Britta Hoppe Photo
Shane Embury has been through the grinder (pun intended) of the music business and come out on the other side as a grizzled veteran of the highest order. The Godfather of Grindcore has punched tickets across multiple decades and an untold amount of bands and projects, from Venomous Concept, Brujeria, and Lock Up, to legendary British outfit Napalm Death. Embury documents his entire journey – from humble beginnings to the life of a road warrior -– in his debut biography Life…? And Napalm Death, available this fall through Rocket 88.
“I don’t know whether I’ve been subconsciously preparing for something like this,” Embury shared during a sit-down with Decibel. “I always used to joke with my friends. You know, you have a few beers and you go, ‘Oh yeah, this is one for the book!’ You never really think you’re going to do a book, and when it was suggested to me, I was like, let’s go for it!”
The project documents Embury’s life from childhood to joining Napalm Death following the release of their landmark album Scum, all the way to the present day, with a series of guest testimonials from friends, family, and collaborators along the way.
“Yeah, I think there’s a great list I had,” he said of his contributors to the book. “You like to think you’re a well-rounded person, hopefully. It’s always interesting to see other people’s take on you, a warts-and-all kind of vibe. They were reasonably pleasant towards me, so it was all right I guess. Hopefully, the book has a little bit of some roughness to it and some down-to-earthness. We all have our ups and downs. Some things I was surprised about in a good way.”
From biggest regrets to behind-the-music reveals and a gritty slap in the face reality of life on the road, Embury pulls no punches in his literary debut. It’s a grindcore fan’s dream that pulls the reader head-on into a rarely chronicled world.
“Napalm Death has been a big part of my life and was my favorite band before I joined them. I knew the guys before, and spent time with them at rehearsals, just sitting in rehearsals and watching them. But prior to that, of course, it was a starting point. And it really is a cliche thing, but it was watching early rock bands on TV going, I want to do that. That was my thing, I like these lead guitars and these strange shapes that I’m seeing,” he shared.
“I wanted that. That’s for me. My grandma’s buckets took a beating every week and it was just like that was just what it was. A really small village, where I came from. And it’s steeped in history, of course. When you’re growing up feeling a little bit of an outcast, it was escapism, I suppose. That’s where it started.”
A tireless gun for hire across the heavy music space with dozens of albums to his credit, Embury admits that, on the Napalm Death front, new music could be on the horizon in the not-too-distant future.
“There is and there has been,” he shared of potential new material. “We started in August of 2017 actually recording that record and it didn’t come out until 2020. I’ve got loads of ideas and riffs and pieces and stuff that’s ready to go. I really hope that we can start going for it in April, is what I’m hoping.”
Coming full circle with this artifact of his life and legacy, Embury reflects on the journey of where he’s been, and perhaps most importantly, where he’s going.
“It’s a nice step in the evolutionary process of where I’m supposed to be going, I suppose, the destiny vibe and what I’m hoping to finally achieve. I’ve done so many records and of course, they’re all important to do as many records as I can, but also my family’s important. I’m still working on that in some ways, really,” he shares candidly.
“And so this is kind of like a point where this is where I’ve been, what I’ve done, where do I go now? And just the chance to, if I’ve got any wisdom share it, I hope, the best I can. Again, the cliche thing is I managed to follow my heart and do what I wanted to do, and I think other people can. You’ve just got to put one foot in front of the other, I think.”
Order Life…? And Napalm Death here.
