Thirty years ago, the Scandanavian pop sound of Abba won the Eurovision contest with “Waterloo”. This year, the Finns hope to repeat the phenomenon — with a death metal band named Lordi.

A far cry from the breezy folk tunes and ultra-safe pop of traditional Eurovision fare, Lordi have scored hits with songs such as Blood Red Sandman. They wield chainsaws on stage, and never perform or give interviews without wearing their rubber fright masks. Lordi’s Eurovision entry, Hard Rock Hallelujah, opens with the lines, “The saints are crippled on this sinners’ night/ Lost are the lambs with no guiding light”, and goes on to celebrate something called “the day of rockoning”.

Lordi’s supporters argue that the band could hardly make Finland’s Eurovision record any worse. Since the country began competing in 1961, it has never troubled the top five, and on three occasions Finnish contestants have come home with the dreaded zero point score.

Lordi’s lead singer, Tomi Putaansuu, an Arctic Laplander, cites classic hard rockers Twisted Sister, Kiss and Alice Cooper among his influences, and admits that he will be surprised and disappointed if his band is eliminated from the competition. “We are bringing rock credibility to the Eurovision song contest,” he insists. “I always said that it doesn’t matter where you perform. If you do a good painting, it should look the same whether it’s on the wall of a museum or if it’s on the wall of your toilet.”

Rock on!