Shane Embury has been the backbone of Napalm Death since 1987 — the longest-serving member in a band that didn't just play extreme music, they helped invent a genre. Grindcore exists partly because of him. Fifteen of sixteen Napalm Death albums. Brujeria. Lock Up. Dark Sky Burial. Collaborations with Buzz Osborne, Jello Biafra, Billy Gould. The man doesn't stop.
Now, for the first time, he's stepping out under his own name.
Bridge To Resolution, Shane Embury's debut solo album, is set for release on June 5, 2026, through Dissonance Productions, on both CD and vinyl.
Not a Grindcore Record
Don't come in expecting Scum part two. Embury has been clear that this album draws from a completely different well — one he's carried since before Napalm Death consumed his life.
The record was written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that forced Embury to sit still and face questions he'd been outrunning for decades. Identity. Family. Creativity. The psychological concept of shadow integration — the idea that self-discovery comes from confronting the darker, hidden parts of your personality — runs through the album's conceptual DNA.
The result is eight tracks of atmospheric goth and post-punk, built around synthesizers, guitars, bass, and layered vocals. Embury performs all guitar and bass himself. The influences he's cited — Cocteau Twins, Killing Joke, The Mission — point to a record that sounds nothing like Napalm Death and everything like the music he grew up loving before extreme metal took over.
This isn't a detour. It's a door that's been waiting to open.
The Players
Production is handled by Simon Efemey, whose credits include Paradise Lost, Crowbar, and Amorphis — a man who knows how to give weight to heavy music without burying its atmosphere. That's the right producer for what Embury is building here.
Drums are handled by Carl Stokes — formerly of Cancer and Groundhogs, also associated with Current 93's extended orbit. Stokes brings a measured, deliberate feel to the kit rather than the blast-beat ferocity you'd find in Embury's day job.
It's a small, focused lineup. Appropriate for a record this personal.
Tracklist
01 – "Spasm Prayer"
02 – "The Dreaming Abyss"
03 – "Bridge To Resolution"
04 – "Thorns In Despair"
05 – "How To Corrode Memories"
06 – "Illusion Guillotine"
07 – "Taurus"
08 – "The Gift Of Shame Wrapped In Guilt"
The lead track "Spasm Prayer" is already streaming — an early indicator of what direction this album is heading. The track titles alone signal a record built on introspection and unease rather than extremity for its own sake.
Context
Embury is 55 years old and has been making extreme music professionally for nearly four decades. Napalm Death was the first extreme metal act to play Glastonbury. They've won Kerrang! and Metal Hammer awards. They've collaborated with artists from every corner of underground music.
Through all of that, Embury's non-metal influences were always there — acknowledged in interviews, expressed through side projects like Dark Sky Burial (his industrial/ambient project), but never given this much direct space. Bridge To Resolution is the most personal statement of his career.
For fans who followed Dark Sky Burial's evolution, this won't be a shock. For those who only know him through Napalm Death, it's a useful reminder that the men who build the most extreme music are often the most eclectic listeners in the room.
This is worth your attention. Pre-orders are live at cherryred.co.uk. You can also grab it on Amazon when it lands.
If you want more extreme metal coverage, our metal news archive has the full depth of what we're tracking in 2026. And for the broader death metal conversation, Paul Mazurkiewicz's recent reflections on 38 years of Cannibal Corpse are worth revisiting. For album reviews across the extreme metal spectrum, check our reviews archive.
