LIVE REPORT: Enemies Everywhere & Warmen
Tavastia; August 18th, 2024
For fans of Children of Bodom and Norther, there’s no sweeter band these days than Warmen. Having originated as Janne Wirman’s side project apart from Bodom, which had guest musicians, the band now features a stable lineup that includes, alongside Wirman’s brother Antti Wirman, vocalist/guitarist Petri Lindroos (Ensiferum) Jyri Helko (ex-Oceanhoarse), and drummer Seppo Tarvanen (Church of the Dead). This extremely tight group released a fantastic album called “Here for None” last year and have been on a casual tour ever since its release. Since I was on merch duty for their opener, Vansidian, during their album release shows in 2023 and since I was on merch duty at Dark River Festival at their most recent festival show on August 8th, I’ve been sorry that I haven’t had the chance to properly watch one of their performances. Fortunately, they did one last headlining club show this year at Tavastia on August 17th, 2024, so I was finally able to get the chance to watch and listen to them properly.
Since a friend of mine had traveled all the way from Illinois for the opportunity to see Warmen live (twice, as she was also at Dark River Festival), it seemed only appropriate to come to town early to have a look around and get some food. After a trip to the big second hand store, we popped in for dinner at Momo Toko in Kamppi, only to find that they’ve changed their menu. I won’t say it’s as good as it used to be but it wasn’t notably worse either (though it did seem less fresh). We then did a short tourist walk down to Ruttopuisto (Vanha Kirkkopuisto) to see the Kalevala statue that has a hidden devil’s face on it.
We then returned to Tavastia and joined the line… gosh it has been years since I’ve actually queued to get into a venue when it opens—what a trip to the past. This wasn’t by design, but rather because we just ended up spending less time on our way to town than expected. However, it did have the fortunate outcome of us being able to get good seats on the balcony where we had pretty good privacy and a great view of the stage.
Now, as I get into the show itself, keep in mind that I’m going through a ‘not-very-into-metal’ phase right now.
What Enemies Everywhere had going for them was a very heavy metalcore sound. I was particularly impressed by the very tight beats held together by their drummer and the singer had a powerful growl/shriek, though I couldn’t really hear their bass or guitars over everything else. Musically, they stood out from other bands in their genre for having some symphonic backing tracks, but as to whether that was a good thing or not… well, it first of all would have sounded far better if they had been played by a live keyboardist. As it was, the symphonic sound restricted and perhaps held back the rest of the performance, and didn’t seem to blend in well with the mix, so I did find myself wondering if their set would have benefited from dropping the backing tracks. On that note, the backing tracks were the only thing that didn’t make me immediately write them off as another completely competent yet average-sounding metal band of which there are too many in Finland, so make of that what you will.
Enemies Everywhere; Samsung Galaxy S20
One thing of note too, which I feel needs mentioning, as it’s not the first time I’ve seen it happen this year: bands really shouldn’t allow their personal photographers to actively walk on the stage to take close-ups. It looks messy, unprofessional, and distracts the audience because they’re wondering why someone that isn’t in the band is there interfering and possibly getting in the way. It just doesn’t look good. Getting sick close-ups is not worth lessening the experience for the paying audience. I do, however, sympathize with photographers generally because Tavastia doesn’t seem to do photo pits these days for some reason.
There was a 3o-minute stage changeover as the roadies took apart Enemies Everywhere’s gear and got things ready for the headliner. The first thing that threw me off my grumpy game was that immediately, Warmen actually changed up their setlist for this show. Here I was, cracking my fingers and getting ready to complain about bands never changing their setlists anymore, so folks who see them multiple times only ever get served the same songs… and I was served up a hearty slice of humble pie instead. In fact, I could be wrong but I don’t think they’ve played a cover of “Bodom Beach Terror” during their tour, so those people who came to their final show were treated to something fresh, which was pretty awesome.
I could and probably should spend a bit of time in this review talking about how generally impressed I am with Jyri Helko. During the very first song, “The Driving Force,” I found my eyes glued to his fingers because they were moving so bloody quickly. I am known for regularly griping about bands not using their bassists enough but Warmen certainly put Jyri to work and work he does. The whole night, I remained completely impressed and he was by far the most fun to watch too, with those dreadlocks flying all over the place.
Amongst the set were, as per the tour’s norm, four Children of Bodom songs. This time, as mentioned, “Bodom Beach Terror” had replaced “Every Time I Die.” It’s a nice selection of nostalgia tracks and Pete Lindroos does an admiral job of them, though it would have been cool to hear him try out some of the band’s older material. My visiting friend—who is a very big fan of Children of Bodom and never had the chance to see them live—was lamenting the fact that they weren’t playing more of their own material at Dark River Festival, as she thought that “Here for None” stands on its own as a fantastic album, so lucky for her they played the entire album during this club show (or, lucky for all of us, really).
As a whole, Warmen are a pretty tight package and deliver a lot of very solid melodic death metal that has that distinct Norther-meets-Bodom flavor that works really well, especially with Pete Lindroos on vocals. While he doesn’t sound as deranged as his predecessor doing the Rockwell cover of “Somebody’s Watching Me,” his strong growl and reliable rhythms make him an ideal vocalist for the band’s resurgence. Also, shout-out to Antti Wirman for some really phenomenal solos throughout the night… really, everyone on stage were excellent musicians, as Seppo Tarvainen kept the beat interesting with almost lazy ease. And, of course, Janne Wirman makes for a surprisingly good front when he talks to the crowd, considering he seems like a rather quiet guy off stage. It was kind of him to do a few of his speeches and song introductions in English for the foreigners in the audience, which of course included my friend and surely helps people feel more included when they travel long distances to see a concert.
And since it seemed like the right thing to do with a tourist, after the show we went out to the Bodom Bar & Sauna in Espoo, so she could see Children of Bodom museum material there and get a shirt. It was pretty hot inside and we were tired though, so we didn’t stick around and instead called it a night.
Ultimately, even if I’m not really feeling metal right now, I can’t deny that a night spent watching good music is hardly a night wasted. Plus, it was great to get to see my friend getting another opportunity to see them while she was here, with the added bonus of an extra song in there. It was also nice to get to watch their show properly for a change, since I’ve been working at the last shows I’ve been to. There’s definitely a nostalgic feeling to Warmen for back when I saw Norther a bajillion times when I first moved to Finland, as well as that tinge of Bodom too. Of course, really, they are worth seeing for their own material, so if you get a chance to see them playing and you’re into their music, don’t miss out!
Warmen; Samsung Galaxy S20
Setlist
The Driving Force
Night Terrors
The End of the Line
Too Much, Too Late
A World of Pain
The Cold Unknown
Suck My Attitude
Sixpounder (Children of Bodom cover)
Hate Me! (Children of Bodom cover)
Bodom Beach Terror (Children of Bodom cover)
Warmen Are Here for None
Death’s on Its Way
Encore
In Your Face (Children of Bodom cover)
Hell on Four Wheels
Somebody’s Watching Me (Rockwell cover)
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