Chelsea Wolfe and Youth Code Made the Metro the Spookiest Place to Be

Just in time for the Halloween season, goth queen Chelsea Wolfe brought a night of macabre and deeply somber melodies to the Metro. Her music isn't depressing by any means, but the vibe at her shows is certainly darker than your average night of music. Wolfe sounds like a mix between The Cure and Tori Amos, but with no pop undertones and a lot more eyeshadow. For this tour, industrial hardcore wunderkinds Youth Code to open things up. Lead singer/guttural screamer Sara Taylor had skull-like makeup and a shirt that said "eat my entire fuck", which might be one of the best shirts the lead singer of an industrial metal band could wear. The band played a set of songs that made the audiences' ears bleed. At one point, Taylor spit into the air, caught it with her hand, and smeared it across her face. It was genuinely impressive. Chelsea Wolfe is far more mellow than Youth Code, but her anti-folk guitar riffs and soft, melodic voice somehow complimented the openers well. Wolfe is incredibly tall and was wearing massive platform heels that put her well over 6'6. As she towered over the audience, she and her band played songs from her newest album, Hiss Spun, which was released just over a month ago. The album was no. 146 on the Billboard 200 chart and has garnered praise from Pitchfork and other major publications. Wolf sold out the Metro this evening and played a 13-song set, including "Halfsleeper" as one of her encore pieces. Undoubtedly, Wolfe will continue to sell out venues across the country and hopefully will return to Chicago soon to perform another enigmatic and aluring set.