Emma Ruth Rundle and
Thou's 2020 collaborative album
May Our Chambers Be Full was a marriage of intensities, bringing together vocalist/guitarist
Rundle's gifts for dark melodic atmospheres with Louisiana ensemble
Thou's thick and sludgy doom metal. The album paired
Rundle's controlled, shadowy vocals with wraithlike screams from
Thou's Bryan Funck, and explored moments of floating dreaminess not unlike early 4AD output that turned on a dime to psychedelic alt-rock guitar riffing or blasts of black metal-inspired power.
May Our Chambers Be Full was a brief seven-song set that lasted just 36 minutes, and companion EP
The Helm of Sorrow feels like the missing links that would extend
May Our Chambers from its streamlined presentation into something epic. Opening track "Orphan Limbs" grows from a drawn-out segment of understated and gothic neo-folk ambience into a short but brutal crescendo of metallic bombast. The other three songs waver between sections of intense doom metal and quiet, moody goth rock, with "Hollywood" being the most dynamic of the bunch.
Rundle's haunted vocal presence serves as an exciting counterpoint for
Thou's unmitigated aggression, and when the two come together on moments like the crawling grief of "Crone Dance," the collaboration becomes bigger than the sum of its parts. Taken on its own,
The Helm of Sorrow is a fine addendum to
May Our Chambers Be Full, but adding these four songs to the seven tracks of its predecessor enhances the listening experience for all the material. The collaborators' willingness to take their songs unexpected places and shift gears multiple times within a single track is one of their most interesting attributes.
The Helm of Sorrow continues to push the boundaries of their genre experimentation, and lands in even heavier territory. ~ Fred Thomas