[photo by Eliot Lee Hazel]
By Matt Sullivan
I'm not usually one for apocalypse theories, but there was a time-- very recently, in fact-- where I felt totally surrounded by signs of our impending doom. Not just metaphorical ones, but literal signs: "The end is coming!" "Are you ready for Jesus' return?". More than anything, the veritable deluge of death knells left me wondering, "What is is the apocalypse going to sound like?"
The opening snarls of Chelsea Wolfe's second LP for Pendu Sound Recordings, Ἀποκάλυψις (Apokalypsis), come pretty close to an answer. It's a ghoulish wall of animalistic noise, a twisted mash-up of a beautiful voice gone crazy just moments before the slithering guitar tones of "Mer" kick in. It's the sort of the thing you'd expect to hear when the Four Horsemen open their mouths, and then it gives way to Wolfe's latest vision, which draws sensuality, fright, and fragility into one dreamy meeting ground.
If there's one thing that I learned from my gchat with the LA singer/songwriter, it's that the concept of apocalypse, like most things in real and mystical life, has many faces. While pain and darkness constitute the conceptual bulk, there is a lighter side to it as well: an opportunity for change, creation, or relief. One could forgive me for being intimidated by a presence like Wolfe's before our chat, but I soon found out that despite tasking herself with uncovering the mystical, she was extremely down to earth.
What makes the gloom of Chelsea Wolfe's "Mer" especially intriguing is the ulterior seduction lurking beneath the surface. The dissonant guitar arpeggios are exotic, the restrained drum rolls are fiery, and Wolfe's quivering vocals are simply gorgeous in what adds up to a very sensual brand of darkness. In the track's new music video, Zev Deans-- who also directed the video for Liturgy's "Returner"-- depicts that duality with intimate, almost voyeuristic glimpses of Wolfe surrounded by slithering snakes and blindfolded followers cast through the gauze of a flickering home movie. --Matt Sullivan, Altered Zones
Ἀποκάλυψις is out now on Pendu Sound Recordings
Chelsea Wolfe snuck in during the final weeks of 2010 and captivated me with her The Grime And The Glow LP. Her ability to create a dark, folk-driven sound and somehow inspire feelings of hope and gloom in equal measure is something I find refreshing. Her upcoming 12" on Pendu Sound, Ἀποκάλυψις (pronounced "apokalypsis"),is quickly becoming one of my favorite releases of the year (so far). Standout track "The Wasteland" opens with a distorted organ that sounds like an alarm. Soft percussion creeps slowly in as Wolfe's haunting vocals flow endlessly over frantic synths. And there, in the lyrics, is where the song's truly dark nature unfolds. At its core, this is a blues song; there is no evil here, just sorrow and despair. --Jheri Evans, Get Off The Coast
MP3: Chelsea Wolfe: "The Wasteland"
Ἀποκάλυψις is available August 23 via Pendu Sound Recordings
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