“Hypnos”: Chelsea Wolfe Continues to be Not Metal at All, Yet Metal as Fuck

I was an ass hair away from including Chelsea Wolfe’s Abyss on my 2015 year end list. The inner conflict that ultimately prevented me from doing so was, as you can imagine, the fact that Ms. Wolfe’s music is not really metal, even if it sometimes is kinda metal, and she’s collaborated with at least one also-not-really-metal-but-totally-metal band in the past. In hindsight, this was probably a silly decision which only serves to highlight the ridiculous degree to which our community obsessed with what is and is not “metal.”

So: Ms. Wolfe’s newly-released single, “Hypnos” — a b-side from Abyss — is not really metal, in so far as it features no loud guitars, no screaming, and no drums, and, oh yeah, is really pretty to boot. At the same time, though, “Hypnos” is, like most of Wolfe’s music, just about as metal as metal gets. I think you’re all smart enough to understand what that means, but if you’re not and you just want the traditional blah blah blah, by all means, listen to this instead.

Everyone else: stream “Hypnos” below! It will appear along with a Abyss b-side, “Flame,” on 7″ which will be released April 1 by Sargent House. Pre-order it here. You’ll also be able to get it as part of a new, digital, deluxe edition of Abyss, which comes out the same day, and will also include demo versions of three tracks from that album.

Wolfe also has a whole lotta tour dates coming up! Get those below the player!

Mar 12 – Chicago, IL @ Levitation Chicago *
Mar 24 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Festival *
Apr 24 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Bunkhouse
Apr 25 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
Apr 26 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar
Apr 28 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk / Levitation Kick Off *
Apr 29 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
Apr 30 – McAllen, TX @ Cine El Rey
May 02 – Memphis, TN @ The Hi-Tone
May 03 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Heaven
May 04 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
May 08 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg
May 09 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
May 10 – Boston, MA @ Royale
May 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
May 14 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theatre
May 16 – Montreal, QB @ Theatre Fairmount
May 17 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
May 19 – Detroit, MI @ El Club
May 21 – Columbus, OH @ Ace Of Cups
May 22 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
May 25 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
May 26 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
May 28 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
May 29 – Vancouver, BC @ Imperial
May 30 – George, WA @ Sasquatch Festival *
June 01 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
June 02 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
June 07 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
June 08 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom

A Dead Forest Index supporting all shows except *