It's been 57 years since TV icon William Shatner released his debut album, an utterly bizarre culty nugget called The Transformed Man. In more recent years, Shatner has occasionally returned to his music career, usually for shits and giggles. At least once in your life, you need to hear Shatner apply his bizarre spoken-word elocution to Pulp's "Common People" on his Ben Folds-produced 2004 album Has Been. Shatner is now 94 years old, and he has just announced his first-ever metal album.
Shatner's metal album is reportedly coming soon from Cleopatra Records, the label that put out his last few records. According to the Cleopatra press release, the LP will feature collaborations with veterans like Ozzy Osbourne/Black Label Society shredder Zakk Wylde, Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore, Tangerine Dream's Edgar Froese, the late MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, and Henry Rollins. (Rollins previously appeared on Has Been, and he and Shatner joined forces on a 2018 recording of "Jingle Bells.")
Shatner's metal album will include covers of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, as well as originals. It took shape after the band Nuclear Messiah got Shatner to narrate the intro to their upcoming album Black Flame. Here's what Shatner has to say about the project:
When Nuclear Messiah came to life, something clicked. 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...
Metal has always been a place where imagination gets loud. 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...
I’ve spent a lifetime exploring in both reality and fiction. Now, I am stepping out into the unknown once again with my new project in heavy metal.
We don't have a title, tracklist, or released date yet, let alone any music. But Shatner says that the album is "destined for this year."
