Top 50 Best Albums of 2018

7. Emma Ruth Rundle – On Dark Horses

Operating in a genre of metal-influenced folk rock that has suddenly become very busy, Emma Ruth Rundle shows why she is among the best in the category. From her standout single “The Light Song,” which features her partner and hardcore icon Evan Patterson on guest vocals to the excellent “Fever Dreams,” her album On Dark Horses makes for one of the most intriguing listens of 2018. Like her peers in Chelsea Wolfe and Myrkur, Rundle is able to blend the bleakness of heavy metal with beautiful folk music for a sound that’s altogether unique. – Matt Matasci

Top 50 Best Songs of 2018

6. Emma Ruth Rundle – “Light Song”

Emma Ruth Rundle has been making her own impressions within this growing realm of broodingly dark folk metal for years now, but her 2018 release On Dark Horses is one for the considerably moody books. Rundle has had a lot of transitions in her life recently — an incredibly serious relationship with Evan Patterson (who appears on this track) and a big relocation because of that incredibly serious relationship — that have taken her out of her usual West Coast environment and thrown her into the arms of transplanted creativity. Now calling Louisville, Kentucky home, Rundle’s experience acclimating to her new surroundings were a large part of her new album and particularly “Light Song,” whose lyrics and accompanying music video are almost like an emotional roadmap to her development of comfort and ease. Rundle has always been one for embedding personal narratives into her lyrics and with just a few listens to “Light Song,” it’s very easy as the listener to get swept up her introduction to her home and new self. – Cervante Pope