''May Our Chambers Be Full'' is a collaborative studio album by American singer-songwriter
Emma Ruth Rundle
Emma Ruth Rundle (born October 10, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and visual artist based in Portland, Oregon. Formerly of the Nocturnes and Marriages, she has released five solo albums and is a member of Red Sparowes.
Early ...
and
doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
band
Thou
The word ''thou'' is a second-person singular pronoun in English. It is now largely archaic, having been replaced in most contexts by the word ''you'', although it remains in use in parts of Northern England and in Scots (). ''Thou'' is the ...
. It was released on October 30, 2020, through
Sacred Bones Records
Sacred Bones Records is an American independent record label founded in 2007 and based in Brooklyn, New York. The label has released recordings from artists including Zola Jesus, David Lynch, John Carpenter, Blanck Mass, Crystal Stilts, Marissa ...
as a part of the label's 'Alliance Series'. Recording sessions took place in August 2019 at Hightower Studios in
.
''The Helm of Sorrow''
''The Helm of Sorrow'' is the companion
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. included on
'diehard' edition to ''May Our Chambers Be Full''. It was recorded during the same 2019 sessions that yielded the album, and it includes the project's cover of
The Cranberries
The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...
' "
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
".
Critical reception
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
score of 85 based on six reviews.
The aggregator
AnyDecentMusic?
AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates album reviews from magazines, websites, and newspapers. Primarily focused on popular music – covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots, hip-hop, R&B, and rap – albums are adjudg ...
has the critical consensus of the album at a 7.8 out of 10, based on eight reviews.
Luke Morton of ''
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' gave the album excellent 5 out of 5, saying: "There’s plenty to latch onto, whether it's the neck-rending riffs, the snarling/soaring vocals or just wanting to vibe out and let the darkness envelope you; it's a display of artistry".
Sam Shepherd of ''
musicOMH
MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.
History
MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
'' claimed: "Both artists possess in spades the ability to make affecting, heavyweight emotional music. This emotional intensity and willingness to continuously explore the possibilities of sound (heavy or otherwise) is what ''May Our Chambers Be Full'' pivots around over the course of these seven incredible songs".
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's James Christopher Monger stated: "for all of its epic grandiosity, ''May Our Chambers Be Full'' only clocks in at a mere 37 minutes, but in doing so leaves a more indelible impression".
Guy Oddy of ''
The Arts Desk
''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...
'' wrote: "Dramatic but melodic tunes that are relatively mellow and laidback one minute and then screaming and visceral the next".
Dafydd Jenkins of ''
Loud and Quiet
''Loud and Quiet'' is a British bi-monthly music magazine that focuses on new music from underground indie, alternative, electronic and hip hop artists.
History and profile
The magazine was founded in January 2005 by Stuart Stubbs as a home-print ...
'' said: "The whole LP would be a great release for either artist, but it's the brilliant convergence of sensibilities that sets it apart in the landscape of alternative metal".
Todd Dedman of ''
Beats Per Minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
'' said: "it's the document of two beloved alt-metal worlds colliding to head-shuddering effect; a record of skull crushing intensity in places, with merciless riffs conjured up from the deepest abyss, which are counterpoised with quiet, ethereal dark-folk introspection – a mix that shouldn't really work but absolutely does".
Grayson Haver Currin of ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'' said: "However exhilarating its discrete peaks, ''May Our Chambers Be Full'' is one of those common collaborations that's more notable for what it says about those who made it than for the new material itself".
Accolades
Track listing
Personnel
*Louis Michot –
fiddle
A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...
(track 7)
*James Whitten – mixing, recording
*Adam Tucker – mastering
*Craig Mulcahy – layout, photography
*David Correll – layout
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
2020 albums
Collaborative albums
Emma Ruth Rundle albums
Sacred Bones Records albums
Thou (American band) albums
Doom metal albums by American artists