Emma Ruth Rundle's 'These Killing Times' Finds Optimism in Collaboration
Emma Ruth Rundle's new album brings together a wide circle of heavy-music collaborators, including members of Baroness and Chelsea Wolfe's band. The songs retain her signature doom-laden introspection but gain a newfound sense of momentum and even optimism. The record contrasts sharply with her isolated 2021 solo effort, reflecting a shift away from the hermitic artistic lifestyle.
The album was recorded during a period Rundle describes as "yet another climate disaster" in early 2025, though the label materials don't specify which event. Her previous record, 2021's *Engine of Hell*, was written in a remote Welsh cottage, a process she now admits reflected an over-romanticized hermitic lifestyle that proved harmful. This new project deliberately reverses that approach, pulling in a broad circle including avant-rock guitarist Nick Reinhart, drummer Jess Gowrie, and Baroness's Gina Gleason.
Rundle's earlier collaborative work with Louisiana metal band Thou produced a notably bleak record, but the communal process here appears to have shifted her perspective. The album's opener "Powerless" contains what reads as a personal manifesto: "Let me die here with a hammer in my hand / One for smashing, one for making something better." Tracks like "Enough" and "Human Kindness" retain her signature heaviness while introducing harmonized guitar work, vocal harmonies, and string arrangements that add unexpected vibrancy to her typically grayscale sonic palette.
This record could resonate with listeners who have similarly retreated into isolation during difficult periods, offering a model for creative and emotional recovery through community. Rundle's shift from solitary creation to collaboration may influence how other artists in heavy music approach their own work, particularly those who have romanticized the tortured-artist archetype. The album's blend of darkness with cautious optimism could also broaden her audience beyond doom-metal circles, potentially reaching listeners seeking catharsis that acknowledges despair without surrendering to it entirely.