The Finnish Final (Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu) was held on February 20th at Mediapolis in Tampere, hosted by Antti Tuisku. The winner was chosen by telephone/app voting (75%) & an international jury (25%). The overwhelming victor was "Dark side" sung by the alternative rock band Blind Channel.
The staging for this is dark, shadowy and full of flashing lights. The band are dispersed about the stage - the drummer and keyboard player at the back, two guitarists at the sides and the main vocalists moving about the the front. They are all wearing different sorts of black outfits and sporting a range of different hair styles and lengths. Behind on the video screen are close ups of the band members but they are all upside down (and it is PROPERLY upside down, not just the film being turned 180 - you can tell by their hair!) This is a very simple but effective of keeping the mind bending and unsettling feeling of the song through to the viewer.
The song starts off with a sinister pulsing beat and then bursts in with a strong guitar-led wall of sound with what is a shortened version of the chorus/post-chorus. The verse is more akin to a kind of Linkin Park-esque rap with a strong rock background with a lot of rise and fall in the background music. We return rather quickly to the chorus but this time a slightly longer version which doesn't seem quite as punchy as before. There is then another verse and another chorus in prety much similar style as before. At about 2 mins in we have a brief lull in proceedings with a sort of bridge which is delivered quite low and whispery and leads into a final full chorus and ends with a long screamy note to finish.
The band Blind Channel has been going for over 7 years having released several singles and albums, but it is only this song that has gained them any chart success in their homeland. As we all know, rock songs are something we have come to expect from Finland, being the basis of several of their entries this millennium. So, although this style of music is rarely heard at Eurovision, the fact it comes from Finland may make it slightly more palatable to the once a year viewer. Also, this song may also being going against the grain of the polished, overchoreographed 80's numbers and actually convey something a bit more 'real' or emotional. That said the lyrics are rather negative and somewhat violent and may not go down well with the public at large.
No matter if this you're style of music or not , this song makes an impact. There's probably not going to be anything else like this in the contest and so any rock fans will support this entry - see also Lordi and AWS. I also feel this will get support from other Nordic countries and Central European countries that also appreciate this genre of music. For many listeners, this will be a bit of a wake up call - wanted or unwanted - and could either signify an renewed interest OR a toilet break. On a different point this seemed a bit too polished. I am not convinced that some of the live vocals were as high up in the mix as they should have been. I personally feel that having a more gruff and less polished feel so a song like this gives it more life and emotion and this didn't give me that. So maybe if they can turn down the pre-recorded vocals(without making it too shouty and incomprehensible) and focus on the connection between the singers and the audience at home, this could do better than you think...
ARTIST - Blind Channel
SONG - Dark Side
WRITING CREDITS - Joel Hokka, Aleksi Kaunisvesi, Olli Matela, Niko Moilanen, Joonas Porko
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