William Shatner Goes Heavy Metal at 94

Age is clearly not lowering the shields or reducing power for William Shatner. He is doing it his way. At 94, the legendary performer is engaging warp drive, cranking the amps to eleven, and boldly going where few nonagenarians have gone before… straight into a full-scale heavy metal recording project. Call it senior power metal, vintage volume, or starship-grade sonic propulsion. Either way, he is proving that rock is not just eternal. It is the final frontier.

His upcoming release will feature metal-forged interpretations of classic heavy anthems alongside brand-new original material. While it may not generate the same genre-bending shockwave that Pat Boone launched with his own hard-rock experiment years ago, Shatner’s approach promises a different kind of cosmic disturbance. Think less novelty, more warp-core overload.

The screen legend, forever associated with Captain Kirk from Star Trek: The Original Series, confirmed the project through his team, teasing a release later this year. The album remains untitled for now, but its creative engines are already humming like a freshly tuned starship. Shatner says the record is fueled by the raw energy and imagination that metal has always sparked in him. Each collaborator was selected for their distinct sonic identity and intensity, forming a crew ready to explore strange new riffs and seek out new musical civilizations.

The tracklist will feature Shatner’s re-engineered versions of songs by Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, along with freshly written material developed with his collaborators. In other words, he is not just revisiting classics. He is rematerializing them through the transporter and giving them new metallic life.

“I’ve spent my life exploring different worlds, both real and fictional,” Shatner said. “This album is another step into the unknown.”
For a man who once commanded a starship, launching into a sonic supernova feels less like a career shift and more like a natural mission update.

The guest lineup reads like a gathering of galactic heavy hitters. Guitar powerhouse Zakk Wylde, famed for his work with Ozzy Osbourne and Black Label Society, is on board. Spoken-word storm and punk icon Henry Rollins of Black Flag fame also joins the mission. The roster continues with guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore, electronic pioneer Edgar Froese of Tangerine Dream, and proto-punk trailblazer Wayne Kramer from MC5.

Together, they form a multi-generational wall of sound powerful enough to shake asteroid belts and rattle Klingon battle cruisers.

Shatner may be entering metal’s quadrant later than most, but he is not approaching at impulse speed. He is warping in, phasers set to shred, and stage-diving across decades of musical history like a captain on a mission of pure sonic discovery. The result promises to be equal parts tribute, experiment, and deep-space rock odyssey.

Proof that time does not mellow everyone. Some legends achieve maximum warp… and get heavier with every stardate.