Game-Changing News

Forget The Oscars, or what the delightful Alice in Wonderland...

...is taking at the box-office ($116 million domestic, $210 worldwide - it only came out on Friday) in the face of some vile criticism, there is only one major development from the world of movie stardom that I am currently interested in and it came from a fairly unlikely source - the latest edition of Classic Rock magazine to hit my doormat recently.

It might not be new news- other sensible sites ran the story back in January, but I was far too busy still playing with my new Star Wars Mr Potato Heads (I collect the movie special edition taters if anyone wants to send me loads for free!), and for some reason the rest of the site workers seemed to think that there was more important news than this to be working on. How bloody wrong they were, and I only hope they are feeling very foolish right now as...

SIR CHRISTOPHER LEE IS RELEASING A SYMPHONIC METAL ALBUM IN A WEEK'S TIME!!!

Yes, that's right, one of the greatest horror icons in cinematic history is abandoning his movie making for one project and is instead telling the story of his own direct ancestor Charlemagne ( "I am through the Carandini family actually descended from Charlemagne,"), through the medium of symphonic metal. Lee released this a statement back in January stating his excitement for the project:

"To my surprise and indeed great pleasure, I have suddenly found that there is another string to my bow... There's a lot of characters in this particular album. A lot. There's Charlemagne himself of course, which I sing, and then there's young Charlemagne, Charlemagne's father, Charlemagne's brother, ... the Pope".

I just can't get over it- Sauruman will be growling on my CD player in just less than a week's time.

Due on 15 March, Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross features the 87-year-old veteran of countless great films (and some seriously bad ones too) singing and also acting alongside a full orchestra, choir, and a large cast of undisclosed guest vocalists. How could you not be the most excited you've ever been?! I mean, the man has one of the best British voices in showbiz today (in the auspicious company of Stephen Fry and Alan Rickman no less) if not the greatest. I can just hear it now, his voice soaring along with a complex and busy music track.

Lee's metalness isnt unprecedented, he has already worked on other metal projects; he worked as narrator on several albums by Rhapsody of Fire, and also worked with Manowar €“ but this will be his first complete solo album. In amongst the various roles Sir Christopher will be performing, there will also be some heavy-duty headbanging, courtesy of Italian composer Marco Sabiu, though it remains unconfirmed whether the grand old actor will be heading out on tour with the album and ripping some crowds to shreds with his neck-breaking dance antics. I for one hope to see him astride a stage at Download Festival, forged from fire in a power stance to make the Gods weep, his eyes puckered tight, his wizened claw grasping at the sky, and 10,000 awe-struck minions at his feet and his mercy.

It's fascinating for me that at this stage in my life, people are beginning to look upon me as a metal singer. When this comes out as a complete album, it's going to be sensational.

Sensational. Was truer a word ever spake?

Mr Lee is of course not the first actor to take the step into music-making: pretty-boy turned anthemic rocker Jared Leto fronts 30 Seconds to Mars, and The Rock made the greatest song of all time with Wyclef Jean ('It Doesnt Matter!'- just check out those profound lyrics!). But the greatest, and most appropriate of all of the cross-overs were created by the king of cool himself Sir William Shatner, who has the ability to be both pant-soppingly sexy and terribly, terribly dork-like in the same second thanks to his horrifying "singing" style. How Lee will compare against the past master remains to be seen, but time will almost certainly tell.

Roll on March 15th. Rock and roll that is.