Posted by The Riff Report Blog – where riffs reign, pyro rules, and we ain’t afraid of a little glitter with our growls. 🚀🎸
Alright butt, strap in for a wild ride through pyro, leather, ridiculous costumes, and just enough double-kick pedal to make your nan cry into her sherry! 🍷🔥
Here’s Every Metal and Rock Band That’s Ever Competed in the Eurovision Song Contest (Until Now) – from cult chaos to chart-topping riff lords! 🤘🇪🇺
🎸 1. Lordi (Finland, 2006 – WINNERS!)
Genre: Shock Rock / Hard Rock / Monster Metal
Song: Hard Rock Hallelujah
Result: 🏆 1st place
💥 The iconic moment metalheads still brag about. Finland sent monsters to Eurovision… and they won. Ghoulish glam, pyro explosions, and a chorus that had Europe screaming “Hard Rock Hallelujah!” in 40 languages. Only in Eurovision, mun…
🎤 2. Måneskin (Italy, 2021 – WINNERS!)
Genre: Glam Rock / Alternative Rock
Song: Zitti e buoni
Result: 🏆 1st place
Slick, stylish and sexy as hell. Måneskin proved rock ‘n’ roll ain’t dead – it just moved to Rome and got a killer wardrobe. 🎩🔥 Their gritty riffs and swagger won over Europe and the TikTok crowd alike.
🤘 3. Wig Wam (Norway, 2005)
Genre: Glam Metal
Song: In My Dreams
Result: 9th place
Looking like a glam-metal version of ABBA on speed, Wig Wam brought big hair, bigger choruses, and glittery spandex to the stage. A cult favourite and lowkey Eurovision legends. 🎸✨
🧙♂️ 4. Teräsbetoni (Finland, 2008)
Genre: Power Metal
Song: Missä miehet ratsastaa
Result: 22nd place
Imagine Manowar chugging mead at a Viking pub quiz – that’s Teräsbetoni. Full Finnish metal fury with swords, chants, and testosterone levels so high they nearly melted the stage.
🨴 5. AWS (Hungary, 2018)
Genre: Post-Hardcore / Metalcore
Song: Viszlát nyár
Result: 21st place
One of the heaviest entries ever. Screamed vocals? Check. Emotional lyrics about grief? Check. Moshable breakdown in front of a confused grandma from Luxembourg? Absolutely. Respect. 👏
🌜 6. Voyager (Australia, 2023)
Genre: Synth-Prog Metal / Pop Metal
Song: Promise
Result: 9th place
Australian prog meets synthwave madness. Eurovision didn’t know what hit it. Keytars, headbanging, and choruses as catchy as hell. These guys should soundtrack a space opera, tbh.
🧰 7. Manga (Turkey, 2010)
Genre: Nu Metal / Alt Rock
Song: We Could Be the Same
Result: 🥇 2nd place
Turkey went full Linkin Park and it WORKED. Moody riffs, rap-rock flavour, and a sleek futuristic aesthetic. They nearly won it – and we’re still salty they didn’t. 😠
🌪️ 8. Blind Channel (Finland, 2021)
Genre: Nu Metal / Post-Hardcore
Song: Dark Side
Result: 6th place
They called their style “violent pop” and honestly, YES. Like if 2001 came back in eyeliner and Drop D tuning. The most fun you’ll have yelling “put your middle fingers up!” on live TV.
🌪️ 9. The Dredge (San Marino, 2024 – National Final)
Genre: Symphonic Rock
Song: Imperium
Result: Didn’t qualify 😭
Dressed like Victorian vampires and sounding like Nightwish in a dungeon. Sadly didn’t make the big stage, but a goth’s dream entry.
💪 10. Let 3 (Croatia, 2023)
Genre: Avant-Rock / Satirical Metal
Song: Mama ŠČ!
Result: 13th place
Imagine Rammstein meets Monty Python. Screaming generals, glittery moustaches, and anti-war satire dressed in camp absurdity. Utter chaos. Utterly Eurovision. 🪖
🔮 11. Conan Osíris (Portugal, 2019)
Genre: Experimental Electronic + Rock
Song: Telemóveis
Result: Didn’t make the final 😞
OK, not fully rock, but enough weird and heavy electro-goth to make this list. Wacky visuals, twisted beats – the kind of act that makes you go “What the hell is this… I love it.”
🧠 Honourable Mentions
These artists flirted with rock, metal, or heavier vibes:
- Hatari (Iceland, 2019) – BDSM Industrial Techno-Rock 💌
- Dàði Freyr (Iceland, 2021) – Electro Funk with some rock flavour 🎮
- Sam Ryder (UK, 2022) – Power pop with guitar hero energy 🤯
- Go_A (Ukraine, 2021) – Folk meets trance with distorted screams 🔥
💀 So, What’s the Verdict?
Eurovision might be a glitter-drenched fever dream, but every now and then… METAL WINS. 🏆
From Lordi’s monster mash to Måneskin’s fashionably loud revolution, rock and metal have kicked in the door of Europe’s glitziest TV show, stomped on the stage in platform boots, and screamed into the confetti-stained mic:
“We’re not here to mime to ballads, mun – we came to melt faces.” 🎤🔥
🚼 Who’s Next?
- Will Babymetal ever show up for Japan (if they’re let in)?
- Could Bring Me The Horizon write a Eurovision banger?
- Will Rammstein burn the stage down (and the stagehands)?
Let us know who you wanna see screaming over lasers and dry ice next year 👇😈
Diolch for reading, and remember:
🕺 Eurovision might be glitter… but sometimes it’s full-blown mosh pit madness.
#TheRiffReport 💥
#EurovisionGoesMetal
#HardRockHallelujahForever
