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Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross

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Length
  
62:21

Label
  
Cadiz

Release date
  
15 March 2010

Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross

Released
  
15 March 2010 (2010-03-15)

Producer
  
J. Aneiros, C. Canonici

Charlemagne By the Sword and the Cross(2010)
  
Charlemagne The Omens of Death(2013)

Artists
  
Christopher Lee, Charlemagne

Genres
  
Symphonic metal, Power metal

Similar
  
Christopher Lee albums, Symphonic metal albums

Charlemagne by the sword and the cross top 5 facts


Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross is a symphonic metal concept album by actor and singer Christopher Lee. It was released on 15 March 2010. This is Lee's first full-length album, having previously worked with such bands as Rhapsody of Fire and Manowar. The album won the "Spirit of Metal" award from the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards ceremony. The award was presented to him by Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi.

Contents

It tells the story of Charlemagne, the First Holy Roman Emperor. The album's promotional MySpace page garnered over 20 million hits from around the world. The album features 2 metal bands, and a number of guest vocalists playing the different roles in the story. Music was composed by Marco Sabiu. A music video for "The Bloody Verdict of Verden" was released in June 2012.

A heavy metal follow-up album, titled Charlemagne: The Omens of Death, was released in 2013.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Marie-Claire Calvet, all music composed by Marco Sabiu.

  1. "Overture" – 2:53
  2. Act I:
    1. "Intro" – 1:34
    2. "King of the Franks" – 7:14
  3. Act II:
    1. "Intro" – 1:46
    2. "The Iron Crown of Lombardy" – 8:12
  4. Act III:
    1. "Intro" – 3:26
    2. "The Bloody Verdict of Verden" – 6:16
  5. Act IV:
    1. "Intro" – 2:31
    2. "The Age of Oneness Out of Diversity" – 6:07
  6. Act V:
    1. "Intro" – 2:09
    2. Starlight – 4:40
  7. "Finale" – 3:57
  8. "Iberia" – 5:10
  9. "The Bloody Verdict of Verden" (Instrumental) – 6:20

Vocals

  • Christopher Lee – Charlemagne (Ghost)
  • Vincent Ricciardi – Charlemagne (Young)
  • Lydia Salnikova – Hildegard
  • Christina Lee – narration
  • Phil SP – Pepin the Short
  • Mauro Conti – Pope Hadrian
  • Christi Ebenhoch – storytelling singer
  • Dave "Grav" Cavill – additional vocals
  • John Wistow – backing vocals
  • European Cinematic Symphony Choir – choir

    • Musicians

  • Tony Newton – bass
  • Corrado Canonici – double bass
  • Ollie Usiskin – drums
  • Chris Jones – electric guitar
  • Matt Pearce – electric guitar
  • Raffaello Gentili – electric guitar
  • Leigh Alexandra – keyboards
  • European Cinematic Symphony Orchestra – orchestra

    • Production

  • Juan Aneiros – production
  • Monica Tong – assistant production
  • Juan Ramirez – co-production
  • Corrado Canonici – executive production
  • Andy Jackson – engineering, mastering
  • Marco Sabiu – orchestration, conducting
  • Mauro Conti – management vocal consulting

    • Songs

    1Overture2:53
    2Act I: Intro1:34
    3Act I: King of the Franks7:14

    References

    Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA