Did You Know Christopher Lee Released a Heavy Metal Christmas Album?
What To Know
- Christopher Lee, renowned for his roles in the Hammer Horror Dracula and The Lord of the Rings films, was also a classically trained singer who released several heavy metal albums in his late 80s and early 90s.
- He became involved in the metal scene through collaborations with bands like Rhapsody and Manowar, eventually earning Metal Hammer’s Spirit of Metal award for his 2010 album Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross.
- Lee released multiple heavy metal Christmas songs and albums, including “Jingle Hell,” which made him the oldest musician to chart on Billboard, and continued recording metal music until his death in 2015.
Christopher Lee was a legendary big screen presence, known for his performances as the title character in the Hammer Horror Dracula films and Saruman in The Lord of the Rings. But if you’re only familiar with his film work, you may be surprised to learn that Lee classically trained his voice for decades and released several albums, including heavy metal Christmas albums. And he did it all in his late 80s and early 90s, proving that age is just a number.
Why did Christopher Lee release a heavy metal Christmas album?
By the early 2010s, Lee had already established himself in the metal music scene. A classically trained singer with opera in his family history, he had spent years collaborating with metal bands as both a narrator and vocalist. His fascination with the genre grew through his work with groups like Rhapsody and Manowar, and in 2010, he released his first full-metal album, Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross. The album earned him Metal Hammer’s Spirit of Metal award, cementing his credibility in a genre that does not hand out respect lightly.
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“I was first introduced to metal when I sang with a [band] called Rhapsody,” Lee told BBC Radio, according to Loudwire. “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.”
In 2012, Lee released A Heavy Metal Christmas, featuring interpretations of “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Silent Night.” Backed by symphonic metal arrangements and anchored by his famously bottomless baritone, the songs transformed familiar carols into dramatic, medieval-sounding anthems. He followed that release in 2013 with A Heavy Metal Christmas Too, which further pushed the concept. The standout track, “Jingle Hell,” reworked “Jingle Bells” into something far more ominous, complete with lyrics about darkness and death. The song reached number eighteen on the Billboard charts, making Lee the oldest musician ever to chart at the time. At over 90 years old, he quietly broke a record previously held by Tony Bennett.
Lee was not finished. In December 2014, he released “Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing,” another festive metal song. One refrain famously replaced traditional lyrics with “Glory to the metal king.” He continued releasing metal projects, including a seven-track EP titled Metal Knight, alongside his Christmas recordings until he died on June 7, 2015.
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Home For The Holidays
November 2021
Celebrate the holidays with your favorite classic stars!
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