A Lutheran pastor and congregation in Lapua, Finland –40 miles north of Helsinki — have developed a worship service using metal rock music, Metallimessu / "Metal Mass".
From the beginning, the services have been packed, attracting worshippers of all ages. More than 1,000 people attended the service filmed for the video below.
An AFP press report quoted a young girl who had skipped geography class to attend church:
It's nice that there are slightly different church services compared to the usual ones.
and went on to explain the place of metal music in Finland and how it relates to the Finnish character:
Heavy metal may have a niche audience elsewhere, but it's mainstream in Finland. Helsinki alone abounds with heavy-metal karaoke bars, dedicated metal clubs and regular gigs in addition to dozens of summertime heavy-metal festivals held around the country.
Some say the reason lies in the Finnish character.
"Finns are known to be reserved, serious and very honest … Somehow heavy metal fits into this, as it is no-nonsense, honest, straightforward and quite gloomy," says Mikko Saari, a co-founder of Metallimessu.
"When you switch on the radio in Finland, you hear heavy-metal music. The Finnish Eurovision Song Contest and even 'Idols' (the Finnish equivalent of "American Idol") were won with metal songs," says Kimmo Kuusniemi, one of Finland's metal-music pioneers.
It seems you can't please everyone. Some conservatives criticize the type of music as "inappropriate" while some metal fans claim that the service is "pandering" to the church.
"Of course, some Christian circles were scared, and some true metal people were irate. But many said that the idea was great and that they had been waiting for it," says Mr. Saari.
This video (in English) from Russia Today reports on the success of this venture.
