For the third year in a row, English actor Sir Christopher Lee has released a metal Christmas-themed single. The 92-year old actor-turned-metalhead released, “Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing”, a fun uniquely metal take on the Christmas classic, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing!”.
As an actor, Lee is probably best known as the corrupt Middle-Earth sorcerer Saruman the White from “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” films. But, he has been in or lent his voice to nearly 300 films, including: Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”, “The Man With The Golden Gun”, “Dracula”, “The Wicker Man”, and several “Star Wars” filmsaccording to Blabbermouth and IMDB.
In an interview with Blabbermouth, Lee described the single as being, “light-hearted, joyful and fun. It’s a band singing on how metal should be played, the effect it has on the band and its listeners;” so, fun in fact that Lee and the band included two remixes of the track on the single’s digital release.
“Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing” finds Lee again teaming up with guitarist Hedras Ramos. The two had previously worked together on Lee’s first foray into so-called “Christmas metal” in 2012 with his album, “A Heavy Metal Christmas”, and again in 2013 on “Charlemagne: The Omens Of Death”, when Ramos was brought in to replace Richie Faulkner of Judas Priest.
Last Christmas, Lee’s release of “A Heavy Metal Christmas Too” charted at No. 18 on Billboard. At 91-years old, he became the oldest heavy metal artist and the oldest artist to have a charting song, eclipsing Tony Bennett, according to Blabbermouth.
“At my age, the most important thing for me is to keep active by doing things that I truly enjoy. I do not know how long I am going to be around, so every day is a celebration and I want to share it with my fans,” Lee told Blabbermouth.
Listen to a preview of all of Lee’s Christmas releases to date:
And, if you were moved by what you’ve heard, be sure to check out his other releases, which are listed below, with their respective tracklistings. Additionally, all of Lee’s Christmas metal songs are available through Amazon (US and UK) and iTunes.
Christopher Lee, Christmas-themed Metal Singles:
A Heavy Metal Christmas (2012)
Little Drummer Boy
Silent Night
A Heavy Metal Christmas Too (2013)
Jingle Hell
My Way
Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing (2014)
Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing
Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing [Extended Vocals]
Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing [Instrumental]