Teräsbetoni
After a string of Semi-Finals, Finnish tv viewers were asked to choose their performers and song for the upcoming 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. After winning with Lordi in 2006, Finland showed once again that it's a country that loves unusual and innovative music: the highest amount of votes went to the rockers of Teräsbetoni (photo: Jere Hietala) who will perform Missä Miehet Ratsastaa in the first Semi-Final of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest.Finland's representative at Eurovision Song Contest 2008 is a heavy-rocking four-piece, who call themselves Teräsbetoni (Concrete Steel). The band has been named as the word-bringers of Finnish metal - and these fighters truly are prepared to fight for their cause until the last strike of the sword. The song they compete in Belgrade, Serbia with is called Missä Miehet Ratsastaa and it is written by the vocalist J. Ahola. It was on the internet where Teräsbetoni first drew people's attention around the year 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 streak of over 200 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 the release. Metallitotuus was also awarded as the Metal Album of the Year in the annual Emma Awards (Finnish equivalent to Grammys). The sophomore 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.
Now the story continues with new quests to overcome. The band has been chosen as the Finnish representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 and their third album Myrskyntuoja is to be released in Finland on March 19. 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. A warrior’s mind is unbreakable!