"Charlemagne: By The Sword And The Cross" is a an album by Christopher Lee, which was released on March 15th, 2010. I was able to listen to this on Spotify.
Christopher Lee was, of course, a very famous actor, most known for his role as Dracula in multiple Hammer Horror Films. What some people may be surprised to know though, is that Lee was a classically trained singer, that like Heavy Metal. Though some sources state that he got into Metal after being included on some of the works by "Rhapsody of Fire", an article from Rolling Stone states that Lee liked Black Sabbath as early as their first album. I'm inclined to believe that he liked Metal for a long, long time.
This album isn't completely Metal, and has much more of a symphonic tone to it, but what I found interesting, if not funny, was how Lee's parts were usually accompanied by some Metal riffs.
The album starts off like a movie, grand and baroque. When I closed my eyes, I envisioned the scenes, like it was a musical. I really liked this, as it was like a radio drama.
The album is like one big history lesson about King Charlemagne, which apparently Lee was related to. At the same time, apparently many people are related to the king in some way.
Lee's voice is very rich and grand. You can hear how his classical training really came through.
In a way, the album is like another Christopher Lee movie. It starts becoming a little metal with the track: Act II: The Iron Crown of Lombardy".
The metal on this album is more like a mixture of Symphonic and Progressive Metal. I can imagine fans of Dream Theater, or Devin Townsend being into this.
The album is interesting, and something I feel is good on have on in the background, while doing another activity like crocheting, studying, or sewing.
For me, I'm more interested in the novelty of the album, that a huge star would create something like this, especially in their advanced age. I think it's great! If anything, it's a reminder that just because you're old, doesn't mean you can't create something for the world to see. At the time of the album's release, Lee was 87 years old. That's amazing!
If you're interested in hearing Christopher Lee sing, or the history of King Charlemagne, then I'd say to check this out.
