Love metal? Dig Christmas? Then let legendary actor Christopher Lee entertain you with heavy metal versions of classic Christmas songs.
The 90-year-old Lee is famous for his roles in ’Dracula’ and ‘Lord of the Rings,’ among countless other films. He has been crafting his voice for many years, having famously lent his pipes to the soundtrack for horror flick ‘The Wicker Man,’ released in 1973. Although Lee is a classically trained singer, the ‘Dracula’ icon released his first metal album, ‘Charlemange: By the Sword and the Cross,’ in 2010, receiving Metal Hammer’s Spirit of Metal award at their 2010 Golden Gods ceremony. Lee’s ‘Charlemange’ sequel, ‘The Omens of Death,’ is expected to see a 2013 release.
“I was first introduced to metal when I sang with a [band] called Rhapsody,” Lee tells BBC Radio. “But what I sang was not heavy metal; I sang with a tenor. Then I worked with Manowar as a narrator, I think it was in Germany, and again, that was not me singing metal. I became rather fascinated by this, ’cause in terms of history of music, it’s fairly recent, really. And if it’s properly done and you can understand the story and you can understand what the people are singing and you have the right bands and the right singers, I think it’s rather exciting.”
Christopher Lee’s surprisingly crushing renditions of ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ and ‘Silent Night’ are now available to purchase via iTunes and Amazon. Check out a preview of both tracks in the player below.
