NAPALM DEATH's SHANE EMBURY Opens Up About His Battle With Pancreatitis: 'I've Been Hospitalized Three Times'

In a new interview with Paul McNamee of The False Face show, bassist Shane Embury of British/American grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH addressed the health issues which forced his absence from some of the band's recent tours. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I've been on and off probably for a long time. My health's been generally okay. I've been very lucky, really, because I've had what they call pancreatitis. I've had that, like, three times in my life at various stages, and I've been hospitalized three times. And [I've been] quite lucky to bounce back as I have done."

Shane went on to say that he developed pancreatitis "through drinking. You don't like to think that you're a, quote-unquote, alcoholic. You go, 'Ah, no, I've got a handle on it,'" he explained. "You think you have because you go on tour and you come back, and then you switch it off. I hadn't drank for a long, long time. But the last few years, it kind of crept back in again, and loads of other different issues were going on for me. And last year was pretty hardcore on the MELVINS tour. I got about three weeks into it and I had to leave. It could have gone really bad. I'm in a much better place now than I was this time last year, that's for sure — mentally, physically, everything. I bounced back, so to speak, relatively quickly. They do say alcoholics are very sturdious in that respect. And I went to some AA [Alcoholics Anonymous] meetings, which I'd never done before, and I found that kind of interesting from multiple perspectives of listening to them talk and reading The Big Blue Book, as they call it. And [I went], 'Okay, I recognize myself in these pages.' I'm also kind of into my Jungian psychology [psychological theories and practices developed by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung], which is an ever-learning experience. You can't sort of take it, quote-unquote, for you, because every person's different. But the whole looking at your inner shadow and your persona, and the ego and various things. So together, with the AA, I felt a bit more armed this time towards trying to work it out. And then, of course, the life on the road's very different to life at home."

Shane continued: "You have to start looking at yourself and go, 'Well, maybe I'm a big part of what's going on here. What is this?' And the NAPALM boys, they're very supportive. They were worried about me. They probably didn't wanna wake up and find me dead in the bunk. No one would like that, of course. [And it was] quite irresponsible, I think, of me as well, really. But then I go, 'What the hell was driving me to go out [and abuse my body like that]?' Because on the surface, you can say, 'Well, you're quite a successful character.' I have my family, I have multiple projects, so why are you pushing yourself to such extremes? So that's kind of been a bit of a quest, what's triggering me before all that shit. And I think touring had become a bit difficult for me before that, but not so much touring as such, but just the amount. I mean, it's not so much NAPALM DEATH as the fact that at one point I was touring with four or five bands, just pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing. And I think sometimes you get burned out. And sometimes your body has to tell you — maybe — or your inner spirit or whatever. But if you try to ignore it, it will knock on you and go, 'Look.' So that was that, really. So, yeah, I've been reassessing what's going on, really."

Embury admitted that there were also issues at home which exacerbated his erratic behavior.

"Especially in the pandemic, relations with my family were strained at time because I like to think I'm generally an okay person," he said. "But there's times where I'm a complete nightmare to be with. And I'm, 'Oh, what's going on there?' So all this kind of soul-searching sort of individuation, I guess they call it, in Jungian terms, is to try and find your authentic version of yourself.

"Speaking just for speaking terms, you go on tour and people say, 'Oh, you're great. You're wonderful. You're this, you're that,' and you can... I like to try and feel I'm modest about it, but you hear that so much, you come home. But that means shit when you're home," he continued. "When you're home, you're there to be a dad and be a husband and be nice. I've never thought myself as marching around — that rock star-ish thing, I always tried to be against that in a way. But sometimes you can bring it back home with you. And I'm not really into that part. And, yeah, I take some accountability for it all, I think, really."

Shane's debut solo album, "Bridge To Resolution", which was written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, was described in a press release as "a deeply personal work shaped by a period of reflection and upheaval in Embury's life. With touring halted, the unexpected downtime forced the NAPALM DEATH musician to confront questions about identity, family and creativity. Drawing inspiration from the psychological concept of 'shadow integration' — the idea that self-discovery comes from confronting the darker parts of one's personality — the album documents a journey from despair toward resolution."

Joining Embury on the album is Carl Stokes (ex-CANCER, GROUNDHOGS, CURRENT 93) on drums, while production duties are handled by Simon Efemey, whose credits include work with PARADISE LOST, CROWBAR and AMORPHIS. Embury performs all guitar and bass parts himself, with the music reflecting the creative burst that emerged during a time of personal struggle and introspection.

Joining NAPALM DEATH in 1987, Embury is the longest-serving member, featuring on 15 of the band's 16 albums. Despite initial bemusement from the media, NAPALM DEATH enjoyed global success, propelled by the support of John Peel. They are credited with the invention of grindcore, an extreme metal sub-genre characterized by ultra-fast songs.

In 2017 NAPALM DEATH became the first extreme metal act to play Glastonbury. They have also won Kerrang! and Metal Hammer awards.

Embury's several projects include LOCK UP, BRUJERIA, DARK SKY BURIAL and collaborations include Buzz Osborne (MELVINS),Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST),Billy Gould (FAITH NO MORE),Jello Biafra (DEAD KENNEDYS),CARDIACS and YARD ACT.

In 2023, Embury released his autobiography, "Life?… And Napalm Death", via Rocket 88, an imprint of the established British book production company Essential Works.

Although music still drives him, Embury now wrestles with the responsibilities of being a husband and a father, trying to balance his time between what he loves doing, and those he loves being with. In the course of "Life?... And Napalm Death", the bassist talks openly about his struggles with mental and physical health, his battles with addiction and the bullying that affected him in his teenage years.