Abyss

Abyss is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter and her eponymous band Chelsea Wolfe. The album was released on August 7, 2015 through Sargent House and was produced by John Congleton. It also features guest contributions from Mike Sullivan of Russian Circles and Dan Phillips from True Widow. The album received positive reviews from music critics and peaked at No. 130 on the Billboard 200, becoming Wolfe's first album to enter the chart. Musical style Nina Corcoran of Consequence of Sound described the album as "strik[ing] a fine balance between gothic folk and electronic noise rock" and "embracing metal and overpowering drones". Brandon Stosuy of Pitchfork noted that metallic elements are "built into, and integral to, the music, which frequently booms with distorted doom-metal guitar." Tristan Jones of Sputnikmusic wrote: "Though 'darkwave' is a fitting descriptor, elements of doom, folk, noise, and industrial seep in." Giuseppe Zevolli of Drowned in Sound associated the album with goth rock, writing that it "could appeal to fans of metal, folk, industrial and alternative rock in equal measure". Release and promotion Abyss was initially announced through Chelsea Wolfe's website on January 8, 2015, with the news that it would be released via Sargent House. This was followed up by a more detailed announcement on April 22, 2015, with news of the album's collaborators: Ben Chisholm, Dylan Fujioka, Ezra Buchla, special guests Mike Sullivan (Russian Circles), Dan Phillips (True Widow) and the announcement of John Congleton as the album's producer. A trailer was also released to accompany the album's announcement.