Once again, Chelsea Wolfe delivers a fantastic set of dark, well-written, genre-bending songs. Fans of the doom metal influence found on 2015's Abyss (most prevalent on "Iron Moon" and "Dragged Out") will surely enjoy seeing that style take the lead here. Produced by the prolific Kurt Ballou, Hiss Spun is Wolfe's rawest and heaviest record to date. The noisey, atmospheric downtuned guitars that define the album's sound are effortlessly complimented by influences ranging from gothic rock to industrial music to folk as Wolfe continues to defy being pigeonholed into a single genre. With each album, she manages to explore new sonic territory in a way that somehow fits in perfectly with her pre-established sound. Wolfe's secret ingredient, along with a natural gift for melody and mood, is her voice - a ghostly wail that works just as effectively on the haunting acoustic ballad "Two Spirit" as it does on the barn-burning metal track "Vex". With Hiss Spun being the sixth addition to the list of consistently high-quality albums she's released since 2010, Chelsea Wolfe deserves to be seen as one of the current decade's very best songwriters.
