Chelsea Wolfe - Birth of Violence

1 - Upon first listen Birth of Violence came across as one dimensional, with not as much variation and depth as the sonically dense and industrial tinged Abyss and Hiss Spun. However, the tracks seep into your subconscious upon repeat listens, and the album reveals itself to be equally as engaging as anything before it.

2 - Chelsea is a brilliant writer, lyrics such as “like a spider in Chernobyl”, “And the poppies were like fire on the mountain,” “Townes sent a mudslide” and “like the crooked river would catch fire” are poetry in their own right. 

3 - Birth of Violence is Chelsea at her most vulnerable, intimate and moving.

4 - There is a private nature to Chelsea that is as engaging as it is beautiful. You become curious what it is that drives her manner of expression, where her art comes from, and who has hurt her so badly. 

5 - Birth of Violence is more than Chelsea with an acoustic guitar. The emotional weight carries enough to drag you into her Abyss, but tracks such as Erde and Preface to a Dream Play have a lot going on - the layers are moving. 

6 - I don’t want Erde to rip Chelsea’s heart out; but if we get her pouring mother nature out onto paper and into the universe like this again then so be it. When Chelsea whispers “Woman is the Origin” on said track, there is a Fear Inoculum type moment at play. 

7 - The production is wonderful. While it is intimate and acoustic in nature, it is warm sounding and you can hear her fingers glide across the strings. The thunderstorm and ensuing rain that closes out the album is chilling, showcasing that Chelsea has probably just recorded this at home in the rain, as mother nature cries down upon her. 

8 - Unlike the artwork on Hiss Spun where Chelsea is crawled up into a little ball, Birth of Violence shows Chelsea bathed in light, standing strong on a rock barren rise -  whether intentional or not - it is a strong piece of art. 

9 - Little Grave is a delicate three and a half minute lullaby - And the blue dreams keep on calling me.

10 - Birth of Violence is Chelsea taking time off the road, off the highway - her mother road; but it’s a Chelsea we needed to hear, because whatever comes next is going to continue to propel Chelsea into rare air. Chelsea is an artist in the truest form, not afraid to bare her soul, her weaknesses and her pain in front of us all.