Legendary Canadian actor William Shatner – greatest recognized for portraying Captain James T. Kirk within the Star Trek franchise – has introduced plans to launch a heavy metallic album this 12 months.

The 94-year-old actor says a star-studded solid of 35 metallic legends will seem on the album. On the time of writing, we’re not completely certain who’ll be fortunate sufficient to be a part of that roster, however in accordance with Steel Hammer, Shatner’s longtime pal Zakk Wylde might be closely concerned, in addition to Henry Rollins and Ritchie Blackmore.

William Shatner has loved a permanent friendship with Black Label Society frontman and Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde for a few years. The pair teamed up on a collaborative spoken phrase file, Searching for Main Tom, in 2011, and sat alongside Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and Sharon Osbourne to participate in a televised roast of Wylde.

It’s stated that a big supply of inspiration for the brand new metallic album was each a guitar Zakk Wylde personally gifted Shatner, and Shatner’s current collaboration with former Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland, which noticed him ship a spoken phrase intro to a music on Nuclear Messiah’s new album, Black Flame.

“When Nuclear Messiah got here to life, one thing clicked,” says Shatner in an announcement shared with Guitar World. “It wasn’t only a monitor – it was a doorway. It made me wish to go all the way in which in, usher in the most effective metallic gamers I may discover, and create one thing fearless.”

In a social media publish saying the undertaking, Shatner says: “I’ve explored area. I’ve explored time. Now, I discover distortion. Sure. You learn that appropriately. I’m releasing a heavy metallic album. 35 metallic virtuosos. Thunderous guitars. Chaos with goal.”

Shatner explains that the album will comprise each covers of songs by legendary metallic heavyweights together with Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, in addition to various originals “cast in the identical cosmic fireplace”.

“This undertaking is, fairly actually, a gathering of forces,” Shatner goes on. “Loud creativeness. Sincere depth. Unapologetic exploration.

“At 94, one doesn’t decelerate. One turns the quantity up. So put together yourselves. We’re about to boldly headbang the place nobody has headbanged earlier than. Keep tuned. The metallic voyage begins this 12 months.”

That’s all the data we now have on the album presently, however we’re very excited, so belief us once we say we’ll preserve you within the loop as we all know extra…

Sam is the Affiliate Information Editor for Guitar.com and MusicTech. Totally immersed in music tradition for almost all of his life, Sam has performed guitar for 20 years, studied music know-how and manufacturing at college, and likewise written for the likes of Guitar World, Whole Guitar, Steel Hammer and MusicRadar.