William Shatner has explained the unusual approach he took to Metallica‘s “Enter Sandman“, which he performed with his new heavy metal band, The *uckers, at Riot Fest in Chicago last month.
The 95-year-old “Star Trek” actor spoke about the cover on the September 29 episode of SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk“. He explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “I reinterpreted it. Take ‘Sandman‘, for example. So ‘Sandman‘ is a weird lyric. The words are, ‘Never mind the noise you heard.’ ‘It’s under your bed, in your head.’ ‘Be a nice little child. Say your prayers.’ It’s bizarre… If you were an actor, as I am, you’re looking at the words you’ve gotta say. Who says this? I said, ‘Well, who would say this?’ A child molester would talk like this. ‘Say your prayers, little one.’ ‘Never the noise you heard. It’s under the bed, in your head.’ Come on. Who says that? A child molester. So ‘Sandman‘ is a paean of praise for molesting a child… Well, I mean, maybe not molesting, but driving them nuts. How to drive a child mad… But this individual’s encouraging the bad dreams. ‘Say your prayers, little one.’ ‘Make sure you include everyone.’ That’s my reinterpretation of ‘Sandman‘… So I gave my interpretation, not only of the lyrics of songs that we wrote, but the cover songs.”
He had described the same idea to Billboard before the Riot Fest concert, when he also admitted he was nervous about the show: “Imagine the fear of the actor. The actor’s nightmare is being naked and not remembering your lines. Well, I’m going to be dressed and I’ll have help with the lines in the equipment. But the other part of that nightmare is being laughed offstage. ‘Oh, what is he doing?’ I’m poised between being laughed off the stage and being lauded. This is new, this is exciting, this is heavy metal like it’s never been heard before because I’m reinterpreting.”
Shatner and The *uckers played six songs at Riot Fest at Douglass Park on September 20. The set included three originals written by Shatner and his long-time writing partner Rob Sharenow, along with covers of “Enter Sandman“, Ozzy Osbourne‘s “Crazy Train” and Motörhead‘s “Ace Of Spades“.
The band features guitarist and musical director Marcus Nand, bassist Phil Soussan, guitarist Britt Lightning of Vixen and drummer Fred Aching of Kings Of Thrash.
The songs come from Shatner‘s upcoming album What The F Is Heavy Metal?, which is tentatively due in 2027 through Cleopatra Records. The album is produced by Adam Hamilton and Cleopatra Records president Brian Perera, with additional production by Derek Hughes, Marcus Nand and Jürgen Engler of Die Krupps. Dozens of guest musicians are set to appear, including Brian May of Queen, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, John Moyer of Disturbed and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.
Last month, Shatner told The Moynihan Report that the album’s title came from his reaction when the label suggested the project: “Cleopatra, the label that I work with frequently, said to me, ‘Why don’t you do a heavy metal album?’ And I said, ‘What the F is heavy metal?’ Then I heard ‘Patience‘, the song ‘Patience‘ [by Guns N’ Roses]. So we write a song called ‘Impatience‘. ‘I’m not gonna wait around for you. I’m not waiting for you. Here, read my lips.’ And it’s all about, ‘I’m not waiting around for you. Yeah. You hear me? You hear my lips? I’m not waiting.’ And it’s got that kind of rage and tempo… Impassioned. ‘I’m tired of old age. I’m tired of losing hair. I’m tired of not eating. I’m tired of catching a cold. I’m tired of being tired. I’m tired!'”
He also explained that he came to the genre as a complete beginner: “You gotta start with the premise that I really know nothing,” he said. “I’m inquisitive. Apparently, I’m inquisitive, and I’m reading and looking up all the time, stuff. So I began to experiment. I fastened on to emotions. I thought heavy metal has gotta be about emotions — violent, passionate… Not violent — passionate emotions. ‘The Black Sky‘ is about what we’re doing to the planet. ‘Impatience‘ — don’t keep me waiting. ‘Rage‘. Five songs with meaning to me. I’m enraged, I’m angry about, I am disgusted with.”
Shatner has been releasing records since 1968, mixing spoken word with rock, blues and children’s music, and has worked with Ben Folds, Brad Paisley and Iggy Pop. Best known as Captain Kirk in the original “Star Trek” series and seven “Star Trek” films, one of which he directed, he has said he is now cancer-free after being diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma in 2023.
