Heavy metal with mass appeal

HELSINKI: Most teens may not get excited about going to church, but in Finland they are caught up in a craze sweeping the nation: Metal Mass.

"It's nice that there are slightly different church services compared to the usual ones," says 15-year-old Teea Pallaskari, who skips geography class to make the service in the plain, red-brick Lutheran Church - the state religion - in a small town north of Helsinki.

Inside, Pallaskari and her classmates squash together on packed pews, belting out hymns as a lead singer moshes wildly on stage to his band's ear-splitting tones.