Emma Ruth Rundle announces new album These Killing Times and unveils new single Powerless

Emma Ruth Rundle has announced a new album These Killing Times and shared the defiant new single Powerless.

The artist’s sixth album follows 2021’s Engine Of Hell and will arrive on September 18, her first release on her own record label Errant Child. It marks her return to a full-band set-up, featuring contributions from names such as Emma’s long-time friend and collaborator Troy Zeigler and Baroness’ Gina Gleason.

Also performing on the album are Jess Gowrie (Chelsea Wolfe, Mrs. Piss), Patrick Shiroishi, Nick Reinhart’s (Tera Melos), Marissa Nadler, Lukas Frank (Storefront Church) and Amelia Baker (Cinder Well).

“I wanted to feel fortified by friendships and to be in community with other musicians - to make something that pushed back against the isolation,” says Emma.

Meanwhile, new single Powerless offers a preview of the fear and existential dread that’s a prominent theme on the album, as well as the horror that comes with watching seemingly never-ending global turmoil.

Listen below:

“This song was initially titled Noam Chomsky is Dead to Me - as his relationship to Epstein and the billionaire class was being exposed - just another massively disappointing headline in a time where we are incessantly confronted with an onslaught of news and headlines which are endlessly demoralising and dehumanising,” Emma reveals.

She continues: “This song - like most of the songs on These Killing Times - is a reaction to the horrors we are seeing laid bare on a daily basis - the clear and painful reality of the myriad injustices levied upon the working class people of earth - from climate collapse to genocide to the miscarriage of justice on a scale- the likes of which we have not seen in our lifetimes- the collapse of empire, the demise of democracy, the erosion of women’s rights and LGBTQIA+ rights and black rights, the attempt to dehumanise immigrants and people of colour, the concentration camps in the USA - the list is so long I don't think I can accurately cover it all here.

“With Powerless - I invoke the hammer; both to destroy and to build - something better. I want people to know they are not alone - they are not insane - I wanted to name the thing that has been causing me so much mental, emotional and spiritual anguish. Sometimes singing - especially repeating phases - can work to fortify one’s self and I think that’s where the bridge of Powerless comes in - I refuse to let my agency and resolve become corrupted or diluted by the powers that be and I want others to feel empowered too.”

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