Chelsea Wolfe - Photo credit: Jenna Braunstein

On October 24th, 2019, doom and gloom gothic goddess Chelsea Wolfe returned to Chicago to haunt audiences at the Metro with the sights and sounds of her starkly beautiful sixth studio release, Birth of Violence. The new album comes as a departure from Wolfe’s previous releases — paying homage to her roots, the music takes on a folkier sound while still remaining true to her defined dark ambient stylings. 

Wolfe’s last two albums, 2015’s Abyss and 2017’s Hiss Spun, were conceived during periods of perpetual touring, and both albums center on the theme of eternal restlessness that saw Wolfe fully embracing the doom metal sound by which she has come to be known. However, dressed in ethereal ivory white in contrast to her usual black ensemble and surrounded by soft, warm candlelight, Wolfe’s delicate side came through as she approached the stage with the opening “Flatlands.” The set navigated between light and dark, quiet and loud, and isolated and intimate. While she played on, the powerfully meditative landscape that Wolfe so carefully constructs with her voice and guitar provided a sense of muted melancholy. Wolfe is a testament to music’s ability to both console and arouse simultaneously, to warm and also chill the senses. 

As such, she left the audience to its dark, dreamy devices in the wake of 2010’s “Halfsleeper,” ending her set on as gentle a note as it began, bringing listeners along a journey of earthly emotion.

Chelsea Wolfe Setlist, 10/24/2019

1. Flatlands
2. American Darkness
3. Birth of Violence
4. The Mother Road
5. Erde
6. Sick
7. After the Fall
8. Be All Things
9. Cousins of the Antichrist
10. Pale on Pale
11. Night of the Vampire (Rory Erickson cover)
12. Deranged for Rock & Roll
13. Boyfriend
14. Little Grave
15. Preface to a Dream Play
16. Highway

Encore:
Halfsleeper

For more information and tour dates, be sure to check out Chelsea Wolfe’s official web site.