Chelsea Wolfe’s Abyss is a stunning descent into the void, blending her haunting folk roots with crushing doom and industrial elements. Released in 2015, it’s her darkest, most visceral record—a soundscape of despair and beauty that feels both intimate and overwhelming. With its suffocating atmosphere and powerful lyrics, Abyss captures the feeling of being trapped between dreams and waking life, as Wolfe described: “This album is about the space between consciousness and unconsciousness, the depths of your mind.”
“Iron Moon” stands as a key track, with its contrast of vulnerability and violence. Inspired by a Chinese migrant worker’s poem, Wolfe’s anguished howl in the chorus channels raw emotion, while the heavy, grinding riffs pull the listener deeper into her world. Tracks like “Carrion Flowers” and “After the Fall” drench the album in layers of distortion, while “Grey Days” offers a quieter moment, its sadness palpable.
What many may not know is Chelsea Wolfe’s deep appreciation for black metal, which heavily influenced the record’s tone. She has cited bands like Burzum and Darkthrone as key inspirations—not musically mimicking them, but embracing their ethos of raw emotion and dark atmospheres. Additionally, the album’s suffocating heaviness was partially inspired by Wolfe’s battle with sleep paralysis, which she described as feeling trapped in an “abyss” of her own body.
Iron Moon may anchor the album, but the record as a whole feels like a singular experience—a cathartic plunge into darkness that’s as beautiful as it is harrowing. It’s a masterpiece of contrasts, where light flickers faintly in the shadows, only to be swallowed again.
Sterling Mosh 
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