Chelsea Wolfe Straddles the Line Between Dreams and Memories in Chilling New Video for “The Culling”

The enigmatic Chelsea Wolfe has released another stunning music video in the form of “The Culling.” The track comes off her latest release, the mesmerizing Hiss Spun. The video, co-directed by Wolfe, mixes occult and gothic themes along with some astounding camera and editing work. The visuals are meant to blur the line between dreams and memories, and the way the two impact each other.

Wolfe is the main focus of the video, as it shifts in tone and feeling throughout its 6-minute runtime, with many of the shots recalling the album artwork for Hiss Spun, with Wolfe coiled up into a ball of black fabric and feathers in the corner of a white room. Musically speaking, “The Culling” is another dark blend of ambient folk, pulsing goth, and crushing metal overtones, resulting in a totally unique sound that provides the perfect sonic accompaniment to the visuals. This is not the first time that Wolfe has tackled such deep and dark imagery, as her previous video for the song “Spun” was filled with plenty of gothic horror and subtle editing techniques.

Wolfe just finished up a busy first part of the year, completing a tour opening for the legendary industrial Group Ministry. Wolfe also appeared as guest singer on the new Deafheaven record, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, singing a lovely duet with frontman George Clarke on the song “Night People.” Wolfe will be hitting the road once again this fall with post-rock stalwarts Russian Circles. Wolfe has become one of the leading artists in the new underground goth/folk/industrial scene that has been exploding across America and Europe in recent years. By combining downbeat ambient music with dark folk along with the distortion normally found in metal, Wolfe has crafted a unique sound that has won her a legion of fans.

You can watch the music video for “The Culling” in the player below.

Photo credit Raymond Flotat

Andy Lindquist: Music news writer at mxdwn.com. Part of the mxdwn team since 2017. I have been writing about music for some time now and also play in an pop/rock band. I have a BA in rhetoric from UC Berkeley. Born and raised in the San Francisco bay area and still currently living out on the eastern side of the bay.
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