas Favard (keyboards) and J.B. Corgniard (drums).
Until the end of 1998, the band toured in France and composed enough material to enter the studio to record its debut album, but several band members decided to leave for artistic reasons only a few weeks before entering the studio. So between 1998 and 2002, Despond remained the individual project of vocalist and founding member Richard Loudin. The only recording during this time was the unpublished Wide Open Arms (2000) "best of..." compilation showing the collective work of Loudin, along with Yann Tomaïer (guitar), Didier Maurice (guitar), Yannick Karsenty (bass), Stéphane Maurice (drums) and Nicolas Favard (keyboards). During this period also, Loudin wrote and composed brand new songs, in a darker and more extreme doom metal style. Entitled Supreme Funeral Oration, the resulting album was recorded between October 2001 and July 2003 with Loudin for most of the instruments along with Jonathan Thery (bass).
In August 2002, Despond reformed with a brand new line-up including musicians from the Doom /death metal metal metal band Ataraxia (Jonathan Théry (bass) and Frédéric Patte-Brasseur (guitars) for a year respectively) and the former Despond drummer. Finally complete, the band played some concerts and festivals in Europe during the first half of. But when the debut album, Supreme Funeral Oration, was finally released in July 2003 by French label 'Haceldama Productions' the membership was just Loudin and Thery again. The operation would finally fold two years later, in 2004.
Footnote: Not to be confused with the band of the same name from the USA who released only one demo.