If you want to be very literal about Warmen’s new album and its title, you could say that yes, of course, they named it Band of Brothers. After all, the two core members of the band, and longest-tenured, are the incredibly talented Wirman brothers. Since you’re reading this review, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of older brother Janne, who according to his current bandmates, basically invented the way keyboard is played in extreme metal today during his time in Children of Bodom. And you also probably know his younger brother Antti, who’s been creating the ferocious riffs and solos present on every Warmen album since Beyond Abilities, and even longer than that if you count his work on Unknown Soldier from before he had his driver's license.
But if you take a broader perspective on the record’s name, and consider the band’s history, you’ll quickly come to realize that it encompasses far more than just a familial bond of two of Finland’s finest metal musicians. Warmen began as Janne’s side project shortly after Children of Bodom ascended into the international metal scene in the late 1990s. After starting as a mostly instrumental project, each subsequent release after Unknown Soldier featured more songs with lyrics. Wanting to differentiate the project from his main band, Janne chose to rotate through a number of guest singers on these albums, including Pasi Rantanen (Thunderstone), Timo Kotipelto (Stratovarius), and of course, a few guest appearances from Alexi Laiho, amongst others up through 2014’s The First of the Five Elements. The focal point of these records was largely the incredible skill on keyboard that Janne displayed on Children of Bodom’s ten studio albums and innumerable live shows throughout the group’s existence, contrasted with the skillful playing of his younger brother Antti, with some playful covers mixed in that showcased the brothers’ sense of levity. While the compositions remained brilliant, Warmen was still considered more of a side project with rotating guest musicians rather than a fully developed band.
By the time Warmen would release their follow-up to The First of the Five Elements, several events would take place that shaped the future of the group that we know them as today. Children of Bodom would play their final show in December 2019 and cease being an active band after a tumultuous final year together. Alexi Laiho would pass away a year later. A worldwide pandemic turned the music industry on its head. Disenchanted by all of the above, Janne Wirman would consider never playing music professionally again.
Despite all of these setbacks, Warmen surprisingly re-emerged with Here for None in 2023 with a tighter approach to songwriting and a revamped, consistent lineup for the first time. Enlisting Petri Lindroos (Ensiferum, Norther) as their lead vocalist, Here for None represented the first Warmen album to feature the same singer on every track. Whereas on previous albums the group jumped between instrumental and power and death metal (depending on who was behind the mic), this album was strictly melodic death metal, making it the first step towards what the band has become in the present day. Pete was no stranger to the group either – he’d known the guys from Children of Bodom since his days drinking toilet punch at their shared rehearsal space in Nosturi when he was a teenager. That rehearsal space was shared with several other important musicians who were responsible for the burgeoning extreme metal scene in Finland, including the aforementioned groups and Amorphis. Rounding out the lineup were Jyri “Snake” Helko, a member of Warmen since 2009, and drummer Seppo Tarvainen, who’d been playing in metal bands in Finland since 2003. The familiarity of the players with each other from the Finnish extreme metal scene, which has expanded exponentially in the years since those days at Nosturi thanks to the bands rehearsing there, expands the definition of the term “brothers” even further.
This preamble is necessary to understand Band of Brothers, which represents the next step in Warmen’s evolution as a band. As the first album the group truly wrote together, Band of Brothers picks up where Here for None left off but delves further into the new direction they set for themselves on its predecessor. It is an angrier, heavier, and more brutal album that is no doubt the result of the band’s cohesive approach to songwriting and actually knowing who was going to sing the lyrics for the record (Lindroos joined the band after most lyrics for Here for None were written). Band of Brothers rarely gives the listener a moment to breathe – it is an unrelenting 41-minute piece of aggressive melodic death mastery.
The album kicks off, like most Warmen albums, with the familiar sound of Janne Wirman’s keyboard for approximately two seconds before the rest of the band delivers a crushing introduction to the eponymous lead single “Band of Brothers.” The riffing relents ever so slightly at the chorus to make room for a trademark keyboard melody, as Lindroos shouts “we are one for all ‘til the end!” Dueling guitar and keyboard solos, another hallmark of Warmen and Children of Bodom, are in full force on this track and throughout the album. The listener is even treated to a rogue “Fuck death!” from Pete as the track concludes, an homage to a lyric from “Death’s On Its Way” from Here for None that was based solely on a piece of artwork from Antti’s home studio.
Before the listener has a moment to reflect on the title track, the jarring vocals-only beginning of “One More Year” starts with Lindroos shouting “Reap what you sow!” before the rest of his bandmates join in with a fast-paced ripper that seems to reflect on the desolation of alcohol abuse. “Nine Lives,” the second single of the album, recalls “Hell on Four Wheels” from Here for None, but with a Slayer-ish riff with a tinge of Teutonic thrash.
The lone moment where Band of Brothers takes a slight rest is during “When Doves Cry Blood,” but that merely means that this is the only mid-tempo song on the record. Even so, it still picks up through the chorus, again features a sprawling guitar and keyboard solo section that rips, and features maybe Lindroos’ finest vocal delivery of the album. Warmen ratchet it back up to full speed with “Out for Blood” with another German heavy metal inspired riff with vengeance themed lyrics – the best of which may be “from the cradle, to your final breath…”.
“Kingdom of Rust” starts up with an airy, catchy keyboard melody that repeats during the chorus, and according to Janne, “tells the tragic story of not fixing your cards and just drinking,” which is echoed in the lyric perhaps my favorite lyric on the album – “my demons are laughing at me while I’m drinking alone in my garage.” The group conjures mid-2000s Children of Bodom with the opening of “March or Die,” another fast-paced ripper with triplet riffing that comments on the futility of war. The composition of “Untouched,” written by Lindroos and Tarvainen, pays homage to early 2000s Finnish metal and will likely be the third single released from the album.
“Coup de Grace” begins with a drum intro that calls to mind the breakdown in “Phoenix” by countrymen Stratovarius that repeats throughout the track. A haunting keyboard melody, along with Lindroos’ angry vocals, are amongst the many highlights on the album’s penultimate track. The album concludes at breakneck pace with “Dethroned,” with a galloping midsection that leads up to dazzling solos from the Wirman brothers before the album finally relents.
Warmen’s choice of “The Kiss of Judas” as a bonus track for the album reflects the importance of Stratovarius to inspiring those same groups that practiced so many years ago in Nosturi. Conceived on a train ride that may have involved vodka, the members of the band decided to cover the track as an homage to the group that gave them, and many other aspiring Finnish metal musicians, something to aim for when they were just starting out in their own musical careers.
Band of Brothers feels like the next step in Warmen’s evolution as a full-fledged force in the melodic death metal world. Every member of the band is in top form on the album. The guitar work from Antti Wirman and Petri Lindroos is ferocious and inspiring. The rhythm section of Jyri Helko and Seppo Tarvainen provide the rock-solid foundation for this record. Lindroos’ contributions on vocals are invaluable for the group and his performance on Band of Brothers further solidifies him as the voice of the band.
At the forefront, as always, is the masterful keyboard work of Janne Wirman. But whereas his playing used to be the focal point, the compositions on Band of Brothers utilize his playing in a way that feels more natural and akin to how it was used in Children of Bodom, a band that is no doubt entrenched in Warmen’s DNA. But despite elements of Children of Bodom being present in the music - how could they not be? - Warmen are firmly pushing into new territory in the melodic death metal world that is unique and distinct from what came before. They are carrying the legacy of Children of Bodom, Norther, and so many other groups that were indispensable in creating the Finnish extreme metal scene that exists today. Band of Brothers is another shining moment that builds on that legacy and further enshrines Warmen and its members in the pantheon of Finnish metal greatness.
Overall Rating: 8.5 White Russians out of 10
Standout Tracks: “Band of Brothers,” “One More Year,” “Nine Lives,” “Out for Blood,” “Kingdom of Rust,” “Untouched,” “Dethroned”
Recommendation: Grab a Fat Lizard or a bucket of toilet punch, fire this album up, and play it loud while drinking in your garage (preferably not alone).
Band of Brothers is due out on August 15th through Reaper Entertainment. The singles “Band of Brothers" and “Nine Lives" are available on all major streaming platforms. The album is available for pre-order at the link below:
Information about Warmen’s festival dates and other appearances can be found here:
In case you missed it, I had a chance to speak with Janne and Antti about Band of Brothers and all things Warmen and Children of Bodom in June. Check it out HERE:
