WARMEN is a solo undertaking of the much esteemed CHILDREN OF BODOM keyboard player Janne Wirman. The man had also been employed on a session basis for demo work by THUNDERSTONE. For the debut 'Unknown Soldier' album, issued in September 2000, Wirman employed TUNNELVISION members guitarist Sami Virtanen and drummer Mirka Rantanen, the latter also employed with THUNDERSTONE. Also involved in the project was STRATOVARIUS bassist Jari Kainulainen, WISARD's Antti Warmen and Pekka Palmo, SINERGY, STONE, LATVALA BROS and WALTARI guitarist Roope Latvala and SINERGY vocalist Kimberley Goss.

The album was issued by Spinefarm in their native Finland and by the Toys Factory label in Japan with an extra track 'Dead Reflection'.

The band released an ambitious cover version of HEART's 'Alone' as a single in Finland during October 2001. WARMEN debuted live the following month fronted by former TUNNELVISION and THUNDERSTONE vocalist Pasi Rantanen. A follow up album, 'Beyond Abilities', arrived in January 2002.

A trio of WARMEN personnel, Sami Virtanen, Janne Warmen and Mirka Rantanen, would session on the 2002 'Waiting For The Dawn' solo album by STRATOVARIUS frontman Timo Kotipelo. Janne Wirmen would also figure as part of the MASTERPLAN band assembled by HELLOWEEN refugees guitarist ROLAND GRAPOW and drummer Uli Kusch. However, he would back out of this venture. In mid 2004 Wirmen handled keyboards for TIMO KOTIPELTO's European summer festival appearances.

The WARMEN project would be reactivated during early 2005, recordings for the 'Accept The Fact' album seeing guest contributions from CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho and STRATOVARIUS singer Timo Kotipelto. First product would be the single 'Somebody's Watching Me', released on June 8th via Spinefarm Records. Lauri Porra joined STRATOVARIUS as their new bassist that same month.

Janne Wirman spent early 2009 working on the fourth album from his WARMEN project, this set revealed as including a cover version of JANET JACKSON's 'Black Cat', featuring a guest appearance by the Finnish pop singer Jonna Kosonen from NYLON BEAT. Other guest singers scheduled to appear on the album included Alexi Laiho from CHILDREN OF BODOM, on the song 'High Heels On Cobblestone', Timo Kotipelto, on 'Eye Of The Storm', and Pasi Rantanen, ex-THUNDERSTONE, on 'My Fallen Angel' and 'Separate Ways'.

'Japanese Hospitality' finally emerged in Finland n 26th August 2009, featuring not only 'Black Cat' but closing with a rendition of JOURNEY's 'Separate Ways'. Japanese editions hosted another cover version, a take on ROXETTE's 'Fading Like A Flower'.