Metaleater.com
Finnish power metallers OLYMPOS MONS have just released their debut album, entitled "Conquistador", and it is quite simply one of the finest power metal albums ever made. I know that's a bold statement to make, but it will only take one listen of this disc and you'll hear exactly why I believe this to be true.
The band was formed in Finland in 2002 by guitarist Jari Sundström and singer Ian E. Highhill, who then added drummer Mikko Sepponen and session keyboardist Vili Ollila (bassist Krister Lundell joined the band in December 2004, but didn't play on the album). They are all outstanding musicians, and Highhill is a wonderfully talented lyricist. Power metal can sometimes suffer from a fairly substantial 'cheese' factor - times when the bands take themselves far too seriously, or not seriously enough. I'm sure you know what bands I'm talking about here so there's no need to name names. But with "Conquistador", OLYMPOS MONS get a solid 0.0 'CF' (cheese factor) rating, as nothing even the slightest bit cheesy can be found here; only pure, epic metal!
OLYMPOS MONS' debut album is a triumph on all fronts. Even the cover art, courtesy of Janne Pitkänen (alias Toxic Angel), is simply amazing. The airbrush images are a wonderful compliment to the music found on this disc, and the logo suits the band perfectly - powerful and creative. I know this may seem like a petty thing to a lot of people, but I really like it when bands number their songs and make the titles easy to read. How many times do you find yourself listening to a new disc and a song comes on that really catches your attention, and then you look at your CD player and see that it's song 7 - so you grab the CD cover, and because the songs are not numbered, you have to count? Now, to me, when the songs are numbered and the titles are easy to read, it means the band is simply paying attention to the little things.
Now, on to the impostant stuff - the music...
The first track, "Seven Seas", which is also the name of the band's first demo, is the perfect song to start-off the album with its wicked chugging guitars, soaring vocals, and bagpipes. Bagpipes?? On a metal album?? Yup, and it works, adding depth to the music while also revealing to the listener that the band is not afraid to experiment and enhance the song by adding in different elements. It's brilliant, and the song is catchy as hell! "Stars" has a majestic beginning - very bold before turning into a STRATOVARIUS-like rocker. The song has a great sing-a-long chorus and the overall sound is very rich. "The Last Light Of The Moon" features a wonderful sound break with a horse, something that sounds like a man entering a cabin, a woman screaming, and then the arrival of thunder and lightning. It's mixed into the song perfectly and adds a lot to the storytelling of an already strong tune.
"Black" is currently my favorite song on the disc (well, my favorite song today anyway). What's really cool about this tune is the part where Highill goes off in a wonderfully-sustained note strongly reminiscent of Geoff Tate, and then the rest of the band take over the 'lead' vocals in the verse. It's an unexpected twist and just sounds great! The effective backing/new lead vocals aren't the 'DEF LEPPARD over the top' type background vocals - it's just the band members singing incredibly well together.
"Through The Snow And Ice" features a harpsichord-like intro that gives the song a classic power metal feel - a nice touch - while "Lady In White" has one of the coolest musical moments on the disc with its short solo break. It's part keyboard, part guitar, and all style. We're talking DREAM THEATER territory here boys and girls!! The album finishes off with "Conquistador" - an almost eleven minute blast packed with everything the band can come up with. They show their true talent without actually showing off - a grand way to finish off an extraordinary album.
This CD has everything! Great songs, great performances by amazing musicians, bagpipes, acoustic guitar, flutes, harps...yet, nothing feels contrived. All of the 'extras' build on a solid musical foundation. If the flutes weren't added, would "Lady In White" suck? Yeah, right! The flute simply helps to create a warm feeling within the song. Again, it's the little things that make all the difference here.
Singer Ian E. Highhill has the perfect power metal voice - strong, controlled, able to hit those high notes without effort, while Sundström's guitar playing is exactly what the songs call for. Sure, he can let it fly, and does at times, but throughout the whole album, you really get the feeling that he thinks the songs themselves hold the greatest importance (he's right). I know it won't be long until his name is mentioned alongside the greats in rock music, not just in the metal genre. Drummer Mikko Sepponen is a timekeeping machine - mixing it up, keeping it solid and providing a great base with which to build the songs upon. Absolute talent!
"Conquistador" was produced by Sundström and Highhill, mixed by Nino Laurenne, and mastered by Mika Jussila (NIGHTWISH, EDGUY, STRATOVARIUS), and they have all collectively done a marvelous job. The instruments sound wonderful and the separation allows everything to be heard clearly. It really is a great auditory experience for the listener.
With "Conquistador", OLYMPOS MONS show every one of the big boys out there just how power metal should be done. Damn, this is an amazing album, and whether you're a fan of power metal or not, you should add "Conquistador" to your CD collection. Congratulations to all involved on an outstanding disc!

Aor dreamzones
What a band name you may think: It means the highest mountain on Mars and the largest volcano in the known universe. So, is this new band from Finland playing in the same league as their band name? Well! It's not by far. This one is a nice surprise for every Stratovarius fan out there. There's a mixture of hard and aggressive guitar riffs and musical passages with strings, bagpipes and harps with a perfect balance of the powerful, bombastic metal songs. The album is full of a uniquely mystical atmosphere. You get the feeling of a band that has been around for quite a while. Ian E. Highhill has a voice with an exceptional range and can easily be compared to the great ones. He is also well known worldwide both as a composer and as an author of dark, romantic lyrics. This is one of the best releases to come out by Limb Music in many years. Listen to the wonderful bombastic tracks, “Trough The Ice And Snow”, “Black” or “Cleopatra,” and you will be surprised by how melodic and tight this band is. To end the album they've launched a 10:52 long epos called “Conquistador”.
Not many bands can keep up the pace on a track like that, but these Finns manage to do it without losing the red thread throughout the song. Fantastic production by Sundström & Highhill, the excellent mixing by Nino Laurenne (Sonic Pump Studio) as well as the brilliant mastering by no other than Mika Jussila (Finnvox studios, e.g. Stratovarius, Edguy, Nightwish). This release is like TNT, very explosive and one of the better power albums this year.

Metalstorm.ee
Reviewed by Malcolm
Hey, before you turning away from this, you’ll have to understand that this is not the usual Finnish Power Metal, that’s so overcrowded so you want to throw up, these guys are really something.
The way they’re playing making me feel the kind of feeling I had back then when I started to love Power, the feeling of originality.
Formed in 2002, Olympos Mons (The highest mountain on Mars and the largest volcano in the known universe) released their first demo the same year.
Ian E. Highhill and Jari Sundström (the creators) themselves produced this debut and it’s mastered by Nino Laurenne (from the band Thunderstone) and released through Limb Music.
With aggressive guitars, smart arrangements and songs that really blow you away, Olympos Mons took me by storm.
When I was expecting the usual, old and boring Power, Olympos Mons really surprised me.
I read on a fellow Metal site were the reviewer thought of Grave Digger when he heard Jari play his guitars.
Personally I think there are some major difference between Jari’s and Manni’s playing, first of all Jari doesn’t play as aggressive and then is Olympos Mons a Power Metal band, that means that the music is more melodic. Finally doesn’t Jari play as “scratchy” as Manni.
Musically it’s aggressive, Symphonic Heavy/Power Metal they play, bands like Stratovarius crossed with a bit of Grave Digger and some influenced of the usual Symphonic bands.
And Ian, the singer, got the typical Finnish touches (the accent). He together with the perfect fitting choir’s makes this album special. The choruses are one way to let the music speak, they often uses the choir in the choruses, and believe me, it couldn’t be much better, just listen to “Black” or “Cleopatra” and you’ll understand.
Cleopatra, yes, Olympos Mons here sings about at least five different women, except Cleopatra its “Black Desireé”, “The Princess of Saba”, “Lady in White” and the Queen of Spain in “Conquistador”.
The lyrics in overall are very dark but in the same time romantic, and that’s a perfect match for the Symphonic music they’re playing.
To pick just a few favourites here is hard, believe me, there are no bad songs, absolutely no fillers (which almost every album has today), and over half of the songs here are killers, try Up-Your-Face Power Metal Killers, this is how Power should sound, this is how Power should be.
But if I shall try, I’ll choose the first three songs, “Seven Seas”, Stars” and “The Last Light of the Moon”, that’s all true killers. The music is brilliant, and the haunting choruses even better.
And the following songs are not bad, and the last one, the epic title-track, a +10minute song, is a perfect way to end the album.
If you’re a Power Metal fan, as I am, and you’ve grown tired of the usual Copy-Power Metal bands that’s out there today, try Olympos Mons debut album “Conquistador”, this is together with Nocturnal Rites, Edguy and Celesty, is the best Power Metal album of this year, you can count on that.
This is a band I will keep my eyes on, with such strong debut I’m sure that they will grow rapidly the forthcoming years.
Check Out: “Seven Seas”, “Stars”, “The Last Light of the Moon” (In which the chorus reminds me of the Swedish Power Metal band Orphan Gypsy), “Black”, “Lady in White” & “Conquistador”.

Vampire Magazine
Again it’s the Finnish inspiration and skills which are showing up in the debut album of Olympos Mons; full of symphonic and melodic power metal. Olympus Mons was formed back in 2002, when Jari Sundstrom and singer Ian E. Highhill met after a gig of Jari in 2002. A demo ‘Seven Seas’ was recorded and two years later the time finally came for Olympos Mons to release their debut album ‘Conquistador’. This album shows the brilliance of these Finnish guys, releasing an absolute worthy debut album in the genre. Olympos Mons is a name to keep in mind considering the fact that these guys definitely know how to make a decent and sometimes even brilliant, symphonic power metal album.
As soon as the album starts with ‘Seven Seas’ I’m already impressed. This opening song is strong, powerful and sets the tone for the entire album. ‘Seven Seas’ is the song which might be released as a single. As soon as I hear influences of folk instruments and when I sense a little use of bagpipes, I’m already satisfied with this one. ‘Black’ is a more symphonic and darker (hence the name…) song, showing the mysterious side of Ian’s vocals. The vocals of Ian are, well, brilliant…! In ‘Through The Ice and Snow’ he starts with the famous aaaaaah… Yep, he passes the test! Together with the absolute brilliant guitar works of Jari, it’s the cause why Olympos Mons will set its name in the genre. Olympos Mons combines rough and aggressive guitar riffs with the softer and sweeter sounds of folk instruments like the, already mentioned, bagpipes and even harps. Olympos Mons is capable of mixing catchy and cheerful songs like ‘Seven Seas’ with more emotional and dark ones like ‘Cleopatra’ and ‘The Princess of Saba’. In the last mentioned songs you will hear some Arabic influences. ‘Conquistador’ ends with its 10 minute epic title track.
Olympos Mons released an impressive debut album, appealing to all power metal fans. If you respect yourself as a power metal fan, be sure to check this one out. If you love Sonata Arctica, Kamelot, Rhapsody, Angra and Dragonland, you won’t be disappointed by ‘Conquistador’.

Streetwebzine - Norway
The first thing that hit me when I found this album in my mailbox the other day was the strange band name. Is it really possible to name a band Olympos Mons? After a while I found out that the band name actually did means something at that explains a lot. Olympos Mons is the highest mountain on March and also the highest known volcano in the universe. The band comes from Finland and not surprisingly their style is melodic power metal, or happy metal as some choose to name it. What differs Olympic Mons a little bit from other bands within the same genre is their frequent use of more untraditional instruments, at least when it comes to metal, like harp and bagpipe. The music is fast but still incredible melodic and atmospheric so I guess you can say that these guys know how to write catchy songs. Dragonforce is a band that if feels natural to compare Olympos Mons to. The band has also found a very talented singer in Ian Highhill who possesses a relatively wide vocal range. Speaking out of experience I know that this kind of music you either love or hate. If you like fast and catchy melodic power metal I feel confident that you will love ‘Conqistador’.

Lords of Metal Nederlands
Now here is a band that is slightly different. These Fins called Olympos Mons, which is the highest Mountain on Mars and the largest volcano known to mankind, are not afraid to bring some unusual instruments like harps and bagpipes to their music. This band is still very fresh; they just were founded two years ago in 2002. It all happened when guitarist Jari Sundström met singer Ian E. Highhill on an evening of unforgettable music in a little town in Finland. After finding three other guys to join them in this band Olympos Mons was born. In August 2002 the Finns released their first demo called 'Seven Seas'. It was received very well in all the types of presses that we know and so they got themselves a deal with Limb Music in April 2003.
On that label the first full-album of this band is now a fact. 'Conquistador' is the title of this great experience of musical diversity. 'Seven Seas' is the first track on this album, a song that starts the Metallica-way and than turns into a happy tune makes me thinking I am in Scotland right now. Of course the bagpipes are a big reason for this feeling. 'Stars' has an intro reminding me of the style on the latest Rhapsody masterpiece. The Olympos Mons guys for sure did not save on using as much orchestral sounds to complete all their compositions, it makes the sound nice and full to experience. 'The Last Light Of The Moon' is a slow and log storytelling kind of song. The beautiful guitar solo is lead in by horse-sounds, rain, thunder, screaming and much more of those gimmicks you can get out of keyboard. The story continues with 'Wanted Man'. If you like the music from Stratovarius you will appreciate this song for sure. If you would not know better you would think this is Stratovarius. Even the singer has a great similarity with Timo Kotipelto. Church-tunes are leading us into another great song called 'Black'. This is one of my favourites, I love the driving force and the double bass drums. 'Through The Ice And Snow' starts of with some medival instruments and is again a song that has a Stratovarius character. With the next two songs 'Black Desiree' and 'Cleopatra' we get a treat of fast metal in combination with some special Arabic tones. 'The Princess Of Saba' is another highlight on this album. We receive some great speed and mood-changes. The fourth song in a row about a woman is 'Lady In White'. The intro takes us again back to medival times. It's great how this band spices up their compositions with all those special instrument-sounds. Striking are the Heavenly-kind of choirs. The last song is the title-track. This is a killer composition that lasts more then ten minutes. Olympos Mons ends this debut with a bang and they have my full attention for their next moves.

Metal reviews.com
Olympos Mons is a Finnish power metal act formed in 2002 by guitarist Jari Sundström and vocalist Ian E. Highhill. Having said that, it’s probably no surprise that strong influences from Nocturnal Rites, Stratovarius, and others can be heard in the band’s music. I should caveat that statement by also pointing out that the band is trying to establish its own sound. The band succeeds on this level with certain songs more than others, while all songs are well played and written. Last year, the band signed a contract with Limb Music, who is releasing the band’s debut album, Conquistador. This is a solid debut album by all means, making Olympos Mons a band that I will keep and eye on in the future.
The opening track, Seven Seas is an upbeat, mid paced song that features the clever use of bagpipes throughout the song. Combined with the thick, full bodied guitar tone that engulfs the entire album, the soundscape created on this opening track is huge. This song left me very excited about the rest of the album. Unfortunately, this song is the most adventurous of the album. The remaining songs are certainly of high quality, but I was hoping they would also be as adventurous as the opening track. I am hoping that the band expands on these ideas in the future, as it will surely give the band an identity in what is now a very crowded power metal genre.
Olympos Mons deliver hard hitting, crunchy, and sometimes aggressive riffs throughout the album. This provides a nice balance against the upbeat melodies and chorus lines. As I mentioned previously, the guitar tone is very thick, with an adequate and authoritative bass presence. While listening to this album, the guitar work reminds of Grave Digger’s The Grave Digger album on several occasions. There is a large group of fans that detest happy and uplifting power metal, but when backed up with ballsy guitar work such as this album, I find the result to be quite enjoyable.
One of the most common faults I observe with new bands is a lack of consistency throughout the album. You’ll hear a couple of killer songs, some good songs, and inevitably, some filler. Olympos Mons have avoided the plague of filler material, but they will need to explore the creativity of songs like Seven Seas, Through The Ice and Snow, Lady in White, and Conquistador more. These four songs stand out for me as the true killers of the album, while others are just good, well executed power metal songs. If the band can put together a full album of creative songs such as the aforementioned, this could be their ticket out of the second tier of power metal into the premier class. Of course, this is only the band’s first album, so I feel very good about the band’s potential to elevate themselves in the near future. Let me just take a moment to focus on the highlight tracks, aside from Seven Seas which I discussed above:
Through the Ice And Snow is an energetic, power metal anthem backed by a neoclassical keyboard run throughout. This song captures my favorite elements of Stratovarius’ Visions album, something that even Stratovarius has been unable to do since the release of that album. Lady in White in majestic cut that starts off with a bombastic keyboard and flute dominated intro, but then explodes into a speedy, melodic anthem that will burn its way into your memory with its chorus lines, and surprise you with a couple of time changes and deviations in tempo. Conquistador is a 10+ minute epic that closes the album. This track features the use of a harp, well placed keyboard textures, and some darker passages in addition to the familiar dose of melodic power metal that you have become accustomed to by this point in the album. The diversity displayed in this track makes for an interesting listen, and manages to avoid repetitiveness.
Even though Olympos Mons is another addition to a very crowded power metal genre, I feel this band is one to keep an eye on. The guitar work is above average, and the band seems willing to explore new avenues as far as songwriting goes. Hopefully, the band will further explore the use of instruments such as the bagpipes, harp, flute, and neoclassical keyboard passages in the future. When used, these elements color the songs with a lot of personality, something that will be needed in order to avoid the cookie cutter mold of power metal bands out there. Vocalist Ian E. Highhill does an admirable job behind the mic. His voice is clean and melodic, primarily singing in the higher registers. None of the songs on the album is a sloucher, but the more adventurous cuts that beat a path away from conventional sounds clearly stand out. Two thumbs up for this solid debut album.
Killing Songs : Seven Seas, Through the Ice and Snow, Lady in White, Conquistador

Metal invader
Nice work!! This was the result for me after the ending of the listening of this release. OLYMPOS MONS plays Symphonic Power Metal with up-tempo refrains that stick into your mind. In other words something that many bands do, but they have a very big ability: nice compositions, which after all is everything in music. For me it doesn’t matter if someone plays things that have been performed many times before as long as he does it in a nice way. If I like a music style it would be a blessing if many groups played it, if of course it is performed well. And here we have a band that does it very well. I believe that this CD will stay for a long time into my CD player and maybe it will become one of my favorites in this metal scene. Of course there will be many who would say that it is just another band who tries to play something catchy so I have to admit it: it caught me for sure!!!

Power metal dk
Olympos Mons ??? - My first thought was; The name of the highest mountain on Mars and the largest known volcano in the universe! However, Olympos Mons is also a Finnish melodic power metal outfit, fronted and led by guitarist/mastermind Jari Sundström and vocalist Ian E. Highhill.
So, if you hate melodic metal in the same vein as bands like Freedom Call, read no further.
When I listen to Olympos Mons I get the feeling, I have heard this a billion times, but I must admit, that I actually like this kind of melodic-sing along-happy-metal. The production could have been a little better - the guitars sounds like they used a very cheap Amplifier, but I can live with that!
Take a listen to songs like, “Seven Seas”, “Stars”, “Through The Ice And Snow” and “Lady In White”, they are as good as any melodic power metal songs out there. There are a couple of borings songs on this album too: “Conquistador”, 10:32 minutes ... way to long. “The Last Light Of The Moon” - I hate everything about this track. The music ... the melody ... everything! However I like the rest of this release.
The band, that is Olympos Mons, has given us a good set of tunes, that exemplifies the spirit of
Melodic power metal ... in my humble opinion of course. Freedom Call is still my favourite melodic metal band, although I'm sure, that Olympos Mons will trumph themselves by making better future recordings.
Recommended tracks: “Seven Seas”, “Stars”, “Wanted Man”, “Through The Ice And Snow” and “Lady In White”.

Metalrage
The titlesong of their first demo serves as a worthy opener to Conquistador. With melodic vocals, bagpipes and adventurous lyrics, this mid-paced song reminded me a lot of the highlands. I love the highlands. Through The Ice And Snow starts with a medieval sounding piano-like intro, after which the guitars take over the melody and the song starts to get some pace. The lyrics aren't very deep, yet very romantic. This romanticism is found in each of the songs, which give the lyrics a significant amount of body if you're into these kind of lyrics (I know I'm a sucker for romance).
But not only the lyrics and the soothing vocals give the songs a breeze of romance. Especially the intros and choruses of most songs accentuate this particular theme. There are plenty of fast passages on Conquistador, yet there is no song on the album I consider agressive from the beginning to the end, which I had kind of hoped to see. What does let you pick up the pace, however, are the cleverly inserted fast guitar- and keyboardsolos. Without them, the album would just not be complete.
The production is done very nicely, judging by the decent quality of the sound and the interesting artwork of the cover. It shows a somewhat dark, Spanish conquerer (conquistador - hence the title) in a red, rocky environment pointing a sabre at the throat of a young, scarcely clothed maiden. It reflects the music of Olympos Mons perfectly; mysterious romance with just a hint of agression.
I was thrilled with Conquistador while listening to the first song. As I described before, it had this real 'highland' feel to it and I love those kind of songs. That splash of folk - that wave of mystery - was what gripped me. I guess it explains why I regret to say that none of the other songs were able to regenerate the sound. They were all very nice songs, but, when comparing them to Seven Seas, not of such innovativity that it made me wild.
However, in the end, Conquistador is definitely a very solid powermetal album. For all you adventurous space pirates who would like to know what Olympos Mons is all about, be sure to give it a shot!

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