Review: Dark Sky Burial ‘The Sacred Neurotic’
Dark Sky Burial, the prolific, one-man, dark, ambient and experimental project of extreme metal legend Shane Embury. The longtime bassist and core member of UK grindcore and death metal icons Napalm Death returns in prompt fashion following 2024’s V.I.T.R.I.O.L. with the nine-track opus The Sacred Neurotic.
However, this time around, Embury is joined by Carl Stokes, his old friend and the former drummer of death metal agitators, Cancer. Now, admittedly, as much as I’m a fan of Napalm Death, for whatever reason, I never got around to checking out Dark Sky Burial, despite hearing great things and having an abundance of material to choose from. So at last the time came for me to explore this side of Embury’s musical tastes.
I embark on this latest chapter of Embury’s (and Stokes) musical vision with opener Cernunnos, which hits like a driving, addicting romp of old school, UK synth-drenched, post-punk. The mood shifts to a more somber tone with Smother. The drumming morphs into a web of industrial beats and distorted, crashing effects, coupled with guitar twinkling, backing up the melancholic crooning to incredible effect. The perfectly titled Possessed By The Animus sees the duo take a left turn into full-on, dark techno, industrial, drum and bass, complete with disconcerting effects, gnarly bass rumblings, and unnerving, distorted vocal delivery.
Three songs in, andThe Sacred Neurotic has already cohesively delivered a multitude of styles and moods. Light continues this aural expedition, which now takes us into a drifting, dark and trippy, yet introspective vibe that boasts plenty of mood shifts, as well as some nicely timed electric guitar flourishes.
The descent into the back half of the album begins with Thanatos Smiles. A massive mid-album epic, it features plenty of build, layering effects and rhythmic tension with weird-ass, ‘70s horror-movie chanting. The track finally releases into some soaring, Phoenix-from-the-ashes shred that is triumphant and powerful. But lest the listener thinks we’re escaping from the dark vortex, it descends back into the pit, sounding like a cinematic hellscape, as if ripped from something like the original Omen soundtrack itself.
wicked, unnerving, industrial griminess…
Crocodile Snaps is where the duo takes yet another left turn and drops into a wicked, unnerving, industrial griminess, recalling acts like Skinny Puppy and Godflesh at their heaviest and most disconcerting. Giving the listener a quick chance to peek their head from the abyss, albeit momentarily, faint synth twinkling and swirling effects signal the coming of Sylvestris Deus. Before long, however, it morphs into a menacing, dark soundscape complete with vocals that sound like they’re coming from a warped, industrial steampunk dimension, where such sounds serve as the citizens’ daily soundtrack
The penultimate Living In Illusion circles back to some of the synth-heavy, less menacing electro vibes heard in the earlier parts of the album. This sets up the closer, Croesus, a manic, swirling electronic beat-down that puts a fine exclamation point on this latest chapter of Embury’s musical visions.
I found The Sacred Neurotic fascinating. With its many different layers, it continued to unveil more pieces of audio hermeticism, especially when consumed with headphones. It was interesting to hear this side of Embury’s music, as it is obviously nothing like Napalm Death. It is intriguing to witness so many artists involved in extreme bands looking for mellower outlets. I imagine I’ll be revisiting this release regularly, as well as digging into the project’s robust back catalogue. It is a great soundtrack to get lost in, especially late at night, delivered with conviction by one of the underground’s most legendary artists. Recommended.
Label: Extrinsic Recordings | Consouling Sounds
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Martin Williams
