Search - Warmen :: Beyond Abilities

Not a Stratovarius clone......

tininculiaqui | Chile | 03/01/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Great band! (Its supposed that is a solo project from Warman) but don't think its the same of Stratovarius, it has many differences. This 2nd album has more songs with vocal, so its more interesting than the first one. Warman demostrates that a keyboard master can be better than a guitar hero.....Buy warmen now!!!!!!"

Children of Bodom's keyboardist stretches with solo project

Phillip Collins | Medway, Ohio USA | 01/25/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"On this second solo effort, Children of Bodom keyboardist Warmen showcases some of his exceptional abilities. Exchanging some fiery leads with the guitarist, Warmen weaves an intricate tapestry of progressive metal reminiscent of Stratovarius and Yngwie Malmsteem. Kimberly Goss and Timo Koltipelto put in appearances, lending their voices to some great songs. Replete with some addictive melodies, pyrotechnic runs, and soaring vocals, Warmen's second album makes for some great listening."

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!

Matt Stoessel | Tolland, CT USA | 02/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Who ever said that side projects can't be good?! Well, this has got to be the 2nd best one I've heard, behind Luca Turilli. Songs off this album have gone on mixes for friends of mine (trying to show them that euro metal is the way to go with music) like berserk since I got the album. Friends at lunch loved it, and as we speak, a friend of mine has it. How good is this album? Good enough for this many people to be interested in it, of course! First of all, this is recorded at the famous Finnvox Studios - the dreamworld for drummers. The main guy behind this side project is the keyboardist of Children of Bodom. Don't get too excited, though. His keyboards are mostly riffs - not atmospheric sounds, like in Downfall (last song on Hatebreeder). 3 of the people in this side project also played in Timo Kotipelto's side project, "Waiting for the Dawn". One of them was Janne Warmen. Speaking of Timo... he sings in 2 songs on here. Kimberly Goss also sings 2 full songs, the normal singer sings in track 5, and someone does dialogue during the album's shortest track, "Confessions", which is a grand piano - SOLO. Speed? Mostly mid-tempo and some slower stuff. Singer's Chance is a fast song and half of War of Worlds is hyper-speed (my fastest classification except blastbeats). If you've heard Sonata Arctica, Norther, Children of Bodom, or even Stratovarius, you'll STILL be shocked at how good this is. I have never heard an album with so much variation and still have EVERY track catch attention of some kind. Luca Turilli's side project does this, but not EVERY track is so appealing. Tracks 2-4 on here are my least favorites, 5 and 9 tying for 2nd least favorite, and 1, 6-8, 10, and 11 are my favorites. How about that? More than half the album is my favorite songs!!! Length? About 46 minutes. No song peaks to the 7 minute mark. Tracks 1, 4, and 9-11 are pure instrumental. What kinds of songs are these? Track 1 (title track): awesome melody - 2nd favorite keyboard riff of all time. 2: Timo sings, but other than that, not wonderful. 3: Kimberly sings, least favorite on the album. 4: Not that great either, instrumental. 5: Don't know how to classify the vocalist. Its not screaming, grunting, OR growling, but harsh as all heck. 6: Singer's Chance - one of the MOST EMOTIONAL songs I've ever heard, at least for me. "Here I am, I have to sing it out....." .......just oh my God. Its incredible, sung by Timo. Track 7: then comes a song that sounds like an early 80s ballad, sung by Kimberly. 8: Confessions - so amazing. This piano player is the same guy who plays alongside Wildchild on Hate Crew Deathroll a year after this. 9: Someone in my trig class said that she liked it even better than Confessions, but I don't know why. I think its pretty good, but for this style, look in Italy. "Black Realms Majesty" comes to mind bigtime. 10: War of Worlds - SO FAST!!!!!!!!!, yet so progressive when not hyper-speed. I've never heard anything like it. The drums beat Alone by Amorphis and the solos beat anything by a prog band I've ever heard. Atmospheric keyboards are finally introduced. Then........ 11: Atmospheric keyboards to the maximum. If you bought this CD because you like Highlord and their keyboard riffs, this is the one song that will disappoint you. However, if you love Stratovarius's Visions album, then this song is for you. There are so many keyboards!!! Alright, normally I do a band comparison for you guys, but ........I just had to restart my computer, and during that time, nothing came to mind. The only thing I thought of is that War of Worlds sounds A LOT like the guitar riff in "The Power of One" by Sonata Arctica. After that, I don't know what to say. Imagine European prog (Pagan's Mind, Ivory Tower, etc.) plus melodic death metal (Norther, Children of Bodom, Skyfire, Eternal Tears of Sorrow). That's about all I can give you. Well, I should say, GO BUY IT!!! You won't regret it!!! This is just TOO DARN GOOD!!! When you get the time, go read some of my other reviews and say if they were helpful to you or not."