By 2010, Sir Christopher Lee’s CV was longer than a newspaper. The then-87-year-old was, of course, an iconic actor, renowned the world over for his parts in Dracula, The Lord Of The Rings, The Man With The Golden Gun, Star Wars and The Wicker Man. He’d also flaunted his baritone voice as an opera singer and, after serving in the Second World War, hunted down Nazi war criminals for a spell. It seemed like there was only one thing he hadn’t done in his life: release a heavy metal album.
On March 15, 2010 – however – that changed, and Sir Christopher became a bona fide rock star. He released his debut metal album, Charlemagne: By The Sword And The Cross, as an octogenarian, then its follow-up, Charlemagne: The Omens Of Death, on his 91st birthday. For his contributions to the genre, we at Metal Hammer honoured Sir Christopher with a Spirit Of Metal award at the 2010 Golden Gods, and he released three EPs of heavy songs between 2012 and 2014, before passing away on June 7, 2015. The icon’s final years were wholeheartedly dedicated to preaching the gospel of metal – yet another entry into the 93-year saga of him being a total fucking legend.
