William Shatner fell in love with heavy metal: At 95, the legendary Captain Kirk is officially rocking the live stage!
What if a 95-year-old Captain Kirk suddenly started rocking out to Enter Sandman while performing live on stage with his new band? What sounds like the beginning of a Star Trek parody can actually be attributed to William Shatner's real-life fervor for music. After exploring a vast galaxy of sounds, the Canadian multi-talent has officially arrived at heavy metal and is ready to drop an album featuring the genre's ultimate royalty.
From Children's Music to Metal
William Shatner is known for pushing boundaries as an actor, director, writer, and the oldest person to travel into space at age 90. Due to his diverse passions, his eagerness to experiment comes as no surprise. After exploring genres like spoken word, blues, country music, Christmas songs, and children’s music, it almost seemed inevitable that heavy metal would become his next frontier.
The push toward heavier music is no coincidence: his label Cleopatra Records pitched the idea, which was initially met with confusion. After recording an intro narration for Nuclear Messiah, a project by former Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland, something clicked between Shatner and heavy music. He recognized metal as an outlet of passionate emotions, which inspired him to found a band and name their upcoming album What the F Is Heavy Metal? The record features powerhouse guest spots from rock royalty, including Tony Iommi, Brian May, Dave Lombardo, and Rob Halford.
Go Big or Go Home
The Canadian multi-talent does not do things by halves: Instead of starting small, Shatner took the stage at Riot Fest with his band, a Chicago-based festival drawing over 50,000 people daily. They previously shared social media footage of an intimate club warm-up gig at Chicago's Park West, featuring a set of six songs including three from their upcoming album and three metal covers.
Needless to say, the clips went viral and left many fans in awe of his relentless energy, proving that his legendary stamina extends far beyond the final frontier.
