Chelsea Wolfe : Apocalypsis (Ἀποκάλυψις) :: Review
Chelsea Wolfe’s world isn’t for the faint of heart as it’s populated with numerous lost souls seeking a reason for their existence on the overwhelmingly dour Apocalypsis (Ἀποκάλυψις). Wolfe’s music doesn’t let any light in and the maudlin tunes are surprisingly tuneful as they could provide the surreal soundtrack to a desolate landscape or abandoned car left by the side of the road. For lack of a better name, it’s safe to say that Wolfe trades in doom-pop because of her affinity for bringing doomy textures to her PJ Harvey inspired wail.
Apocalypsis (Ἀποκάλυψις) opens with a growl that sounds like a cat with a hairball or a demon with laryngitis and given the subject matter that Wolfe sings about, I’ll go for the latter. “Mer” finds the songstress plaintively singing what appears to be an incantation or something else entirely; oftentimes Wolfe’s vocals are incoherent so I guess things are loosely open for your own interpretation. “Tracks (Tall Bodies)” offers the honest lyric that is easily audible and seemingly lovelorn but it suits Wolfe’s dark mentality, “We could be two straight lines in a crooked world.” “Demons” is somewhat hokey and almost on par with the witch-house genre that crept up a couple of years ago.
“The Wasteland” is dire and full of loads of existential dread, which is ironic because the organ laden “Pale on Pale” is as bright as a summer day and the text, describes kittens and rainbows. Oh wait, it doesn’t – but something as trivial as that might have made Apocalypsis (Ἀποκάλυψις) a bit sunnier. As Apocalypsis (Ἀποκάλυψις) draws to a close, you get the intention that there will probably never be humor found on a Chelsea Wolfe album unless its of the gallows variety.
Rating: 
