WBEZ⁠9%

William Shatner will debut new metal band at Riot Fest in September ⁠88%

By Selena Fragassi⁠15%

7/16/2026, 3:29:39 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 21 faulty reasoning types, including Biased Writer Voice, Halo Effect, and Availability Heuristic, with Appeal to Authority as the most egregious example at 41.1% saturation with 147 hits. Analysis detected 773 faulty-reasoning hits from 358 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 80.6% and a BS Rank of ⁠88% (2,708 of 21,887 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 87.60% of the article peer group.

Move over Kirk Hammett. 
Capt. 
Kirk wants to be the next heavy metal star — and he’s kicking things off at Riot Fest. 
Festival organizers have announced that 95-year-old entertainment icon and apparent metalhead William Shatner will debut his newly assembled band The *uckers on Sept. 20 at Douglass Park on the final day of the fest, joining a lineup that includes Twenty One Pilots, Tool, Alanis Morissette, Patti Smith and Morrissey. 
The appearance is timed with Shatner’s forthcoming album on Cleopatra Records that is reported to include covers of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, in addition to several original tunes. 
Backing him up will be an assembly of metal musicians including guitarists Marcus Nand (Mike Tramp, Candice Night) and Britt Lightning (Vixen, Cactus), bassist Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol) and drummer Fred Aching (Kings of Thrash, Dead Groove, Fraxures). 
The Riot Fest performance also promises to “reimagine songs from across Shatner's musical catalog,” which includes several albums, starting with 1968’s “The Transformed Man” that kicked off the “Star Trek ” actor’s music/spoken word career. 
After a dry spell, Shatner returned with his second album, “Has Been” in 2004, arranged by Ben Folds and featuring guest stars like Henry Rollins and Adrian Belew. 
He’s also previously recorded tracks with Joe Walsh, Zakk Wylde, Wayne Kramer and fellow Riot Fest 2026 performer Iggy Pop. 
"I've always believed that music, like space, is about exploration," Shatner said in a statement. 
"Riot Fest is exactly the kind of place where anything can happen. 
We’re bringing volume, intensity and a few surprises. 
I can't wait to share this experience with the fans." 
Shatner is just the latest curveball from Riot Fest’s bag of tricks. 
In 2025, the festival goaded John Stamos into appearing at the event with the Beach Boys after years of basically stalking the actor. 
This year’s edition also features local luminary Tom Skilling, who’s coming out of retirement to report the weather all weekend long. 
Find more information and tickets at riotfest.org . 
Correction: This story has been updated with the correct photo credit. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 8.7%Selena Fragassi: 3.2%WBEZ: 2.0%Confirmation Bias8.7%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.5%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 17.6%Selena Fragassi: 6.3%WBEZ: 2.6%Availability Heuristic17.6%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 1.4%WBEZ: 0.7%Representativeness Heuristic0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.3%WBEZ: 0.3%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 4.3%WBEZ: 0.7%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 8.4%Selena Fragassi: 2.2%WBEZ: 4.2%Framing Effect8.4%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.6%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 5.9%Selena Fragassi: 2.3%WBEZ: 0.6%Status Quo Bias5.9%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.9%WBEZ: 0.2%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 8.4%Selena Fragassi: 2.5%WBEZ: 2.5%Optimism Bias8.4%This article: 7.8%Selena Fragassi: 0.4%WBEZ: 0.9%Pessimism Bias7.8%This article: 6.4%Selena Fragassi: 1.0%WBEZ: 5.2%Negativity Bias6.4%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 1.9%WBEZ: 1.2%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 1.5%WBEZ: 0.7%Fundamental Attribution Error0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.5%WBEZ: 0.1%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.5%WBEZ: 0.9%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.2%WBEZ: 0.2%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 19.3%Selena Fragassi: 6.5%WBEZ: 2.6%Halo Effect19.3%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.0%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 3.4%Selena Fragassi: 1.8%WBEZ: 1.0%Recency Bias3.4%This article: 9.8%Selena Fragassi: 1.0%WBEZ: 0.3%Primacy Effect9.8%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.0%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.2%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.1%Straw Man0.0%This article: 41.1%Selena Fragassi: 4.4%WBEZ: 3.1%Appeal to Authority41.1%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.7%WBEZ: 0.9%False Dilemma0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.2%WBEZ: 0.6%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.5%WBEZ: 0.2%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 6.3%WBEZ: 3.0%Hasty Generalization0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.1%Red Herring0.0%This article: 3.4%Selena Fragassi: 0.7%WBEZ: 0.3%Bandwagon3.4%This article: 6.1%Selena Fragassi: 4.9%WBEZ: 4.3%Appeal to Emotion6.1%This article: 3.4%Selena Fragassi: 0.5%WBEZ: 0.4%Begging the Question3.4%This article: 6.4%Selena Fragassi: 3.5%WBEZ: 1.9%Post Hoc (False Cause)6.4%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.0%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.1%WBEZ: 0.3%Burden of Proof0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.5%WBEZ: 0.2%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.3%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 7.8%Selena Fragassi: 7.3%WBEZ: 2.3%Anecdotal7.8%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.0%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 5.0%Selena Fragassi: 2.2%WBEZ: 1.0%Ambiguity (Equivocation)5.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.0%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.6%WBEZ: 0.1%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.1%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 15.1%Selena Fragassi: 2.3%WBEZ: 0.8%Unattributed Quote15.1%This article: 4.2%Selena Fragassi: 1.1%WBEZ: 0.7%Quote-first Misdirection4.2%This article: 20.7%Selena Fragassi: 11.7%WBEZ: 3.6%Biased Writer Voice20.7%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.6%WBEZ: 1.4%Indoctrination0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.4%WBEZ: 0.4%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Selena Fragassi: 0.0%WBEZ: 0.1%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 7.3%Selena Fragassi: 1.5%WBEZ: 1.3%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…7.3%

358 words analyzed.

Speakers

2speakers15%attributed speech305writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 12 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 4 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 1 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 18 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 49 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 31 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 40 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 35 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 28 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 20 words • 0.0% coverageWilliam Shatner • 15 words • 100.0% coverageWilliam Shatner • 12 words • 0.0% coverageWilliam Shatner • 8 words • 100.0% coverageWilliam Shatner • 10 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 23 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 21 words • 0.0% coverageRiot Fest • 8 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 11 words • 0.0% coverage
Selected voice

William Shatner

100%flagged-word coverage
45 attributed words85% of attributed speech92% writer coverage
0%20.0%40.0%Attempt to Sell a Product +40.0 ptsWriter: 0.0%William Shatner: 40.0%40.0%Quote-first Misdirection+33.3 ptsWriter: 0.0%William Shatner: 33.3%33.3%Biased Writer Voice-24.3 ptsWriter: 24.3%William Shatner: 0.0%0.0%Unattributed Quote-17.7 ptsWriter: 17.7%William Shatner: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.