Have craggy old wizard bellow in your face

Sir Christopher Lee, the guy who played scheming antagonist Saruman in The Lord Of The Rings movies, has just released a heavy-metal album called Metal Knight.

He's 92 years old.

I don't know about you, but I was planning on being dead by the time my 92nd birthday rolls around.

Not only is the British thespian not dead, he is rocking.

It's inspiring, humbling and just a little bit hilarious.

He is, of course, best known for his acting, and even before he played Saruman, he was already a master of eeevil.

During the 1960s, he appeared in loads of horror flicks, most notably the cult classic Hammer horrors, such as Dracula, The Curse Of Frankenstein and The Mummy.

Heavy-metal band Black Sabbath actually credit Lee's movies with inspiring their music.

As noted repeatedly, this guy is Saruman. What could possibly be better than having a craggy old wizard bellowing in your face?

What could be more metal than that?

In fact, I think he could open the door for more old guys to put on leather pants and pick up skull-emblazoned guitars.

Now that's an awesome activity for retirees.

Lee's new EP Metal Knight - available on iTunes - is based around the theme of Don Quixote.

There are four songs - The Impossible Dream, The Toreador March, My Way and I, Don Quixote - as well as a few remixes.

In his YouTube video introducing the album, Lee explains his connection with Quixote, the fictional Spanish hero.

"He is an old man, a very old man, full of daring, bravery, courage, determination, romanticism and dreams," he says.

Of course, he might as well be talking about himself. Maybe the guy really is a wizard.

This article by The Straits Times was published in MyPaper, a free, bilingual newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.

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