At some point, it stopped being weird and started becoming an annual tradition for The Lord of the Rings franchise actor and Hammer horror films star Christopher Lee to release a Christmas-themed heavy metal song, and this year’s “Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing” has arrived just in time for the holiday.
The new single is the third Christmas classic with a metal twist released by the 92-year-old actor, who offers up his deep, bass vocals over Hedras Ramos’ guitar this time around. The single is a dark twist on “Hark, The Herald Angels Sing!” and is available in three different mixes when you purchase it from iTunes, Amazon, or Google Music.
Lee’s unexpected involvement with heavy-metal Christmas tracks began with 2012’s “A Heavy Metal Christmas,” which featured Lee’s renditions of “Little Drummer Boy” and “Silent Night.” That album was followed by 2013’s “Heavy Metal Christmas Too,” which had Lee singing “Jingle Hell” and “My Way.”
It’s worth noting that “Jingle Hell” made it all the way to #18 on the Billboard’s popular music chart, making Lee the oldest performer to ever appear on Billboard’s tracking chart.
A new video (embedded above) posted to YouTube by “Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing” producer Charlemagne Productions offers up clips from Lee’s various holiday tracks over the years, with the new song heard around the 1:51 mark.
Lee appears soon in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, the third and final chapter in Peter Jackson’s trilogy of The Hobbit movies.
