Shane Embury Interview on Absolute Power

Suite 101: You’ve just done Bloodstock and you’ve got the Damnation festival in Leeds coming up – is that the only chance we’ll have to see Napalm Death in the immediate future?

Shane: “That’s the only show for the immediate future but you never know really, there might be something that rears its head later in the year. Perhaps a special London show – things tend to happen unexpectedly with Napalm. There are some weeks towards the end of the year that are available but we’ll have to see how things go. Personally I want to push for some shows for Venomous Concept.”

Shane Embury and Anaal Nathrakh

Suite 101: You did a few shows with Anaal Nathrakh – how was that?

Shane: “It was good. Me and Mick Kenney (Anaal Nathrakh multi-instrumentalist) have a small label together which is called FETO Records and we’ve been releasing a few albums from bands we both really like. Nathrakh kind of remind me of the first time I heard Napalm in a different context and we’ve become really close friends. When they did their first two shows they asked if I’d play bass and Danny Herrera from Napalm Death played drums as well. It was a lot of fun apart from the fact that I ****ed my knee up. A bit of old age creeping in, I think!”

New Brujeria Album and Project with Dimmu Borgir's Silenoz

Suite 101: Any other irons in the fire at the moment?

Shane: “We’ve been working on a bunch of new songs for the new Brujeria album finally, which is long overdue. I played bass on a project with Silenoz from Dimmu Borgir – another side prioject with the singer from Morgoth and Tony Laureano who played drums in Nile. That’s gonna come out next year and there’s a couple of other bits and pieces I’m working on at the moment.”

Suite 101: What about Absolute Power?

Shane: “That’s my 80s heavy metal project. Yep, I’ve been working on that as well and that’s almost finished.”

Shane Embury's 80s Metal Project Absolute Power

Suite 101: Who else is involved in that?

Shane: “The singer’s a guy called Simon Efemey, who’s produced bands like Paradise Lost, Amorphis and The Wildhearts. We’ve got a selection of members on guitars – a guy called John Walker who played in Cancer and various people who came in to do solos and stuff. We had Brian Tatler from the old band Diamond Head to do a couple of solos. Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens came in to do some vocals on a couple of tracks.”

Suite 101: So when you say 80s metal, from the people you’ve listed it sounds like some mad death/power metal-NWOBHM mix…

Shane: “Well some of it is very Priest-esque and some of it’s almost like Tygers Of Pan Tang or early Saxon. It’s a good old mixture. It’s a little tongue-in-cheek, as good heavy metal ought to be but it’s pretty rocking stuff. God knows, I might get much ridicule for it but I don’t care – I was raised on it and I love it.”

Click here for more from Shane on the forthcoming new Napalm Death album.

Or here for more exclusive interviews with Paradise Lost and Dragonforce.

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