You might know him as Captain James T. Kirk, the cavalier captain of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek, but believe it or not, William Shatner is a true heavy metal warrior – and he has just announced an all-star metal album to prove it.
Given all that he has been through – all those times Montgomery Scott beamed him through the transporter, the long-running feuds with Klingons and Romulans – we can forgive Shatner for not holding the electric guitar in the orthodox fashion.
We might even forgive him for holding what looks like an AI-generated Gibson Les Paul or perhaps one from the Chibson Custom Shop – clock those melting upper-fret inlays or, for that matter, the mere fact there are inlays on the 11th and 13th frets at all.
But one condition. This as-yet-untitled album, with an as-yet-unannounced cast of metal guitar talents, better not suck. Shatner sounds bullish on that score.
“Metal has always been a place where imagination gets loud,” he says. “This album is a gathering of forces – each artist bringing their fire, their precision, their chaos. I chose them because they have something to say, and because metal demands honesty.”
This, reads the statement, is not a “novelty album”. Tune in for “massive guitars, cinematic arrangements”, and for “sharp turns, dark humor, raw emotion, and moments of unexpected beauty”; this, dear reader, is life itself.
Shatner got the inspiration for the project after collaborating with former Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland, delivering a spoken word intro a la Barry Clayton for the new album from Nuclear Messiah, Black Flame.
“When Nuclear Messiah came to life, something clicked,” says Shatner. “It wasn’t just a track – it was a doorway. It made me want to go all the way in, bring in the best metal players I could find, and create something fearless.”
No names have been officially attached just yet, but part of the inspiration for the project was the guitar Zakk Wylde personally gifted the Star Trek star – a gesture Shatner describes as unexpected and deeply motivating. That makes the former Ozzy guitarist a shoo-in for the record. Ditto, Chris Poland; we’d bet his legato will be dripping all over at least one of these tracks.
As for the rest? Well, it’s from a roster of 35 quote/unquote metal icons, each hand-picked by Shatner – as though he has summoned the best and the brightest from The Metal Archives and lined them up in a carpark, Shatner beatifically gliding along on a Segway, pausing only to tap the chosen ones on the shoulder.
Shatner says there will be some choice covers of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden standards, but there will be all-original material, too. He knows what he is doing with these all-star collaborations.
In the past he has worked with a diverse cast of players, with 2004’s Has Been featuring the likes of Henry Rollins, Adrian Belew, Brad Paisley, the wonderful Aimee Mann and more – including his collab with Pulp on Common People. Paisley returned for 2021’s Bill, joining Joe Walsh and Robert Randolph in the studio.
So, we wait with bated breath. We’ll bring you more details on this Shatner-fronted metal project as soon as they arrive.
To paraphrase the original ‘Metal Warriors’: Klingons and Romulans leave the hall, heavy metal or no metal at all!
