Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun
Sargent House (US) / 2017 / Experimental metal
Chelsea Wolfe famously skirts the edges of a lot of loosely-related genres, including gothic rock, industrial music, electronica, folk rock, and doom metal, but 2017's Hiss Spun commits decisively toward metal. I've been on the fence about Wolfe's previous albums, which have a ton of atmosphere and tension but only rarely push that into some type of release. It's an approach I associate with gothic styles of music, which are content to inhabit mood without going on a journey. Hiss Spun throws that ethos out the window.
"Twin Faun"shows that range, exploding from a new-age verse into an honest-to-god sludge metal riff before ending on post-metal. There are quiet, beautiful moments on the album, but it's the heaviest album I've heard from Wolfe. Aaron Tuner's vocals on "Vex" are slightly ridiculous, but mark how much Wolfe embraces metal. I'd recommend "Static Hum" as the track to get a sense of the way in which this album departs from her earlier output, though "The Culling" is also a standout, with a unique little synth note that I adore. Hiss Spun injects energy and moments of rupture into Wolfe's meticulously written, gloomy idiom. If you've previously found her music a bit underwhelming, I'd give this one a shot.
7/10
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