Unknown Soldier [Import]

Warmen | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 3, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Spinefarm
• ASIN: B00004VULB
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #779,130 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Introduction

2. The Evil That Warmen Do

3. Devil's Mistress

4. Hopeless Optimism

5. Unknown Soldier

6. Fire Within

7. Warcry of Salieri

8. Into the Oblivion

9. Piano Intro To

10. Treasure Within

11. Soldiers of Fortune

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars close but no cigar, October 24, 2000

By 

Federico Golcher (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unknown Soldier (Audio CD)

I'm a big Children of Bodom fan so I was very excited about this album. The album is well executed and there is no denying the talent of the musicians on it. There is also a couple of tracks that are very powerful and probably worth the price of admission alone. Unfortunately I found the album overall mediocre. Some of the keyboardist's ideas are a little tacky now and then, and it seems he runs out of ideas sometimes and so turns to elements he might have used in other tracks giving the album a sense of déjà vu. The potential in this band is immense, though, so I'm looking forward for their next album. A little more musical taste and fresher ideas could make it a classic. Temporary relief for the next CoB album this is not and if you're looking for impressive metal instrumentals you're better off buying a Liquid Tension Experiment album. But the album does have its amazing moments and jaw-dropping executions so fans of the genre will enjoy it plenty and will have their good share of music that is worth listening to.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars pretty good album!, June 7, 2004

By 

Matt Stoessel (Tolland, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unknown Soldier (Audio CD)

This came BEFORE Beyond Abilities?!?! This one is almost better! The only thing is that Beyond Abilities shows more maturity and its songs are more attracting to a non-euro metal lover. This album should, however, be easier to find than it is.

Other than the cover art and the peacefulness that Unknown Soldier doesn't have, the albums sound almost the same. This album has 2 songs (tracks 2 and 8) with Stratovarius's bass player, and they are FAST. Drums are amazing, as the album is mastered at Finnvox.

Kimberly Goss - yeah, she sings on 2 or 3 of the songs. Those are the only vocals on the album. She sounds like she fits into this album a lot more than she did on B.A.. The keyboard riffs on this album are faster, on an overall basis.

I don't find this as enjoyable now that I'm used to it. When you listen to it for your first time, you'll love it cause its different, but its not THAT great. Oh - and about the cover art... remember that a death metal keyboardist started this side project.

I believe that track 10 on this album is the only Warmen song that uses those super powerful keyboard sounds that you hear a lot of on Hatebreeder, particularly in Downfall. Also, track 11 is quite atmospheric, just like the closer on B.A.. There is a bonus track, which is a pretty nice ballad. I enjoy it. Kim sings in it.

Other than simply raving about it, there's not much else to add in terms of what this sounds like. If you want more, go read my review for Beyond Abilities.

When you get the chance, please take the time to go read some of my other reviews and say if they were helpful to you or not. Thanks.

4.0 out of 5 stars Janne Warman Unleashed, August 9, 2006

By 

Tim Jewell (Inland Empire) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Unknown Soldier (Audio CD)

I'm probably not alone in saying this, but the main reason I was attracted to Children of Bodom from the start was the strong emphasis on keyboard use. There are lot of melodic death metal bands that sound good, but few of them stand out from the rest of the crowd; however, with the outstanding musicianship of frontman Alexi Laiho and the wonderful keyboard ambience and soloing from Janne Warman, the virtuosic young band from Finland really stood out to me in comparison to similar bands like Norther. So naturally, when I discovered that Janne was also involved in a side-project that emphasized this keyboard use, I was delighted and made it my mission to hunt down an album. I originally meant to purchase their critically acclaimed album "Beyond Abilities", but I instead found this one at my local F.Y.E. and bought it, nto knowing when I'd find anything else by them. The first track is the same wonderful keyboard talent displayed in a lot of Children of Bodom's material, but following songs didn't place as high an emphasis on speed and had a sort of dry ambience about them. By the close of the final song I wasn't as satisfied as I thought I'd be, but it was still a relatively fulfilling album and I'm glad I bought it to sample Janne's talent when not playing with his main band. Lastly is the drumming, provided by Mirka Rantanen, which is acceptable and appears in several solos that are a little unnecessary, as it tends to take away from the overall enjoyment of the songs and comes off as show-offy at best. Still, Mirka is a good drummer and does his job, so no complaints there.

Needless to say, the highlight of the album is Janne's impressive keyboard prowess. His familar soloing is best seen in the album opener "The Evil That Warmen Do" and "Into the Oblivion", but he mostly focuses on ambience, especially in the Kimberly Goss-assisted tracks "Devil's Mistress" and "Fire Within". The former of the two, while it didn't appeal to me too much at first, grew on me and has become one of my favorite tracks on the album, as the melodic progression is quite beautiful and Ms. Goss seems comfortable with her voice, neither overdoing it or underdoing it. With the latter of the two she gets more into the pseudo-Bruce Dickinson power metal-type vocalizations, which are enjoyable but don't sound as dynamic as her other performance. Another enjoyable track is the soothing yet intense "Piano Intro To...", which sounds like what Janne's normal keyboard debauchery would sound like on a standard piano. Guitarists on this album include Sinergy axeman Roope Latvala (who would later go on to replace Children of Bodom guitarist Alexander Kuoppala) and Sami Virtanen, who play some great solos that complement the ambience and stay in synchronization with the keyboard parts. Also starring on this album is Stratovarius bassist Jari Kainulainen, who does some great bass work that is especially noticeable on "Treasure Within" (he does some popping at various parts in the song) and is good at staying on task by providing subtle tone to the veritable keyboard carnival.

Bottom line: fans of Children of Bodom will want to pick this up to see the keyboardist in action, but compared to other releases like "Beyond Abilities", it's somewhat inferior in raw power. Nevertheless, it is still a very enjoyable album that is a good choice for anyone who loves keyboards in their metal and above-average female metal vocalists. Also, if you do happen to own this album and haven't listened to any of Janne's work in Children of Bodom (unlikely, though), check out "Something Wild", "Hatebreeder", or "Follow the Reaper" to get a good idea of what else he's capable of.

Track Selections: "The Evil That Warmen Do", "Into the Oblivion", and "Treasure Within"

8/10