William Shatner reveals the title of his upcoming metal album

William Shatner said that he is recording a heavy metal album in a recent interview with Michael Moynihan of The Moynihan Report, as per Blabbermouth. Several dozen hard rock and heavy metal musicians, including Brian May (Queen), Rob Halford (Judas Priest), John Moyer (Disturbed), and Dave Lombardo (Slayer), will make guest appearances on the project, which is being driven by a heavyweight production team led by Adam Hamilton (L.A. Guns, Brian Jonestown Massacre) and Brian Perera, president of Cleopatra Records, Derek Hughes (Nuclear Messiah), Marcus Nand, and Jürgen Engler (Die Krupps). The 95-year-old Shatner will also perform live for the first time with his recently created heavy metal band, The *uckers, during the Riot Fest on Sunday, September 20 at Douglass Park in Chicago.

I am in a fervor of creativity, I am writing books. I’m doing albums. This heavy metal album is like… They want me to do… I’m gonna do a concert. I’m gonna do 30-minute concert — 30 minutes of heavy metal [laughs], with a band. 30 minutes on stage.

How did he get this idea?

Cleopatra, the label that I work with frequently, said to me, ‘Why don’t you do a heavy metal album?’ And I said, ‘What the F is heavy metal?’ Then I heard ‘Patience’, the song ‘Patience’ [by Guns N’ Roses]. So we write a song called ‘Impatience’. ‘I’m not gonna wait around for you. I’m not waiting for you. Here, read my lips.’ And it’s all about, ‘I’m not waiting around for you. Yeah. You hear me? You hear my lips? I’m not waiting.’ And it’s got that kind of rage and tempo… Impassioned. ‘I’m tired of old age. I’m tired of losing hair. I’m tired of not eating. I’m tired of catching a cold. I’m tired of being tired. I’m tired!’

William stated that he “loves the music almost as much as anything else” in response to Moynihan’s observation.

The music is a distillation of emotion. It’s so right there.

This is what Shatner said about his vision for the next heavy metal album.

The name of the album — I hope; I mean, everybody agrees —is ‘What The F Is Heavy Metal?’ That’s the name of the album.

Shatner clarified that he has “nothing” to say about heavy metal.

You gotta start with the premise that I really know nothing, I’m inquisitive. Apparently, I’m inquisitive, and I’m reading and looking up all the time, stuff. So I began to experiment. I fastened on to emotions. I thought heavy metal has gotta be about emotions — violent, passionate… Not violent — passionate emotions. ‘The Black Sky’ is about what we’re doing to the planet. ‘Impatience’ — don’t keep me waiting. ‘Rage’. Five songs with meaning to me. I’m enraged, I’m angry about, I am disgusted with.

When asked if he still gets angry at his age, Shatner gave this response.

Oh, yeah. I wanna get on my horse and run the way I used to. My legs don’t have the strength that they once had, so I’m careful. I don’t wanna be careful. These albums that I have written with Rob are all personal. They all have to do with my growth.

Shatner responded as follows when asked whether he had any favourite heavy metal musicians.

I don’t know. ‘Cause I don’t know their names. Brian May plucks an anguished guitar. It’s crazed. And it moves me. There are 50 well-known heavy metal geniuses who wanna be on the album, led by Brian May. Why? Brian May laid his track down over a song that Rob [Sharenow] and I wrote called ‘Rage’. ‘Rage against the dying of the light,’ to use that — what’s his name’s phrase. That’s the name of the song, and we’ll make it into a music video.