Warmen is a Finnish heavy metal band assembled by keyboardist Janne "Warman" Wirman. Wirman has played with Children of Bodom 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.
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 (from Sinergy), guitarist Roope Latvala (also from Sinergy, later also from Children of Bodom) and bassist Jari Kainulainen (from Stratovarius).
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). In the Warmen Productions Studio (now called Beyond Abilities), this line-up recorded the album Beyond Abilities, a progressive metal album that received critical appraisal.[by whom?] With a more prominent and diverse use of vocals, this album made use of the talent of Timo Kotipelto (from Stratovarius), Pasi Nykänen (from Throne of Chaos) and returning vocalist Kimberly Goss.
Their third album, Accept the Fact was released in June 2005 and features vocals by Timo Kotipelto, Marko Vaara, Jonna Kosonen and Alexi Laiho 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", originally by Billy Idol. The spoken words on the first track "Accept the Fact" are taken from the movie Amadeus, spoken by the character Antonio Salieri.
The fourth Warmen album, titled Japanese Hospitality, was released on August 24, 2009 via Spinefarm Records. The 10-song effort includes two cover versions — "Separate Ways", originally recorded by Journey, and "Black Cat" by Janet Jackson, 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 (ex-Thunderstone).[1]
On July 9, 2014, Warmen started a campaign on PledgeMusic to have fans help fund the production of the album, titled First of the Five Elements.[2] This campaign was successful and the album was released on that same year.
In late March 2023, the band announced drummer Mirka Rantanen was leaving the band and was being replaced by Seppo Tarvainen. A few weeks later, the band announced Petri LindroosofEnsiferum as the band's first vocalist.[3] The band is also planning on releasing a new album in 2023.[4]
On 31 May, the band announced their upcoming album, Here for None, would be released on August 18.[5]
