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William Shatner, 95, Fronts Heavy Metal Debut at Riot Fest—Covers Metallica, Ozzy, Motörhead

1 day ago 3 min read
William Shatner, 95, Fronts Heavy Metal Debut at Riot Fest—Covers Metallica, Ozzy, Motörhead

WHAT WENT DOWN

William Shatner, 95, fronted a heavy metal band for the first time, delivering Ozzy, Motörhead and Metallica covers in spoken word — twice in two nights in Chicago ‡†.

THE DETAILS

  • Debut Sept. 19 at Park West as a Riot Fest aftershow; the Rebel Stage set at Douglass Park followed Sunday, Sept. 20 ‡†.
  • Six songs: "Crazy Train," "Rage," "Ace of Spades," "Sky," "Enter Sandman," "One Fear" **.
  • The *uckers: Marcus Nand (guitar, musical director), Phil Soussan (bass), Britt Lightning of Vixen, Fred Aching on drums †***.
  • Shatner onstage: "I have explored space. I have explored time. Now … I explore distortion." ‡
  • Riot Fest said it landed him after years of letter writing †.
  • Album *What the F Is Heavy Metal?* features Brian May, Tony Iommi and Rob Halford; no release date †.

THE TAKE

He rehearsed two months to a scratch track on his phone, counting bars because metal "all sounds alike" to him §§. The rumored half-hour Coachella set in spring 2027 remains unconfirmed †.

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* Watch: VAN HALEN's 'Lost' Singer MITCH MALLOY And MICHAEL ANTHONY Perform 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love' At 2026 'Vegas Rocks! Magazine Music Awards' — Blabbermouth, Blabbermouth, 2026-09-21T09:58:41+00:00 — https://blabbermouth.net/news/watch-van-halens-lost-singer-mitch-malloy-and-michael-anthony-perform-aint-talkin-bout-love-at-2026-vegas-rocks-magazine-music-awards
† Watch: WILLIAM SHATNER Performs With His Heavy Metal Band At Chicago's RIOT FEST — Blabbermouth, Blabbermouth, 2026-09-21T08:58:20+00:00 — https://blabbermouth.net/news/watch-william-shatner-performs-with-his-heavy-metal-band-at-chicagos-riot-fest
‡ Watch: WILLIAM SHATNER Covers OZZY OSBOURNE, METALLICA Classics At First-Ever Performance With His Heavy Metal Band THE *UCKERS — Blabbermouth, Blabbermouth, 2026-09-20T08:01:29+00:00 — https://blabbermouth.net/news/watch-william-shatner-covers-ozzy-osbourne-metallica-classics-at-first-ever-performance-with-his-heavy-metal-band-the-uckers
§ WATCH: WILLIAM SHATNER Covers METALLICA, MOTORHEAD, OZZY OSBOURNE + More Live For First Time — Allen Busch, Metal Injection, 2026-09-20T16:34:08+00:00 — https://metalinjection.net/news/watch-william-shatner-covers-metallica-motorhead-ozzy-osbourne-more-live-for-first-time
William Shatner Takes Riot Fest by Storm, Previews Album What the F Is Heavy Metal? — Spencer Kaufman, Consequence, 2026-09-21T14:19:36+00:00 — https://consequence.net/2026/09/william-shatner-riot-fest-performance/
** William Shatner Performs Ozzy, Metallica, Motörhead Classics at His Debut Metal Show: Video + Setlist — Spencer Kaufman, Consequence, 2026-09-20T16:32:13+00:00 — https://consequence.net/2026/09/william-shatner-debut-metal-show/
†† See William Shatner Cover Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne in Heavy Metal Debut — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 2026-09-20T14:52:30+00:00 — https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/william-shatner-metallica-ozzy-osbourne-heavy-metal-debut-1235629269/
‡‡ See WILLIAM SHATNER cover OZZY and METALLICA with new band the F*CKERS — Revolver, 2026-09-21T14:54:47+00:00 — https://www.revolvermag.com/music/see-william-shatner-cover-ozzy-and-metallica-with-new-band-the-fckers/
§§ William Shatner Says Heavy Metal ‘All Sounds Alike’ to Him — Martin Kielty, Ultimate Classic Rock, 2026-09-21T12:40:31+00:00 — https://ultimateclassicrock.com/william-shatner-heavy-metal-all-sounds-alike/
¶¶ Watch William Shatner cover Metallica, Ozzy, Motörhead and more as he fronts his first heavy metal show at the age of 95 — Fraser Lewry, Louder Sound, 2026-09-20T23:46:37+00:00 — https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/william-shatner-covers-metallica-ozzy-motorhead
*** 95-Year-Old William Shatner Debuts Metal Band At Riot Fest Aftershow — Margaret Farrell and Scott Lapatine, Stereogum, 2026-09-20T13:53:36+00:00 — https://stereogum.com/2512021/95-year-old-william-shatner-debuts-metal-band-at-riot-fest-aftershow/news/

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