Chelsea Wolfe Announces Ninth Album The Dark: "I Had to Go Through It to Stop Abandoning Myself"
American alternative artist Chelsea Wolfe announced her ninth studio album, The Dark, on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, alongside the release of lead single "Cold." The record is co-produced by Jennifer Decilveo (who has worked with Hozier and Miley Cyrus) and longtime collaborator Ben Chisholm. Wolfe spoke to NME about the personal low points and creative shift behind the album. She has previously remixed for Deftones side project ††† (Crosses) and collaborated with hardcore pioneers Converge.
From an LA studio to stripping things back
The Dark follows 2024's industrial-leaning She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She, this time moving toward a leaner, slow-burning alternative rock sound. Wolfe says working with Decilveo helped her lock in the direction: Decilveo asked her directly, "What do you want this album to be?" and the two decided to "go back to the instrument itself, starting with acoustic guitar or piano and vocals, then building up from there."
The electronic and trip-hop direction of the previous album had been driven by producer Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio), and Wolfe admits she wanted more guitar this time. "I wouldn't define it as a pure acoustic album, because there are rock moments too," she says.
Thematically, The Dark revolves around the imagery of "passing through the veil between life and death" — from literal death, to the death of the self, to the loss of relationships. Wolfe tries to capture those "liminal states between life and death." Her cited visual references include the films What Dreams May Come and The Others. The title track "The Dark" and "Death Is Not The End" were previewed last month, the latter building from a soft, ghostly opening into a huge, 90s-alt-rock-scale eruption.
According to NME, the track "Swallower" features a well-known guest whose identity has not yet been revealed.
Album Info
- 📀 Album: The Dark (ninth studio album)
- 🎵 Lead single: "Cold"
- 🎛 Producers: Jennifer Decilveo, Ben Chisholm
- 📅 Announced: July 21, 2026
- 🔗 Full interview: NME