William Shatner Debuts His Metal Band at a Chicago Aftershow

William Shatner made his first live appearance with a new heavy metal band at Chicago’s Park West on Sept. 19, warming up for a scheduled Riot Fest performance. Stereogum reported that the 95-year-old performer led a six-song set built from metal standards and original material.

A short set with an all-star lineup

The band paired Shatner with guitarists Marcus Nand and Britt Lightning, bassist Phil Soussan and drummer Fred Aching. Riot Fest had previously announced that lineup for Shatner’s Sunday appearance at Douglass Park, describing the set as a mix of reworked songs from his catalog and previews from an upcoming metal album.

At Park West, the group reportedly played versions of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades” and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” Stereogum, citing the set-list archive Setlist.fm, said the other half of the performance consisted of originals, including one song that may be titled “Damn Old Age.”

The aftershow gave Shatner a smaller room in which to test a project that initially sounded like one of Riot Fest’s characteristically unpredictable bookings. It also clarified that the performance was not simply an actor appearing with a backing group for a novelty cameo. The named musicians form an experienced rock lineup, and the set combined recognizable covers with songs intended for Shatner’s own album.

The project extends Shatner’s spoken-word music career

Shatner has spent decades making records in a dramatic spoken style rather than presenting himself as a conventional singer. Heavy metal gives that delivery a different frame: forceful guitars and familiar riffs can turn his theatrical phrasing into part of the arrangement instead of asking it to imitate a standard rock vocal.

His forthcoming album, What the F Is Heavy Metal?, is expected through Cleopatra Records, though Stereogum reported that no release date has been announced. For now, the Chicago debut establishes that the project exists as a working live band—and that Shatner is willing to launch another creative chapter at 95.