Dark Sky Burial (Napalm Death bassist Shane Embury) announces new LP ‘The Sacred Neurotic’ with Carl Stokes
Dark Sky Burial (Napalm Death bassist Shane Embury) announces new LP 'The Sacred Neurotic' with Carl Stokes
Dark Sky Burial – the experimental project of Napalm Death bassist Shane Embury – has announced a new full-length album, “The Sacred Neurotic,” set for release on December 12, 2025, via the Belgian label Consouling Sounds. Pre-orders are now open through the label’s official store. The record was co-written and recorded with Carl Stokes, known for his work with Cancer, The Groundhogs, and Current 93.
The nine-track album marks the most collaborative phase of Embury’s long-running dark experimental project, which first emerged during the early days of the pandemic. You can soon check out a first track, “Cernunnos”.
“During the years of Covid, as people are probably aware, Dark Sky Burial was taking shape and form,” Embury explains. “In 2021 myself and Carl Stokes, who have been friends since we were 18, decided to collaborate on each other’s music. We both come from a heavy metal background, yet over the years ventured out into experimental paths.”
Stokes adds: “It’s always a joy to work with Shane – he has some sort of perpetual energy, a creative well of great depth that seems never to run dry. We’ve developed an intuition between us. When one presents something, Shane instantly can hear what to do. Pure alchemy.”
According to Embury, “The Sacred Neurotic” represents a major step forward for Dark Sky Burial: “We both share vocals on this album and Carl also played some drums on some of the tracks mixed in with electronic drums, and we also added synths and guitars. This album moves forward in huge ways vocally and musically compared to the more electronic-themed albums previously released.”
Conceptually, the LP delves into Jungian archetypes, exploring the tension between light and darkness, spirituality, and inner conflict. “What if the neurotic is right? What they see in this world — something monstrous, the monster in all of us,” the duo says. The record explores themes of humanity’s battle with its own contradictions and the search for inner balance.
About Dark Sky Burial
Dark Sky Burial was founded by Shane Embury in 2020 as an outlet for his introspective and experimental side apart from Napalm Death. The project blends ambient, industrial, and dark electronic influences with philosophical undercurrents, often referencing mythological and psychological themes.
The debut album “De Omnibus Dubitandum Est” (2020) was followed by several volumes including “Lunatic Pandora” (2021) and “Omnis Spiritus” (2023). Known for his three-decade strng career in extreme metal, Embury here explores a more reflective sound world. With Carl Stokes joining for “The Sacred Neurotic,” the project starts merging live instrumentation and electronic composition.
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