Emma Ruth Rundle Announces Sixth Album 'These Killing Times' With Lead Single Powerless
Friday, 05 June 2026
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Kristin Cofe
Emma Ruth Rundle has announced her sixth album.
'These Killing Times' will arrive through the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist's own imprint Errant Child on September 18, following 2021's 'Engine Of Hell', 2023's 'Engine Of Hell Live at Roadburn' and last year's 'Music From The Bella Vista', a mostly instrumental album of material Rundle recorded over the years while writing her 2025 poetry book, The Bella Vista.
Created with regular collaborator Sonny Diperri, whose previous credits include My Bloody Valentine and Trent Reznor, the album finds the multi-disciplinary artist returning to a full-band setup, delivering a more cinematic and urgent sound to accompany her direct vocals. It was made with a host of contributors, including drummer Jess Gowrie (Chelsea Wolfe, Mrs. Piss), longtime friend Troy Zeigler, Patrick Shiroishi, Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos), Gina Gleason (Baroness), Marissa Nadler, Lukas Frank (Storefront Church) and Amelia Baker (Cinder Well).
Alongside the news, Rundle has shared the lead single Powerless, which opens the album with contrasting passages of gentle piano and intense rock. She said:
"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 demoralizing and dehumanizing.”
She continued: "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 dehumanize immigrants and people of color, 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."
Rundle will tour the US in October supporting Nashville rockers All Them Witches. Tickets are on sale now.
'These Killing Times' tracklist:
1. Powerless
2. God’s Picture
3. Anvil
4. Catherine Wheel
5. Don’t Delay Heaven
6. Enough
7. Human Kindness
8. Oceans of Time
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