Finland

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	FINLAND
	Song : "Missä Miehet Ratsastaa" (Where Men Ride) Performer : Teräsbetoni Music & lyrics: Jarkko Ahola Running Order : #16 in the first semi-final		Audio file
			Preview video
			Live Performance

THIS YEAR'S ENTRY

Until Lordi's famous victory in Athens in 2006, Finland's record at the Eurovision Song Contest was very poor, lasting for almost half a century, without a single Top 5 result. Last year Finland hosted the contest for the first time, but failed to make the Top 10 and this year Finnish broadcaster YLE decided on a slightly slimmed down selection process to pick its entry for Belgrade. Four semi-finals preceded the Finnish national final which was held on March 1st at Kulttuuritalo in Helsinki and hosted by last year's Eurovision presenters Jaana Pelkonen & Mikko Peltonen. The winner was chosen in two rounds of televoting - the first to select the top three and the second to select the winner. In one of the closest results of the years Finns once again chose to send a heavy metal band to Eurovision with the band Teräsbetoni (the Finnish for steel re-enforced concrete) and their song."Missä Miehet Ratsastaa" (Where Men Ride).

Teräsbetoni have been often cited as one of the primary ambassadors of Finnish heavy metal music. The song with which they compete in Belgrade was written by the band's lead vocalist Jarkko Ahola. The other members of the band are Arto Järvinen (guitar and vocals), Viljo Rantanen (guitar) and Jari Kuokkanen (drums).

It was initially on the internet that Teräsbetoni first attracted people's attention in 2003. Their songs started spreading all over the web and pretty soon the band ended up signing a recording deal with Warner Music Finland.

The debut album "Metallitotuus" was released in 2005, being supported by a series of over two hundred live shows - or battles as the band themselves like to call their live appearances. The album achieved platinum status in Finland and has sold over 50,000 copies since its release. The album also contained the band's debut single "Taivas lyö tulta" which reached #1 in the Finnish charts. "Metallitotuus" was also awarded as the "Metal Album of the Year" in the annual Emma Awards (the Finnish equivalent of the Grammys).

Their second album "Vaadimme Metallia" was released in the summer of 2006. It was produced by the renowned producer Hiili Hiilesmaa, who had previously been working with bands such as HIM, Lordi and Apocalyptica. The album achieved gold status in Finland and it was well received by the audience and the media and the track "Älä Mene Metsään" reached #3 in Finland when it was released as a single.

Now the story continues with new quests to overcome. The band has been chosen as the Finnish representatives in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest and their third album "Myrskyntuoja" was released in Finland on March 19th. The fresh-sounding new record has also been produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa, whose vision with the new songs was to bring back the originality and roughness as well as add new elements to Teräsbetoni's sound. Since winning Finland's Eurovision ticket, the band's profile has been raised on the demoestic market and both the single and album have reached the Top 5 in the Finnish charts.

Despite going for a similar sound to their 2006 Eurovision winner, this year's Finnish entry has not generated anything like as much publicity, perhaps because its been done before or perhaps with the song being sung in Finnish, it is less likely to gain international radio play. Nevertheless the song is one of the bookmakers favourites to qualify from the semi-final although its not among the favourites to finish in the Top 10 in the final. Fan polls have yielded some very mixed results, but none suggest the song will be a contender for victory in Belgrade.

SAMPLE LYRICS

Where the men ride

There the sheep can't pasture

Where the men ride

There one can hear the wolves howl

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LAUNCH PAD

FINLAND AT EUROVISION

	First entry: 1961
	Number of previous entries: 41
	Best result: Winners (2006)
	Worst result : Last (1963,65,68,80,82,90,92,96), failed to qualify (2004,05)

TEN YEAR FORM GUIDE

WEBMASTER REVIEW

It took Finland over 40 years to find a winning formula and now they think they just have to play around with it to work again. It didn't work with last year's rock chic and I can't see it working this year either. It's loud and memorable, but it just lacks the impact of Lordi and the song isn't strong enough.

REVIEWS

"Last year’s gracious hosts. Are they going to fall victim to the curse of the previous year’s host nation? Well, its Lordi’s better looking alter-egos. Did the Finns not learn anything from their one and only victory. Did no one in YLE think that just perhaps singing in ENGLISH in 2006 might have contributed a little something to their success? I fear the Finns are retreating back to the place which never saw them reach the top-5 in over 50 contests. And as they also say, "nice video, shame about the song". - Dermot Manning (Ireland)

"And so the heavy rock bandwagon rolls on. It’s a case of ever-diminishing returns though. OK we loved Lordi but this is one shouty entry too many from the Finns. Where’s Sonja Lumme when you need her?" - David Bridgman (U.K.)

"The battlefield after Lordi's invasion with the pathetic survivors attempting to sing over the screams of the wounded." - David Berlinger (Israel)

"Ok, there’s perhaps still some hard rock‘s fans but I’m not of them, the show is not Lordi’s one. If Iceland can’t get in the final last year, I think this one will return in Helsinki on the morning of may, 21st !" - Yom (France)

"Rock worked very well for Finland once, but already less well last year so it might not have been a good idea sending just another rock song again. This is less catchy than Lordi's entry and more screaimg than singing - could do another Kabat, I fear." - Paul Hutter (Germany)

"The description of "Lordi meets Genghis" fits this song perfectly. It just needs a bit more Genghis personally. Should do okay, but I doubt it will reach the heights of either of its inspiring acts." - Andrew Hordern (Australia)

"Nice choice by last year’s hosts. However, why do they have to present metal and hard rock in the ESC stage? There were better songs in the National Final" - Atmantas (Greece)

"I think the Lordi effect has worn off! The Finns are yet to emerge from hard rock rehab, and I like this sort of music if it’s well done but this pales in comparison to the 2006 winner. Dreadful!"- John Withers (U.K.)