Warmen

By Carl Begai

Children Of Bodom vocalist/guitarist Alexi Laiho and keyboardist Janne Wirman recently completed their official press junket for the band’s new album, I Worship Chaos. It’s a record that will ultimately keep the faithful Bodomites happy the way the band’s previous album Halo Of Blood did, while offering up a few surprises as it plays out. During the interview for BraveWords – coming soon – we stepped away from I Worship Chaos a little bit to discuss some recent projects outside the band that ultimately remain linked to Finland’s favourite Hatecrew.

And yes, “Hel” is spelled correctly in the title above. Trust me.

Diehard fans are well aware of Wirman’s other band, Warmen, and Laiho’s connection to it. Unlike Children Of Bodom, which features primarily Laiho-powered songs, Wirman calls the shots along with his brother Antti (guitars) in Warmen. Laiho has made guest appearances on the last three Warmen albums, however, and has performed live with the band on occasion. Warmen’s latest record, First Of The Five Elements, features Laiho on the song “Suck My Attitude”, a track that realistically could have been submitted and recorded as a Children Of Bodom tune without pissing off the vast majority of fans. Much the same way “High Heels On Cobblestone” from Warmen’s previous album, Japanese Hospitality, could have survived the COB treatment.

“Yeah, almost, but that’s not the way we think,” says Wirman. “Sure, if ‘Suck My Attitude’ had a little tweaking done it could almost pass as a Bodom song, but that’s not the point. I think ‘Suck My Attitude’ is more Lamb Of God influenced, and it was written mostly by my brother. Obviously people can hear the Children Of Bodom influence in it, but I hear lots of Lamb Of God in there because both of us are huge fans. It’s funny because it’s almost like a tribute (laughs). Getting Alexi to sing on the song, and the ‘Suck my attitude!’ chorus, just fit perfectly. I love how it turned out, and I really love the fact we got to play it live this summer at the Tuska festival with Alexi singing with us.” Continue reading CHILDREN OF BODOM – Chaos, Attitude, A Gig In Hel

Warmen_2009_5 By Carl Begai

Four albums into his long suffering Warmen project and Children Of Bodom keyboardist Janne Wirman can officially say he has a second band. Not that he needs one. Bodom has grown from a little known Finnish punk-fried neo-death flavoured export to one of the most popular and equally loathed metal bands around, giving Janne very little free time between touring and the studio. Even so, he and his brother Antti (guitars) managed to spit out what is hands down the strongest album of Warmen’s career. A song-oriented platter rather than a showcase for Janne’s keyboard acrobatics – although there’s plenty of pseudo-ivory shred to be had – Japanese Hospitality sounds like a band effort. Straightforward and to the point, it touches on everything from rock and pop to a full metal racket that smacks more than a little of Children Of Bodom, yet keeps things streamlined and focused. No dicking around this time. At this point the music is easily identifiable as a Warmen album rather than an attempt by Janne to do something away from the comfort of home.

“Everybody’s been saying that Warmen finally sounds like a band with this one and I agree,” says Janne. “Warmen has found it’s path, I guess you could say.”

A path that was beginning to look like the one that swallowed the long-awaited and presently lost Sinergy album featuring Children Of Bodom vocalist / guitarist Alexi Laiho and guitarist Roope Latvala…
Continue reading WARMEN – Lord Of The ‘Board