Warmen is a Finnish heavy metal band assembled by keyboardist Janne "Warman" Wirman. Wirman has played with

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Alexi Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals), Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka Sep ...

from 1997 until their disbandment in 2019, and in 2000 created a musical project focused on instrumental work, which would only have guest singers on a few selected songs.

Albums

''Unknown Soldier'' (1999–2001)

The first incarnation of Warmen was composed of Janne, guitarist Sami Virtanen and drummer Mirka Rantanen. This line-up successfully recorded and released the ''Unknown Soldier'' album in 2000, with the collaboration of guest singer

Kimberly Goss Kimberly Goss is an American singer and keyboardist, best known as frontwoman and co-founder of the Finnish metal band Sinergy. Early life Goss was born in Los Angeles, California, to a Korean father and a German mother who worked as a jazz si ...

(from

Sinergy Sinergy was a Finnish/Swedish Heavy metal music, heavy metal band started in 1997 by American musician Kimberly Goss. The idea for a "balls-out female-fronted metal band" was first formed when Kimberly Goss of Dimmu Borgir met Jesper Strömbla ...

), guitarist Roope Latvala (also from Sinergy, later also from

) and bassist Jari Kainulainen (from

Stratovarius Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1985. Since their formation, they have released sixteen studio albums, five DVDs and six live albums. In its history, the band has gone through many chaotic lineup changes, and after fo ...

''Beyond Abilities'' (2002–2004)

The following year, the band saw the addition of Lauri Porra (later in Sinergy and Stratovarius) and Janne's guitarist brother, Antti Wirman (from

Kotipelto Kotipelto is a Finnish power metal self-named band by Timo Kotipelto, created during a hiatus in activity for power metal band Stratovarius. Kotipelto has been commercially well received in their native Finland, with a top 10 single "Beginning" ...

). In the ''Warmen Productions Studio'' (now called ''Beyond Abilities''), this line-up recorded the album ''Beyond Abilities'', a

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

album that received critical appraisal. With a more prominent and diverse use of vocals, this album made use of the talent of

Timo Kotipelto Timo Antero Kotipelto (born 15 March 1969) is a Finnish musician best known as the lead singer of the power metal band Stratovarius, whom he joined in 1994, as well as fronting his own band Kotipelto. Biography He studied vocals at the pop/ja ...

(from Stratovarius), Pasi Nykänen (from

Throne of Chaos Throne of Chaos (TOC) were a heavy metal band from Espoo, Finland, active from 1996 to 2005. Their early sound, as recorded on their debut album ''Menace and Prayer'', has been described as melodic death metal, having musical characteristics re ...

) and returning vocalist Kimberly Goss.

''Accept the Fact'' (2005–2006)

Their third album, ''Accept the Fact'' was released in June 2005 and features vocals by Timo Kotipelto, Marko Vaara, Jonna Kosonen and

Alexi Laiho Alexi Laiho ( IE-ho born Markku Uula Aleksi Laiho; 8 April 1979 – 29 December 2020) was a Finnish guitarist, composer, and vocalist. He was best known as the lead guitarist, lead vocalist and founding member of the melodic death metal band C ...

from Children of Bodom. Alexi performs clean vocals in "Somebody's Watching Me" (originally by Rockwell), which is rare, since in Children of Bodom he has performed clean vocals in only one song, a cover of "

Rebel Yell The rebel yell was a battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. Confederate soldiers used the yell when charging to intimidate the enemy and boost their own morale, although the yell had many other uses. No audio ...

", originally by

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

. The spoken words on the first track "Accept the Fact" are taken from the movie ''

Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: *Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music *Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name * ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer * ''Amadeus'' (film), ...

'', spoken by the character ''

Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarchy ...

''.

''Japanese Hospitality'' (2008–2010)

The fourth Warmen album, titled ''Japanese Hospitality'', was released on August 24, 2009 via

Spinefarm Records Spinefarm Records is a Finnish independent record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. It is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. History Spinefarm Records was originally founded in 1990 by Riku Pääkkönen as a mail-order distrib ...

. The 10-song effort includes two cover versions — "Separate Ways", originally recorded by

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

, and "Black Cat" by

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, featuring a guest appearance by the Finnish pop/rock singer Jonna Kosonen. Other guest musicians that appear on the CD include Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom) and

Pasi Rantanen Pasi Rantanen (born 30 October 1969, in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish singer best known for his power metal band Thunderstone, of which he was a member from the band's creation in 2000 until 2007. He rejoined Thunderstone in 2013 as a full-tim ...

(ex- Thunderstone).

''First of the Five Elements'' (2014–present)

On July 9, 2014, Warmen started a campaign on

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

to have fans help fund the production of the album, titled ''First of the Five Elements''. This campaign was successful and the album was released on that same year.

Band members

Current members *

Janne Viljami Wirman Janne Viljami "Warman" Wirman (born 26 April 1979) is a Finnish musician; he is the former keyboardist for the Finnish metal band Children of Bodom from 1997 to 2019 and currently collaborating with Warmen. Biography 150px, left, Wirman in 20 ...

– keyboards *

Mirka Rantanen Mirka Rantanen (born ) is a Finnish musician. He was the drummer for power metal band Thunderstone when it formed in 2000. Rantanen has also drummed for a number of other Finnish bands, including as a session member for the supergroup Northern Ki ...

– drums * Antti Wirman – guitars * Jyri Helko – bass guitar Former members * Sami Virtanen – guitars *

Lauri Porra Lauri Porra (born 13 December 1977) is a Finnish bass guitarist and a composer who has written scores for films and other media, as well as commissions from orchestras such as the Lahti Symphony and the Finnish Radio Symphony. He is also known fo ...

– bass guitar

Timeline

Discography

Albums

* ''Unknown Soldier'' (2000) * ''Beyond Abilities'' (2001) * ''Accept the Fact'' (2005) * ''Japanese Hospitality'' (2009) * ''First of the Five Elements'' (2014)

Compilations

*''The Evil That Warmen Do'' (2010)

Singles

* ''Alone'' (2001) * ''Somebody's Watching Me'' (2005) * ''They All Blame Me'' (2005)

References

{{Authority control Finnish heavy metal musical groups Finnish progressive metal musical groups Finnish power metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2000 Nuclear Blast artists