Release Info:
Artist : Angelic Foe
Album : Mother Of Abominations
Genre : Darkwave
Label : Equilibrium Music
Catnum : EQM037
Source : CDDA
URL : http://www.discogs.com/Angelic-Foe-Mother-Of-Abominations/release/75
Mode Info:
Tracks : 9
Time : 00:50:13
Size : 92.62 MB
Encode : LAME 32bits version 3.98.4 (http://www.mp3dev.org/) -V0
Quality : 245kbps 44100Hz Joint Stereo
Tracklist:
1. Daughter Of Comfort 6:42
2. The Get 4:32
3. All Her Princes Are Gone 6:05
4. Shapes Without Shadows 4:59
5. Pestilence And Smither 3:43
6. Bewitching Lilith 4:30
7. Workers Of Harm 6:56
8. The Judgement 5:24
9. Enemies Of God 7:22
50:13 (min)
This great project by the Swedish singer Annmari Thim, also known as the lead
singer of Arcana, has released the second album ôMother of Abominationsö this
year.
As a composer, lyricist and vocalist, Annmari leads the listener into another
world, the world of mysticism and mythical tales. While listening to ôMother of
Abominationsö, you are not quite sure if you have taken a step back to ancient
history or a step into a fantasy tale that can take place only in her or your
imagination; however it can create a middle ground for those two to meet, a
historical voyage with a mystical twist, you can almost give a sound to all
those tales your grandmother told you but taking it a bit further, being led by
great orchestral arrangements and the ôangelicö voice of Annmari.
Angelic Foe uses dramatic orchestral sounds combing them with rhythmic
percussion to create a dark and dim atmosphere, but filled with mysticism and
magic. Even though we can hear influences of classic orchestral music, even
symphonic metal, ethnic folk and pagan rock, I would describe the sound as
ethereal carried out by Annamari┤s vocal performance that ranges from beautiful
melodic soprano to even some spoken parts where Annmari successfully depicts
the voice of a witch, a priestess, a sorceress or some other unearthly
creature.
pic-annmari01The neoclassical orchestral arrangement on the first track induces
the allusion of everything said, dark and mystical feel that will persist
throughout the album. Annmari creates great vocal harmonies which she masters
so well, and also puts a mark on the album being more vocally elaborate on the
second track The Get.
All Her Princes Are Gone is a slower track where the feeling of mysticism is
subdued and instead the feeling of sadness emerges. Angelic Foe rises again on
Shapes Without Shadows, a complete lyrical tale with an enigmatic intro that
blossoms into the great and powerful chorus. On the contrary, Pestilence and
Smither starts out strongly with some heavy percussion that characterizes the
song all the way through, and even without AnnmariÆs voice this piece would be
a great track since it is so rich in sound that puts Annmari this time a bit
out of focus.
Bewitching Lilith is my favourite track, as we can hear what I consider the
most powerful chorus where orchestral arrangement works brilliantly with
AnnmariÆs vocals, and at the very end of the song we can hear AnnmariÆs almost
sinister whisper narrative; a complete tale that goes beyond just music and can
easily be translated into an image before your very eyes.
A slower pace comes with the next track, Workers of Harm, and even though
Angelic Foe utilize industrial elements as well throughout the album, we can
hear the use of those elements clearly on this track. Another darkly painted
song The Judgement flirts with pagan and ethnic music that is most prominent on
this track. They decide to give us closure with Enemies of God that leans more
to the beat and the voice rather than to the melody, but remains a good choice
for soothing our vexed imagination after such a grand voyage.