Art: Sir Christopher Lee

You’ve just released your latest EP, Metal Knight. What drew you to heavy metal so late in life?

About ten years ago I was approached by a band called Rhapsody as they wanted me to do some narration. The stories were very Lord Of The Rings-like. It is, of course, fantasy, which I love.

Were you aware of heavy metal in the late sixties?

Yes. In the early seventies I moved to America and it was there where I had my first direct contact with the genre. I’d played golf a few times with Alice Cooper. Not many people know this, but I worked with Frank Zappa. He was a fan of my work so he asked to star with me in a TV show. It was called Faerie Tale Theatre.

_Some people can be snobbish about popular music – they say it’s not “art”. _

Art comprises all forms of expressions. There are snobs in all walks of life – I simply ignore them.

What is it that keeps you going?

The need and desire to keep my brain active. It is what drives the body. It is like a drug which I need in order to function.

Dave Everley

Dave Everley has been writing about and occasionally humming along to music since the early 90s. During that time, he has been Deputy Editor on Kerrang! and Classic Rock, Associate Editor on Q magazine and staff writer/tea boy on Raw, not necessarily in that order. He has written for Metal Hammer, Louder, Prog, the Observer, Select, Mojo, the Evening Standard and the totally legendary Ultrakill. He is still waiting for Billy Gibbons to send him a bottle of hot sauce he was promised several years ago.