10 Best Rock Albums Of 2021
3. Engine Of Hell – Emma Ruth Rundle
Emma Ruth Rundle has always leaned on the sombre side of things, but this album is like taking a trip through a graveyard of her psyche.
Her previous album, May Our Chambers Be Full, saw Rundle's voice do battle with sludge metal band, Thou. Although, at times it felt as though her voice was fighting for dominance with her new backing band it was album that demonstrated her ability as a metal singer.
She's stripped away the instrumental accompaniments to the bare minimum with her latest release, however. Doing away with the large drum sounds and thrashing guitars in favour of a more acoustic sound - supplemented by occasional piano melodies - Rundle's voice is left hauntingly dominate.
It serves to put far more emphases on her lyrics. What you're left with is an incredibly vulnerable and at times unnerving display of Rundle's most intimate passed traumas. She seems to constantly be working through something with her music. Her lyrics are undeniably bleak, but she presents them in a masterful well.
With this album she's shown once again she can turn her hand to almost any sound and genre.