Angelic Foe – Amulets and Charms

Angelic Foe
Amulets and Charms
Label: Wormholedeath
Out: December 6^th, 2024
Playing time: 39:39

Annmari Thim Hermanssonla is a singer, lyricist and composer from Eskilstuna (Södermanlands län, Sweden). She was/is the singer of the Swedish darkwave band Arcana. Since 2006 she has also been working on her own project Angelic Foe. In the press release, the sound is categorised as Symphonic Rock. In the meantime, the solo project has become a duo. Her husband (?) Fredrik Hermansson is now also on board. There is a short description of the music on the homepage, although this obviously no longer seems to be completely up to date.

Angelic Foe takes you on a symphonic journey through lands of mysticism and myths.

That sounds exciting. And encourages you to listen.

In ‘Lamashtu’, the daughter of the god Anu is sung about, who was originally a sky goddess, but later became more of an evil demon. Quiet at first, but then a little more intense. Only the drums sound stronger. Sung about is also a bit too much. All you hear is a whispered speaking voice. In ‘In Shadows Deep’, however, you can hear Annmari’s beguiling soprano. The instrumentation is also sparse here. Mainly strings and drums can be heard. This doesn’t change much on ‘Discordia’ or ‘Rite Of Passage’ either. At least the vocal melodies are varied. ‘Amulet’ is a small exception. Here you can hear acoustic guitars and percussion instruments. Even ‘Fire, Water, Sword’ is a little out of the ordinary, thanks to the powerful percussion instruments. In ‘Bless The Charm’, the strings are brought more to the fore. ‘Avnas’ is dominated in places by a piano and powerful drums. The extremely contemplative basic orientation does not change here either. Only ‘Tail Devourer’ features electrically amplified guitars. Deep tones vibrate.

Symphonic Rock was announced. But there isn’t actually much Rock to be heard. There are guitars now and again. Mostly percussion instruments of various kinds dominate. The sound is difficult to categorise. There are nine contemplative, almost meditative songs. The only determining factor is the elf-like vocals of Annmari Thim Hermansson. An album for relaxing hours in which you can close your eyes and start dreaming.

Angelic Foe – In Shadows Deep: https://youtu.be/YQtPsK4zQqI?si=JPjhhXomq5U2thTq

Lineup:

Annmari Thim Hermansson – Vocals, Lyrics, Composer
Fredrik Hermansson – Main composer, Arrangements, Keyboards, Programming

Track list:

• Lamashtu
• In Shadows Deep
• Discordia
• Rite Of Passage
• Amulet
• Fire, Water, Sword
• Bless The Charm
• Avnas
• Tail Devourer