Star Trek actor and band the *uckers played warm-up gig in Chicago Saturday ahead of official Riot Fest debut
William Shatner made his heavy metal debut Saturday at a Riot Fest Chicago after hours gig, covering artists like Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica with the actor’s new band the *uckers.
The 95-year-old Star Trek star previously revealed that heavy metal would be his latest musical frontier following his expeditions into genres like spoken word, the blues, country music, Christmas songs and children’s music.
“I have explored space. I have explored time. Now … I explore distortion,” Shatner previously said of his heavy metal odyssey on social media. That loud journey began Saturday at Chicago’s Park West, where Shatner and his band of heavy metal vets played a warmup gig ahead of their first official show Sunday at Riot Fest.
The six-song set featured three songs from Shatner and the *uckers’ upcoming album What the F Is Heavy Metal? as well as covers of metal classics like Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” and Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades.”
In addition to the *uckers, What the F Is Heavy Metal? features appearances by rock royalty like Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, Queen’s Brian May, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, Slayer’s Dave Lombardo, and more.
“I’m so enlivened. I’m so filled with passion. I’ve come to understand what heavy metal is,” Shatner told Billboard recently of his latest musical endeavor. “It’s an energy that permeates your body and lifts you up. Heavy metal is the rhythm of life. It’s overwhelming, especially if you’ve got earphones in. This afternoon, I’m going to have earbuds that have been made for me and the rest of the group. I’m so excited about what I’m performing. It’s a real-life fervor happening for me.”
