Horror film legend Christopher Lee, who turned 92 on Tuesday, is celebrating the milestone by releasing a heavy rock mini-album entitled Metal Knight.
The Dracula actor is a long-time devotee of heavy metal — a genre partly inspired by the sort of horror films he starred in — and has already several album releases under his belt.
“I associate heavy metal with fantasy because of the tremendous power that the music delivers,” explained Lee, who possesses a booming, classically-trained bass voice.
Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi presented the Lord of the Rings star with the Spirit of Metal prize at the Golden Gods Awards in 2010 for his services to metal music.
In December, the Star Wars actor became the oldest ever performer to place in the US Billboard singles chart with his record Jingle Hell.
Metal Knight, to be released on Monday, features four tracks and three alternative edits.
Two songs are from the Man of La Mancha musical: I, Don Quixote and The Impossible Dream.
The others are The Toreador March from Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen, in its original French, and My Way, popularised by Frank Sinatra.
“As far as I am concerned, Don Quixote is the most metal fictional character that I know,” said Lee.
“Single handed, he is trying to change the world, regardless of any personal consequences. It is a wonderful character to sing”.
