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France's Mystery Blue has been in existence since 1978, with varying line-ups and levels of activity. Conquer the World is the band's seventh full-length and is full of pounding Traditional Metal (despite the band's distinctly Power Metal-sounding name). The guitars sound dirty and mean and the bottom end is massive. Singer Nathalie Geyer has a voice that I didn't find instantly likeable, being a bit "screamy," and her vibrato is a bit over the top on the high notes, but I've come around and it really fits the music. The chugging riffs are everywhere, with the exception of "Keep on Dreaming," a fine example of the Heavy Metal ballad. Mystery Blue pummels your ears on songs like "Road to Despair" and "Running With the Pack," the latter featuring guest vocals by Paragon's Andreas Babuschkin. Conquer the World bears a lot of musical similarities to Accept's albums with Mark Tornillo. It doesn't push the envelope much but it is well played and the songs are unpretentious and enjoyable.