Artist: Warmen
Title: Japanese Hospitality
Type: Album
Label: Spinefarm
Warmen, if you don’t know about them already, is the band of Janne Warman, the keyboard player of Children of Bodom. He and his mates have been bringing us their brand of Finnish melody since 2000. Triple-X rated melody, in fact. Janne’s mates include Timo Kotipelto of Statovarius fame and guitar maestro Alexi Laiho, both of whom make guest appearances on this album. “Japanese Hospitality” features in part that blood rush which you would associate with Children of Bodom, and even more prominently their Americanised rock, occasionally classic metal instincts. In fact the American influence looms large in this selection, which includes covers of “Separate Ways”, the 1983 song by Journey and Janet Jackson’s “Black Cat”. Mixed in with this is a strong dose of foot-tapping Power Metal, tinkling keyboard solos aplenty, yet more Americanised rock and a track which sounds like it could have been taken off the latest Pagan’s Mind album. Clearly, the lads just do what they want to do. The good news is that it’s easy to join in.
Yes, this album is a mixed bag like their previous album “Accept the Fact”. The instrumental title track opens, sounding like the theme music for a TV action series. It is the prelude to a fast and exciting Power Metal track “Eye of the Storm”. Kotipelto’s vocal style and the way the rhythm guitar chugs along speedily reminded me of Brainstorm. The track, and indeed the album as a whole, becomes a vehicle for a flamboyant duet of keyboard and guitar-playing. “Goodbye” takes off in another direction. This track, “Don’t Bring Her Here” and the Jackson cover “”Black Cat” all feature Jonna Kosonen on vocals. I could not get it out of my head that she sounds like Lulu. It’s a perfect match. Having a feisty female with a nice voice pumping out the vocals to a US rock track with a touch of heaviness at the beginning, a chunky guitar riff and solos is a good combination. It works on “Don’t Bring Her Here”, a light and bubbly track in a Classic Rock style. Likewise “Black Cat”, with its tones of 90s rock, ZZ Top and all that, has “Lulu” rocking us. It’s not Heavy Metal, and I found this one a bit too cheesy, but I cannot deny that it’s funky and moves and grooves. In the middle of all this is “My Fallen Angel”, a Power Metal track of Masterplan proportions. The sound quality is resonant, there’s drama as you would expect of this genre, and there’s speed, melody, emotion and even menace. The drum taps out the rhythm while the formula deviates a bit with the keyboard solo. The instrumental “Switcharoo” develops the notion of the keyboard and guitar duet, while featuring an ostentatious drum solo. “Switcharoo” follows “High Heels on Cobble Stone”, a track of pure Bodomesque proportions. I don’t necessarily mean that as a compliment. When I heard this, I recalled seeing Bodom live and Laiho resting on a Cadillac and being a Rock Star / complete poser* (* delete as appropriate). Here, from the “3 – 2 – 1, Go” beginning, it’s Warmen being Rock Stars. There’s something childish about this, but I must say it’s still fast, furious and invigorating. Much better for me was the more philosophical “Unconditional Confession”, which starts in the sinister fashion of Green Carnation and develops the strange and captivating quality of a Pagan’s Mind track. And then to finish there’s “Separate Ways”. It’s essentially a pop track, cheesy as hell, and soundtrack to the American film of your choice. But it’s got the beat, the singer has the right level of emotion and the chorus is utterly catchy. Thanks to the guitar work and the sound production, I’d say it was meatier than the original. Unsurprisingly, “Separate Ways” is the first single off the album, but it’s clear that there are others on this largely commercial release.
On the face of it, “Japanese Hospitality”, like its predecessor “Accept the Fact” is all over the place but without question the tracks are addictive and there’s a warmth about them. Some of it was not what I normally like, but I found it very pleasant to listen to. Warmen are not trying to create Extreme Metal. There are a number of people this album could appeal to, especially lovers of Power Metal and Classic American Rock. It is a fact that Warmen are good at creating fresh, lively and melodic tracks, and given the right exposure their infectious music could win them a lot of new supporters.
http://www.warmen.org
http://www.myspace.com/warmenofficial
http://www.spinefarm.fi
Andrew Doherty
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