Review Summary: FAIRYTALES FROM HELL
What saves Exeloume from complete anonymity are the brief flashes of brilliance they exhibit every now and then; not awful but nothing really noteworthy yet either, Exeloume at this point just blend in a little too much with their peers, but shouldn't stop you from keeping a close eye on this Norwegian unit -- there is undeniable potential underneath the standard death/thrash these guys are currently peddling. Between the well executed yet predictable riffs and sterile breakdowns, Fairytale of Perversion at times unveils a band that is capable of so much more.
One of the biggest hindrances on Fairytale of Perversion is that it seems Exeloume just couldn't avoid hitting every single pitfall seen plaguing most death/thrash these days; opening song "Blind Billions" which actually features some very interesting vocal/interplay and a great guitar solo is ultimately ruined by a boring song-structure, possessing that one token death/thrash breakdown every band has and an overall predictability that zaps almost all the excitement out of the song. While almost every song at one point or another displays at least one of these aforementioned issues, Fairytale of Perversion is redeemed severely thanks to some truly excellent sections and songs spread throughout the album. The band frequently shows some sort of interesting guitar/vocal teamwork ("Blind Billions, "Ignorance is Bliss", "Hellhole" etc...) and the two axemen of the group Andrè Ulriksen and Tom "Welhaven" Wahl consistently come up with some really awesome solos, whether it be the blues shred of "Psychopath" or "Faceless Childrens" more thoughtful leads.
While "Locus Ceruleus", "The Bitsa Maniac" and the aforementioned "Faceless Children" are the easily the best composed songs on Fairytale of Perversion, Exeloume's first forray into the international metal scene is still an overall success; sure the band still wears its sign of inexperience on its sleeve but with a bit more soul-searching these Norwegian death thrashers certainly have the potential to shift into something of a formidable force.
