Actor turned metal artist has passed away at the age of 93.

A sad day as the famed Shakespearean actor passes away, leaving behind an incredible portfolio of films including the portrayment of Saruman in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Most notably for metalheads, Sir Lee was tapped into providing narration for every Rhapsody of Fire album between 2005 – 2011, and subsequently started his own metal band named Charlemagne at the age of 87 releasing two albums.

Lee was awarded the ‘Spirit of Metal’ award at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards in 2010 for his work in metal, awarded by Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi.

RIP Sir Lee, you were one of the most admirable forces in metal music, and you leave behind one of my favourite quotes during your work with Rhapsody:

“One must try everything in their career except adult films and folk dancing“.