How will you spend your 92nd birthday? If you’re anything like legendary actor Sir Christopher Lee — spoiler alert: you’re not! — you’ll be releasing a metal EP.
The Lord of the Rings star celebrated his 92nd birthday today by releasing an album of heavy metal covers titled Metal Knight. Unfortunately there are no Manowar re-boots here, but instead, the EP, which was digitally released yesterday, features seven tracks based on the character of Don Quixote. It was recorded with Italian metal band Rhapsody of Fire, who Lee first teamed up with ten years ago.
It also includes a heavy metal version of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”
“As far as I am concerned, Don Quixote is the most metal fictional character that I know,” Lee said about the release. “Single handed, he is trying to change the world, regardless of any personal consequences. It is a wonderful character to sing.”
Lee has appeared in more than 200 films over his 70-year career, and did the spoken word on Manowar’s “Dark Avenger” reissue in 2010. Lee has also released two full metal albums as a solo artist: Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010 and last year’s Charlemagne: The Omens of Death. His 2013 metal cover of “Jingle Bells,” appropriately titled “Jingle Hell,” hit number 18 on the UK charts.
Last week Lee posted a video where he discusses the new EP:
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