Christopher Lee has jest released a new album with his band Charlemagne, Omens of Death. Not bad for a 91 year old!
I have been a big fan of Italian Symphonic metal band Rhapsody of Fire, and Christopher Lee did the narration on some of their songs. Then he did a duet with their singer, The Magic of the Wizards Dream (youtube link). I really liked it. So when I heard he was coming out with a new album in the same symphonic metal style I was intrigued. Got it a few days ago, haven’t listened to it more than a few times so far but I am impressed. The guy has quite a set of pipes for his age. Also, he can trace his family history back quite a ways, and the album is supposedly at least somewhat historical. Here’s another Youtube link, this one to a previous Charlemagne song about shedding the blood of Saxons.
Rhapsody (they’re now ‘of Fire’?) has always been a bit too… um… dramatic for me. (As in, I’m enjoying the song, and then the singer drops into a dead serious soliloquy about his dragon, which causes me to bust out laughing. I don’t think that was the intended reaction…) But hey–mad props to Christopher Lee for having his own metal band!
The story was, after the “Power of the Dragonflame” album release, it came out that there was an old band with the same name. I’m unclear on whether the name change was the result of (threat of) legal action or voluntary. There’s also an internet music service called Rhapsody, which probably added to the confusion.
And yeah, Rhapsody of Fire has enough cheese that you could melt it and put it on a sandwich, but I love it anyway! Luca Turilli has some absolutely amazing skill with that guitar.
I first heard about this via a Cracked.com article a few weeks ago:
Thanks to the OP for the link to that video - I went searching for it after reading the article, and all I could find were short clips.
That said, I think Sir Christopher would do better collaborating with a better band. I’d love to hear his (fantastic) voice combined with that of Epica’s Simone Simons.
ETA: Also, I would think that someone of Sir Christopher’s standing could afford/demand better production values for the video.
I can’t help but think of the scene (which I just saw again about two weeks ago) in LotR where Saruman is stabbed from behind by Grima Wormtongue. Peter Jackson wanted him to scream. Sir Christopher, having been in the special forces in WWII, said no, men didn’t scream when stabbed from behind.
(He knew what sound men made. From personal experience. :eek:)
Chuck Norris only wishes he was as badass as Christopher Lee.
“This is because Christopher Lee is secretly the metalest dude to have ever walked the planet Earth. He’s more metal than Glenn Danzig slaying a griffin with a broadsword forged from the bones of Dimebag Darrell.”
