Of all the people to release a heavy metal album in 2026, few people probably thought William Shatner would. The more you think about it, however, the more likely it becomes. William Shatner wasn’t only the legend who starred in Star Trek, he’s also the legend who boarded a Blue Origin flight to space at the age of ninety, so he’s not really averse to going about his retirement a little differently.
Not to mention, he’s Canadian, and Canadians have a flair for trying unconventional projects. Whether it’s Ryan Reynolds buying Wrexham FC in 2021, or Seth Rogen suddenly becoming a regular on Netflix cooking shows, it seems there’s something in the Canadian water that encourages entertainers to step outside the expected.
Should we be surprised that Shatner is both a heavy metal fan and also using heavy metal as a vehicle for more artistic exploration? No.
Heavy metal has long been a key genre of popular music, attracting all sorts of dedicated and casual listeners. But it’s also been a genre keen to go beyond its own borders. Take Avenged Sevenfold for instance, who performed a VR concert back in 2024. Their set was performed in their ‘Hail to the King’ environment, giving the audience a whole new perspective to the band’s live show with effects and visuals that felt appropriate to the genre. It wasn’t an interactive experience, which could well be heavy metal’s next innovation, especially as other sectors incorporate interactive elements into their live digital shows: players can engage with dealers at a live casino in Canada, able to bridge that digital divide and be social, professional, and real at home and in a production studio.
Shatner, despite his space-tending ambitions, has opted for a less technologically adventurous effort and has instead focused on curating and developing an ambitious album in terms of its personnel.
So What Is William Shatner Doing?
So let’s rewind a little: what exactly is he doing? According to William Shatner’s X post, the heavy metal album in question will feature 35 metal virtuosos, covering legends like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest, alongside some original tunes ‘forged in the same cosmic fire’.
He insists it’s not a novelty album, but a true, event record built around massive guitars and cinematic arrangements, and designed to unite a legion of metal’s most respected musicians under one vision. Sounds good, right? Well, we hope so…
Will it Sound Good?
Let’s not kid ourselves, things like this have happened before. Hugh Laurie has released a blues album, Idris Elba has produced music and DJ’d. Even Christopher Lee released a few heavy metal albums in his day. But when actors delve into the world of music, the result is often mixed. Not for Christopher Lee – he could do no wrong. But for actors like Laurie and Elba, and even others like Scarlett Johansson and Lindsay Lohan, there have been whispers of ‘stick to the day job’.
The hope here is that, because it’s not just William Shatner, but an array of heavy metal musicians working to bring this vision to life, there’s a good chance that the music itself might actually be half decent.
Even if it isn’t, however, does it really matter? We shouldn’t be expecting innovation and wonders, like when Seraphina Sanan united with Twista to create a blend of metal and rap, or when Coroner unleashed their first album in more than 30 years back in October.
But as mentioned before, Shatner is a Canadian legend. There’s nothing stopping him from cashing in his chips and seeing out his retirement quietly, but he’s decided on the opposite. He’s chosen a headbanging alternative that proves how much adventure he still has left in his soul, and shows a willingness to defy expectations that can only be applauded.
Indeed, this could be the worst album in the world, and we’d probably still be headbanging away, in awe at the fact that a 94-year-old is responsible for it.
To put it bluntly, Shatner is proving how old age doesn’t have to mean slowing down or playing it safe. He’s going boldly where no 94-year-old has gone before, and for that, all we can say is proceed.