11. Chelsea Wolfe – ‘Hiss Spun’

For her fifth album, ‘Hiss Spun’, Chelsea Wolfe has delved deeper into both her past and present. Through ’16 Psyche’ and ‘Spun’, Wolfe picks apart health issue such as insomnia and anxiety, searching for some calm and catharsis. Whereas on ‘The Culling’, Wolfe declares “I’ll never tell the secrets of my family,” eluding to a dark history within her family that she had avoided on her previous releases. Musically, it is some of Chelsea Wolfe’s more towering work since the heaviest moments of her 2011 album, ‘Apokalypsis.’ The production from Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou gives a thick tone to every instrument. Ben Chisholm’s ominous keys weave through the layered wall of guitars, with Wolfe’s vocals pushed to the most haunting limit, even sounding aggressive at times. Overall, ‘Hiss Spun’ reveals yet another part of Chelsea Wolfe we hadn’t seen. It is oppressive and arresting, while every nuance is given enough breathing space to draw you into what could be the most emotionally jarring album of her career. [Glen Bushell]

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