Chelsea Wolfe: Abyss

Exciting, post-gothic musings from this US talent.

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Sleep paralysis is a frightening and yet fascinating condition that countless Gothic artists have portrayed.

Dancing across the twilight zone between dreams and reality, Wolfe is assisted by producer John Congleton (Swans) as she skilfully melds industrial dynamics with dream pop and shoegaze, paying subtle homage to Throbbing Gristle, Clock DVA and Velvet Underground. More knowing and confident than the lo-fi Pain Is Beauty, Abyss is her finest moment so far.

Natasha Scharf
Natasha Scharf
Deputy Editor, Prog

Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.