Reinventing the wheel is impossible. I'm starting to believe, that unconventional kind of metal music too is in the realms of impossibility. Norwegians Exeloume aren't even trying. But hey, at least you can hear their enthusiasm for what they do. Thrash metal with some death metal influences is their craft, and 'Fairytale of Perversion' their debut full length album.

The first thing I noticed was the intensity, with which the band deliver their metal. These guys aren't newcomers to metal music, as they have operated in such bands as Atrox, Griffin and Manifest, but with ardour and skill they play their stuff. The production job by Rune Stavensli and mixing/mastering done by Dan Swanö is fantastic: Clear yet punishingly metal through and through, fitting perfectly for this ferocious music. Ripping and crushing guitars, and pounding, natural-sounding drums and bass are feast for any metal-raped pair of ears. The vocals vary from disruptive throat abuse (most common style here, with some variations here and there) to some cleaner voices, which have nothing to do with metalcore, mind you. There are some fast lyric lines presented very well, which isn't too common for non-English speaking bands. The lyrics are good for most of the time, or even better, so thumbs up to them. Dan Swanö grunts on the closing track.

The musical influences for Exeloume lie in early thrash metal (e.g. Testament, Defiance and Destruction come to my mind while listening to this) and early death metal, but still this doesn't sound like it was coming from 1980s. The production is too modern for that, as are some groovy crossover elements (not far from Konkhra and such). There are some straight headbangers, such as 'Blind Billions', 'Locus Ceruleus' and 'Psychopath'. However, the band desired to show us some more twisting riffage and drumming ('Ignorance Is Bliss' and 'Faceless Children' for example). The following phrase goes well with the quality of music, as well as with the use of indirect tempos: Some of it work magnificently, some is boring or do not work well enough. The lead guitar playing, meaning solos and melodies, is good and breathes in life into even otherwise stagnant compositions. Andy LaRocque guests on the lead guitar on 'Ignorance Is Bliss', as one can easily spot. All in all, the music is still mostly on the plus side.

If the Ed Repka cover artwork, which once again is fantastic to say the least, doesn't enthuse you to check the band out, then try songs such as 'Blind Billions', 'Ignorance Is Bliss', 'Locus Ceruleus', or 'Our Poisonous Creation', which feature most of the traits of the band in a fine way. The band do not reinvent anything, but they do have a characteristic method to play their metal, so they are far from being a carbon copy. Exeloume roll over many band, who try to make their thrash/death interesting. They simply nail it!

Rating: 7+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
06/13/2011 20:56