Originally Posted by
NineMSN.com.au
Finnish death rockers Lordi are claiming “victory for rock music” after winning this year's Eurovision song contest with a grotesquely masked performance that both shocked and amused viewers.
The band’s song 'Hard Rock Hallelujah' put them ahead of 23 other competitors, including an Australian-fronted German act.
The band members, who never appear in public without their latex masks and elaborate makeup have had to defend themselves against a barrage of comments made by critics, who claim their music is demonic.
"This is a victory for rock music ... and also a victory for open-mindedness," Mr Lordi said.
We are not Satanists. We are not devil-worshippers. This is entertainment."
"What this has shown is that there are different styles of music than just"pop and rock," Mr Lordi told a news conference after the win. "That should be the goal of Eurovision."
Originally hailing from arctic Lapland, Lordi has been plagued by allegations of links with Satanism but became a phenomenon in Finland with the platinum-selling debut album Get Heavy in 2002.
At Eurovision, Lordi scored 292 points from telephone voters in 38 countries with a performance that left the audience speechless.
The 51st annual Eurovision was broadcast live across Europe with an estimated 100 million viewers tuning in, including fans making their way to the contest from all over the world.
"You don't imagine something so bad could be so good," said Carmela Pellegrino, an Australian who travelled to Athens from London to witness the contest.
Although many past Eurovision winners have faded into obscurity, it has helped launched the careers of performers like Abba, which won in 1974 with Waterloo, and Canada's Celine Dion, who won for Switzerland in 1988.
In Finland, young people on the streets of the capital Helsinki welcomed the news of the triumph enthusiastically.
"It's amazing that Finland has finally won something. Though I don't like Lordi myself, it's great! We don't win anything," said Mari Pelli, an 18-year-old childminder.
Groups of young people walked from bar to bar shouting the lyrics of the winning song at the tops of their voices.
"I'm very happy that they won. Eurovision is a show for entertainment, not for music," said Mikko Mattila, a 30-year-old student.
The cartoon metalheads, who sport latex monster masks and spark-spewing instruments", fought off a strong challenge from Russian heart throb Dima Bilan, who finished second with 248 points for the song 'Never Let You Go'.
Bosnia was third with 229 points going to the group Hari Mata Hari singing the melodic 'Layla'.
The Australian-fronted German act Texas Lightning came 15th with 36 points for their country music-inspired song 'No No Never', written and sung by Newcastle-born Jane Comerford.
The Finnish band thanked viewers for voting for their song, which featured the lead singer hoisting a double-headed axe over his head - a radical departure from the catchy pop tunes, folk songs and emotional ballads usually associated with Eurovision.
Initially shocking many people in the traditionally Christian Orthodox host country with their masks, which Lordi members refuse to take off in public, even the Greeks ended up giving the outrageous group top points.
Finland had never before won Eurovision, and even before coming to Athens the band upset many Finns with their outrageous behavior, many even requesting the president to intervene for fear of a national humiliation.
The band has scored Finnish hits with albums The Monsterican Dream and The Arockalypse.
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How about Sander van doorn (purple haze/filterfunk/SVD all aliasses of him)with a really good singer and a good vocal trance song 
Well, we beat Canada for the bronze.
