Powered by sequins, glitter and cheese, Eurovision once felt like the antithesis of metal – but that’s all changing. Over the past two decades, the annual song contest has warmed up to the heavier side of life. In 2006, Finnish monster-men Lordi bagged the win with Hard Rock Hallelujah, their pyro-enhanced performance serving as a watershed moment for metal in the competition.
It opened the floodgates for the likes of string-loving Finns Apocalyptica to join in, along with their countrymen The Rasmus, while Italian glamrockers Måneskin even took the crown in 2021. Last year, Australia’s synthhappy prog-metallers Voyager and German industrial-glam goths Lord Of The Lost participated in the final, held in Liverpool.
