Finland are looking to repeat history as they eye up their second Eurovision Song Contest victory. Their entrant this year is Blind Channel, a band that have been sprinting past milestones and crushing their rival’s records with their enormous anthemic entry ‘Dark Side’. ‘Dark Side’ has become a #1 smash hit on the Finnish singles chart and has remained in the top 10 airplay charts for over 10 weeks, with the song now reaching platinum.
Is hard rock going to bring Finland the gold yet again? Listen to the song here and watch the official lyric video here.
It was written as a reaction to the global pandemic that forced the music industry to a grinding halt, synonymously crushing all the band’s 2020 touring plans. Frustration, isolation and depression gave birth to an anthem for the people, and the Eurovision Song Contest has proved to be the perfect vessel to spread their message.
“What we really needed at that low point was an anthem for ourselves, a song that gives the finger to life itself,” recalls one of the band’s two vocalists Niko Vilhelm. “That’s how ‘Dark Side’ came into life. It really was an instant anthem.
“’Dark Side’ is a song that’s meant to be performed together with an audience, as a kind of communal experience. Now we needed to find that audience, and we knew that there were lots of people out there who felt exactly like we did.”
After entering the track into the UMK (Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu = New Music Competition), the Finnish qualifying round for the Eurovision Song Contest itself, the sextet came away annihilating all their fellow competitors by achieving the highest score in the competition’s history and becoming the first UMK entry to hit the top of the charts.
Now with their sights firmly set on the finish line, the band will be the 14th act to perform at the second semi-final on May 20th, and if successful on the night, will perform again at the finals on May 22nd.
The competition finale will also feature performances from past winners of the competition, including Finland’s previous winning act and hard rock heroes Lordi who dominated the 2006 event with ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’.
Finland has long been known for its love of heavy music, with international superstar acts such as Hanoi Rocks, HIM, Nightwish, Children of Bodum, Apocalyptica and The Rasmus all enjoying major global success. Now the world will be adding Blind Channel to that list.
Blind Channel were formed in 2013 in the city of Oulu, way up in the North of Finland, by a group of five talented, determined and ambitious friends – vocalists Joel Hokka and Niko Vilhelm, drummer Tommi Lalli, guitarist Joonas Porko and bass player Olli Matela. This fivesome has stuck together to this day, in the spirit of the 2018 sophomore album Blood Brothers, each of them collectively responsible for the songwriting.
Last year saw the addition of a new member, as long time friend Alex Mattson joined to play keyboard, samples and percussion and completes the current line up. Following the release of their 2020 album Violent Pop, ‘Dark Side’ is the band’s first taste of music from an upcoming album due for release early next year, working with renowned UK producer Dan Lancaster (Blink 182, Bring Me The Horizon, Don Broco).
FINLAND’S 2021 EUROVISION ENTRY
‘DARK SIDE’ OUT NOW
LISTEN HERE / WATCH HERE