OLYMPOS
MONS
The
inhabitants of mount Olympus have decended amongthe immortal,without mercy
they will subject every soul under a massive decibel wall,and the world
will never be the same again............... Don't know if this prologue
conveiced you to read this interview, but I suggest you to do so, cause
Jari has a great sense of humour...
1.FIRST OF ALL TELL US SOME GENERAL
THINGS FOR THE BAND'S HISTORY UP TO DATE. YOU HAD SOME LINE UP CHANGES
AND RECENTLY IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN YOU FOUND A STEADY LINE UP. TELL US ABOUT
IT AND INTRODUCE THE BAND MEMBERS.
A: Well, this started as a music
writing project between myself and singer Ian Highhill in early 2002, when
we decided to try writing together some music that we´d really like
to play. So now we´ve found really great and experienced rhythm section
in drummer Raino Simoinen and bass player Henrik Tuura, whom have played
together for about 6-7 years, mainly progressive metal. Unfortunately we´re
still short of a keyboard player. ( Strange folks the keyboard players,
they must be hiding behind trees or under rocks or something.... hehehe?).
2.WHAT DOES OLYMPOS MONS MEAN? HOW
DID YOU SELECT IT AS A BAND NAME? DOES IT DERIVE FROM THE GREEK MOUNTAIN?
A: OLYMPOS MONS!!!!!!!!
THE HOME OF THE GODS!!!! HELL YEAHH!!!! It certainly comes from the Greek
mythology! Sounds great eh?!! Is there like a cooler metal band name than
the place where the gods used to live? (oh yes there is: Icy Frosticles
in the Antarctica!!) Hahahahah! The highest volcano in our solar system
is located in Mars and it is named olympus mons (mons means mountain in
latin by the way), so that is the original inspirator for the name.
3.GIVE US A DESCRIPTION OF YOUR MUSIC.
WHICH ARE YOUR INFLUENCES? NAME SOME OF YOUR MOST BELOVED ALBUMS.
A: Description of our music....hmmm......
ehhhhhhh....... mmmm..... well....its simply MELODIC AND POWERFUL METAL
FROM FINLAND!!!!! =) Our influences are something like Deep Purple, Rainbow,Black
Sabbath,Uriah Heep, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, Accept,
Udo, Yngwie Malmsteen, Annihilator, Helloween and Gamma Ray, just to name
a few. Favorite albums: Deep Purple: Machine Head and Made in Europe, Rainbow:
Rising, Uriah Heep: The Magicians Birthday, Black Sabbath: Heaven
and Hell and Headless Cross, Iron Maiden: Number of the Beast ( This is
like THE HEAVY METAL ALBUM), Ozzy Osbourne: Bark at the Moon and Blizzard
of Ozz, Accept: Metal Heart and Balls to the Wall, Helloween: Keeper of
the Seven Keys 2
4.WHAT IS THIS THING THAT MAKES YOU,
ACCORDING TO YOUR POINT OF VIEW, DIFFER FROM THE OTHER BANDS? WHAT IDENTIFIES
YOU? WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO A FAN TO CONVINCE HIM BUY YOUR CD?
A: What makes us differ from other
bands is our unparallel beauty, and our fans are forced to buy all our
records otherwise Santa wont bring them any presents on christmas eve.........well
seriously we do not necessary differ that much from many other bands, but
what identifies us is the personal voice of Ian and the melodic quality
and varying style of our songs. Also there is a strong contrast between
the intensity and agressiveness of the arrangements and the romantic approach
of the lyrics. We´d like to think that the romantic side could appeal
to our female listeners, when again aggression certainly draws the attention
of the male listeners. And if someone is our fan, he or she would probably
buy our cd anyway.....At least I would! So you who read this, if
you see an Olympos Mons album in a record store in the future...........BUY
IT!.......BUY IT! .....BUY IT!!!!!! ( did I mention the buy
it already........? )
5.HOW MANY RELEASES DO YOU HAVE? TELL
US A FEW THINGS ABOUT THEM AND MAINLY SPEAK ABOUT YOUR LATEST RELEASE.
A: So far since this is so fresh
project, we do not have any official releases, only a four song demo, which
is only available through mp3.com. These four songs represent the first
result of the cooperation of Ian and myself, and they were recorded at
our own homes with our computers. Afterwards we published them on mp3.com,
to get recognition, and so far it has certainly paid of.
6.ARE YOU TRYING TO COMPOSE NOW WITH
THE NEW MEMBERS SOME NEW SONGS? IS THERE A CHEMISTRY DURING THE SONGWRITING
OR DO YOU COMPOSE EVERYTHING BY YOURSELF?
A: So far the composing is purely
down to Ian and myself, but you never know what the future might bring.
The composing process evolves usually in two different ways. Either I come
up with a song which is short of words or vocal melodies or both and Ian
contributes the rest. The second one is that Ian comes up with a song melody,
in which he also writes lyrics, and brings it to me for arrangement and
to come up with some guitar parts.
7.WHAT ARE YOR LYRICS TALKING ABOUT?
ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF THE FANTASY OR THE REAL LIFE STORIES?
A: Our lyrics are both fantasy
and real life. You could say that they are real life transformed into romantic
fiction, abstract tales that gives the listener a chance to find his/her
own meaning or vision about them.
8.WHICH WAS THE BEST AND WHICH WAS
THE WORST REVIEW YOU HAVE RECEIVED? DID YOU SENT ANY PROMOS TO LABELS?
WHICH WERE THEIR REACTIONS?
A: Luckily we havent received any
negative reviews so far, and we´re very pleased about that, and the
positive response has been extremely encouraging. We havent sent any promo
material to any label yet, but we intend to do so in the very near future.
For your information we have been approached by a small italian label,
showing willingness to publish our first full lenght album, without us
even making the initiative. I think that is quite promising.
9.CAN YOU POINT OUT SOME INTERESTING
NEW ACTS FROM YOUR COUNTRY?
A: WELL OLYMPOS MONS OF COURSE;
WHAT DO YOU REALLY MEAN???? ( hahahahaha.......) Seriously, have you heard
of Thunderstone? Great stuff!!
10.HAVE YOU DONE ANY LIVE SHOWS? HOW
DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU ARE ON STAGE AND YOU SEE PEOPLE LOOKING AT YOU?
A: Since this has been a duo project
until recently, we have not performed live as Olympos Mons, but we all
have lot of experience as gig and tour musicians here in Finland. We´re
all kinda wild on stage and our listeners have appreciated our performances,
which is always the best reward you can get.
11.WHICH DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IDEAL
SONG OF YOURS TO REPRESENT YOU? HOW WOULD YOU IMAGINE IT IF YOU COULD MAKE
A VIDEO CLIP?
A: Any of songs would do, they
are like our children, and we love them all. You do not have any favorites
among your children. - A video clip ? A romantic drama played by puppets.....
12.WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WEREN'T
ABLE TO COMPOSE MUSIC?
A: We´d probably end up as
a striptease dancer, florist or a legionnaire.
13.WHICH ARE THE DREAMS YOU WANT TO
ACHIEVE WITH YOUR MUSIC?
A: To make millions and millions
and BILLIONS AND TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS!... Seriously speaking we´d
be more than pleased to make a few albums and get to perform to all the
metal fans in different countries. That has been one of our dreams since
late childhood.
14.WHAT PROLOGUE AND TITLE WOULD YOU
LIKE THIS INTERVIEW TO HAVE?
A: Title : BEWARE OF THE
WRATH OF THE GODS!!!!
Prologue: The inhabitants of mount
Olympus have decended among the immortal, without mercy they will subject
every soul under a massive decibel wall, and the world will never be the
same again............... ( Or how about just OLYMPOS MONS: Agressive and
melodic metal from Finland ? )
15.THANK YOU!HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK
YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?
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