Christopher Lee has gotta be the oldest metalhead in the world lol. Now he has his own band called Charlemagne. EPIC!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTrC8tY-mto

http://www.myspace.com/charlemagnemusical

Well, this is certainly something. My opinion on Charlemagne isn't too good (you know, Verden, killing people who kept being Pagan, that sort of crap) but this should be pretty good musically.

Funny video
But I'm very happy with this. This is the music i am looking for!

The last thread on this was very active. Seems the album is out now, and I love that video. Go Sarudooku!

Do you reckon when he turns 88 he will start an NSBM band?

hahaha... wicked.
This dude rules. All those cultish films back when movies seemed to have better writing than today, this guy was a wicked powerful actor.

I cannot stand the music on this album though. haha

But why the fuck is no one else using this dudes voice on an album. Cradle of Filth uses that Pinhead guy, someone should utilize Mr. Lee as well.

I dont know if you know but he has done some vocals on 1/2 Rhapsody albums

uuugghh, so he is mainly a power metal lover ?
No wonder I will probably never hear his voice then. haha

Yea, not really my personal interest in music (that specific genre)

Presumably he was contacted by the band, not the other way around.

It would be interesting to hear the story of how that first exposure to metaldom (as I'm assuming it was) led to an interest in the music form from such a person as he who would not normally be expected to have such an interest, even after doing voice work for a band (a paid performance, I also assume).

Speaking of actors that played opposite to Ian McKellen, I am imagining how it would sound if Patrick Stewart narrated the intro to Running Wild's "Treasure Island"...

I shed the blood on the Saxon men!

I'm looking forward to hearing this at least once, dude has the coolest voice ever.

The Promo looks so bad, it's good, I can't wait now.

Well what do you expect from an 87 year old opera singer? Yes he's a power metal fan, he did some work with Manowar as well.

So what are the chances he actually wrote the music?

Some dude named Marco Sabiu wrote the album.

Reading an early review, seems there's a fair bit of narration. That, I could definitely do without.

There was another thread about this months ago.

But I recognize that this is a classic in the making, and am a huge fan of Christopher Lee. I can not wait.
Does anyone know if this will be released on vinyl?

Well, DANZIG is almost that old and he's pretty rocking in metal evilness and not into the dragon slaying charades... haha

As cool as Christopher Lee is/was, this sounds like it'll be terrible. Lengthy narrations are rarely a good thing, and this looks to be about as cheesy as it gets.

Be cool to see Christopher Lee and his whole discography on MA.

He might qualify, the music I heard sounded very much Symphonic/Power Metalish.

He's Count Dooku and The Man With The Golden Gun (Scanamanga!) =O

You forgot Sarumon, Dracula and Papa Wonka to name a few.

I remember seeing this guy from some interview, he's a monk or something, yeah?

Nay, that would be Cesare Bonizzi (who I think has left the band).

Christopher Lee is an actor; a lot of his movies have been referenced in the thread

Danzig isn't even close to being that old.

The music sounds pretty terrible, but I would be interested in watching more of their music videos.

O.k., so he did some work with Rhapsody, but is there any real indication that the album will really be metal? All the samples I've heard from it have just an orchestra.

Indeed, that is my impression too. If the short samples were representative of the whole album, it could not be accepted, since it is just orchestral music with occasional rock guitars in places.

It's also not Christopher Lee's band. While it might be marketed as such and he is performing the lead, he didn't write any of it and didn't come up with the idea.

Just got through listening to the album and it is in no way acceptable to be added to the archives. It's exactly as Witcher said.

What did he do together with Manowar? I know of a video where Lee adresses the audience at a Manowar gig, but I know of no musical collaboration.

Yeah Danzig is 33 years younger than Christopher Lee. The only person really comparable is Dio, and he's still 18 years younger.

Anyway, I'll have to agree that the music looks pretty terrible, but it'd still be pretty interesting to listen to.

That youtube clip looked very metal. The music, the image, everything.

The music is not metal at all, as I have explained. So it did not sound like metal, which is the only relevant criterion.


The label should be ashamed for marketing it as symphonic metal and creating such hype around it (if the music is subjectively good or bad does not matter). It could be interested for people, that like the symphonic part of Rhapsody music or Manowar's The Crown and the Ring or fans of neo-classical music, but that is about it. The music does not become magically more metal based.

You did not actually 'explain' anything. The admission rules for metal-archives are the only relevant criteria, not your opinion, and based on those rules - and in comparison with a multitude of bands on the archives - the band certainly fits many of those criteria.

The main criterium is, that the band must be musically metal, which is not the case here.
The second is to have a physical release, which is fulfilled, but that alone will not get them here.

I have a suspicion, that you do not know what you are talking about. There are not many criteria, there are only two of them that actually matter.

So you have said. My question: based on what?

Based on how it sounds and based on my more than 20 years experience of listening to metal.
It is not a heavy guitar riff based metal project, but neo-classical symphonic stuff.

Well I also have some experience in metal and I say it is more metal than a significant number of bands on the archives. Who wins? Shall we toss a coin? My point is that simply because you say it is non-metal does not make it non-metal, nor does my deeming it metal make it metal.

Wouldn't really argue it with a mod, especially if Witcher (assuming this one) discussed it with the other mods or the mods brought it to their weekly meeting.

Metal is guitar based music. This stuff is not. I am a moderator and as such have a right to decide, if a band's music is metal enough or not. I have decided that this is not a case here.

Also, there is not one band, whose music would consits of only orchestral staff with almost no guitar, that would be accepted here or listed as metal. Side projects do not count, since they do not have to be metal.