Queen guitar legend Sir Brian May has joined William Shatner\u2019s forthcoming heavy metal album \u2014 because apparently Captain Kirk recruiting one of rock\u2019s greatest guitarists is a completely normal thing happening in 2026.<\/p>\n
Right.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve officially reached the point where rock news sounds like somebody has been throwing names into a hat after several pints.<\/p>\n
William Shatner is making a heavy metal album.<\/p>\n
And now Queen\u2019s Brian May is involved.<\/p>\n
Yes, really.<\/p>\n
The legendary guitarist has become the latest rock heavyweight to join the Star Trek icon\u2019s upcoming venture into the heavier side of music, bringing one of the most recognisable guitar sounds in rock history along for the ride.<\/p>\n
Quite frankly, we\u2019re fascinated.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfb8 Brian May Enters The Metal Universe<\/p>\n
There aren\u2019t many guitarists whose sound can be identified within seconds, but Brian May absolutely belongs on that list.<\/p>\n
Armed with his famous Red Special, May helped create the gigantic, layered guitar sound that became one of Queen\u2019s defining characteristics.<\/p>\n
From Stone Cold Crazy and Tie Your Mother Down to Hammer To Fall, Brighton Rock and the utterly enormous solo in Bohemian Rhapsody, Brian has spent more than five decades proving he can make a guitar sound majestic, vicious, orchestral and occasionally like an entire bloody army.<\/p>\n
So putting that sound anywhere near a heavy metal William Shatner record?<\/p>\n
Yeah.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re listening.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\ude80 Captain Kirk Goes Heavy Metal<\/p>\n
Of course, William Shatner needs very little introduction.<\/p>\n
For generations, he\u2019ll forever be Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the USS Enterprise and one of the most recognisable figures in science-fiction history.<\/p>\n
But Shatner\u2019s career has never exactly stayed within sensible boundaries.<\/p>\n
Actor.<\/p>\n
Writer.<\/p>\n
Presenter.<\/p>\n
Recording artist.<\/p>\n
Actual space traveller.<\/p>\n
And now, at the age of 95, he\u2019s apparently decided that what the universe really needs is more heavy metal.<\/p>\n
Fair play.<\/p>\n
There are people thirty years younger who complain when the pub music is a bit loud.<\/p>\n
Shatner\u2019s out here assembling a metal album.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udf0c Brian May And William Shatner Are A Strangely Perfect Combination<\/p>\n
On paper, the combination might sound bonkers.<\/p>\n
Actually, the more you think about it, the more sense it makes.<\/p>\n
Both men have spent enormous parts of their lives connected to space.<\/p>\n
Shatner played one of science fiction\u2019s most iconic space explorers before eventually travelling to space himself.<\/p>\n
May, meanwhile, isn\u2019t merely a bloke from Queen who occasionally enjoys looking through a telescope.<\/p>\n
He holds a PhD in astrophysics.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n
While most rock stars were busy collecting motorcycles and questionable hotel bills, Brian May went and became an actual astrophysicist.<\/p>\n
Show-off.<\/p>\n
His scientific work has included involvement with space research and asteroid awareness alongside a music career that somehow also found time to involve one of the biggest bands in history.<\/p>\n
So Captain Kirk and the astrophysicist guitarist from Queen making heavy music together?<\/p>\n
Maybe it really was written in the stars.<\/p>\n
Sorry.<\/p>\n
We had to.<\/p>\n
\ud83e\udd18 Queen Have Always Had A Heavy Side<\/p>\n
Anyone surprised to see Brian May involved with something described as heavy metal clearly hasn\u2019t spent enough time digging into Queen\u2019s catalogue.<\/p>\n
Queen might be remembered by the wider public for enormous songs such as Don\u2019t Stop Me Now, Radio Ga Ga, Somebody To Love and We Are The Champions, but underneath all the flamboyance was a band capable of getting seriously heavy.<\/p>\n
Just stick on Stone Cold Crazy.<\/p>\n
Released on Sheer Heart Attack in 1974, the track moves with the sort of frantic aggression that would later become commonplace in thrash metal.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s the monstrous riff of Tie Your Mother Down, the stomping weight of Hammer To Fall and plenty of moments across Queen\u2019s early catalogue where May\u2019s guitar sounds gloriously filthy.<\/p>\n
Brian May might not traditionally be labelled a \u201cmetal guitarist\u201d.<\/p>\n
But the man absolutely knows how to bring the riffs.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfa4 Shatner Has Never Been Afraid Of A Musical Curveball<\/p>\n
The strangest part of this story might be that William Shatner making another adventurous record really isn\u2019t that strange at all.<\/p>\n
His musical career has always followed its own peculiar orbit.<\/p>\n
Shatner became famous for his dramatic spoken-word approach to songs, delivering performances that sit somewhere between music, theatre and somebody giving an extremely important speech while the band behind him goes absolutely bananas.<\/p>\n
It shouldn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n
Sometimes it somehow does.<\/p>\n
And whether you love it, hate it or simply stare at the speakers trying to understand what\u2019s happening, boring is rarely the word.<\/p>\n
Heavy metal potentially gives that theatrical delivery an even bigger playground.<\/p>\n
Huge guitars.<\/p>\n
Thunderous drums.<\/p>\n
Dark atmosphere.<\/p>\n
Ridiculous drama.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s basically Shatner territory already.<\/p>\n
Just louder.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udd25 Imagine That Red Special Through A Wall Of Metal<\/p>\n
And this is where things become properly intriguing.<\/p>\n
Brian May has one of those guitar tones that doesn\u2019t need an introduction.<\/p>\n
You hear it.<\/p>\n
You know it.<\/p>\n
That singing sustain and layered harmony work helped turn Queen records into these enormous walls of sound.<\/p>\n
Now imagine that unmistakable tone dropped into something considerably heavier.<\/p>\n
It could be wonderfully dramatic.<\/p>\n
It could be completely bonkers.<\/p>\n
It could sound like Queen accidentally took a wrong turn into a metal festival while Captain Kirk delivers a monologue from the side of the stage.<\/p>\n
Whatever happens, we desperately doubt it\u2019ll be dull.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udd96 From The Enterprise To The Mosh Pit<\/p>\n
There is something wonderfully rock \u2019n\u2019 roll about William Shatner still trying completely unexpected things at 95.<\/p>\n
The sensible option would probably be slowing down.<\/p>\n
Doing the occasional convention.<\/p>\n
Writing another memoir.<\/p>\n
Having a nice cup of tea.<\/p>\n
Shatner apparently looked at that option and went:<\/p>\n
\u201cNah. Heavy metal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Legend.<\/p>\n
And recruiting somebody of Brian May\u2019s stature immediately turns the project into something rock fans are going to want to hear.<\/p>\n
Maybe out of excitement.<\/p>\n
Maybe curiosity.<\/p>\n
Maybe because none of us are entirely convinced this timeline is real anymore.<\/p>\n
Either way, mission accomplished.<\/p>\n
\ud83e\udd18 THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT<\/p>\n
We didn\u2019t have Brian May joins Captain Kirk\u2019s heavy metal album on our 2026 bingo card.<\/p>\n
But here we are.<\/p>\n
And you know what?<\/p>\n
We\u2019re completely here for it.<\/p>\n
Brian May remains one of rock\u2019s most distinctive musicians, and any opportunity to hear that Red Special doing something unusual gets our attention immediately.<\/p>\n
Pair him with William Shatner \u2014 one of entertainment\u2019s great eccentric characters \u2014 and the potential for something wonderfully over-the-top is enormous.<\/p>\n
Rock and metal are at their best when artists occasionally throw the rulebook into a skip and try something nobody expected.<\/p>\n
This certainly qualifies.<\/p>\n
So fire up the warp drive.<\/p>\n
Turn the amps to eleven.<\/p>\n
Set phasers to RIFF.<\/p>\n
And prepare yourselves.<\/p>\n
Captain Kirk is going heavy metal, and he\u2019s brought Brian bloody May with him. \ud83e\udd18\ud83d\ude80\ud83c\udfb8<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queen guitar legend Sir Brian May has joined William Shatner\u2019s forthcoming heavy metal album \u2014 because apparently Captain…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341620,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-341619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}