Emma Ruth Rundle And Thou Announce Collaborative EP The Helm of Sorrow For January 2021 Release, Share First Single “Hollywood”

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou have announced The Helm of Sorrow, a companion EP to their full length album May Our Chambers Be Full that had been released in October. The Helm of Sorrow will be released on January 15, and the EP’s announcement was accompanied by the first single, “Hollywood.”

The Helm of Sorrow includes several B-sides that were recorded during the sessions for May Our Chambers Be Full. The new single, “Hollywood,” was accompanied with a short video titled “Elysian Fields” that was directed by Thou’s Mitch Wells. The new EP will be available for pre-order here. The singles first appeared in the diehard edition of Rundle and Thou’s full-length album.

“Hollywood” incorporates heavy guitars and dark atmospheres, diving into deeper sounds in an electric swing. The drums in the background continue as the guitars cease, Rundle’s voice slinking through the track as the guitar begins to creep. The chorus builds the song back up to its energetic sound, the instruments clashing in epic proportions, before returning to the anxious build that occurs during Rundle’s verses.

“Elysian Fields” features both Thou and Rundle’s whispering voices amid softer guitars, sticking with the pair’s darker atmosphere. Glowing lights dance across the screen as various objects move over layers on the screen, creating a twisted ambiance before light begins to break, creating glowing images before falling back into darkness.

May Our Chambers Be Full was led by the singles “Ancestral Recall” and “The Valley.” Rundle announced last month her plans to release two new albums, including one set to be an improvised avant-garde project that will be accompanied by visual art book. Rundle also released the single “Staying Power” earlier this year, with the song first recorded during the sessions of her 2018 album On Dark Horses.

Thou shared a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Wheels of Confusion” as part of Magnetic Eye’s Vol. 4 (Redux) compilation. Thou also participated on Magnetic Eye’s Dirt (Redux) compilation, sharing cover of Alice in Chains’ “Them Bones.” In September, Thou shared a cover of Bad Religion’s “Kerosene” as part of Shut it Down: Benefit for the Movement for Black Lives Compilation.

The Helm of Sorrow EP Track List:

1. “Orphan Limbs”
2. “Crone Dance”
3. “Recurrence”
4. “Hollywood”