On New Year’s Eve, legendary Queen guitarist Brian May unveiled his first solo material in more than 20 years. New Horizons was released along with a CGI-animated music video which depicts one of NASA’s probes leaving Earth and exploring the cosmos.
While holding elements of many of his classic Queen compositions, New Horizons is a breath of fresh air and came as a surprise to many. Equipped with roaring guitar solos and unexpectedly pristine vocals, May, 71, has already set the bar high for 2019.
Known for some of Queen’s most-recognized songs, including We Will Rock You, Hammer to Fall and Fat Bottomed Girls, the British guitarist plans to release his third studio album later in the year. His last effort, Another World, was released in 1998.
The coolest part? May actually wrote New Horizons for NASA’s ongoing mission of the same name. He’s not only a rock god, he’s legitimately an astrophysicist, having earned a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College London.
WATCH BELOW: Brian May’s fascinating new video, New Horizons, is an homage to the wonders of NASA
READ MORE: Queen announces North American ‘Rhapsody’ tour with Adam Lambert
The single was released to commemorate a milestone progression in the New Horizons Mission. The probe was scheduled to fly by the “Ultima Thule” on Jan. 1 — and it did.
A special conference and livestream was held in Maryland to showcase the newly discovery photos.
May promised he would attend, but not to promote his song. He takes great pride in being involved with the mission and admitted that the upcoming album will be based around it.
The Ultima Thule was discovered in 2014. Its name translates to “beyond the known world.” NASA has now publicly shared picture proof — it looks like a snowman.
It has a diameter of about 30km and was the first reachable planetary object in the Kuiper belt since New Horizons passed Jupiter in 2015, according to NASA.
The point of the mission is to explore, discover and ultimately learn how planets are and were made. Ultima Thule was formed 4.6 billion years ago, making it the most ancient object ever explored in history. It will help us understand how our solar system came to be.
New Horizons will continue to fly until it runs out of fuel in the late 2030s.
READ MORE: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ cast members reveal how they transformed into Queen
“The revelations of New Horizons may help us to understand better how our solar system was formed,” Hawking said.
Here’s what Brian May fans had to say
“We could all be cool, but we’ll never be Brian May cool.”
“Okay, Brian May was one of the greatest rock musicians ever, then he went back and finished his PhD. He then became a university chancellor, tagged on to the New Horizons team and created this. Celebrities rarely impress me. But this guy impresses me.”
The New Horizons single is now available to stream on all platforms. As of this writing, the upcoming album has no scheduled release date.
READ MORE: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ officially the most-streamed song of the 20th century
Queen announced its return to the stage in December. The Rhapsody tour will feature May, drummer Roger Taylor and singer Adam Lambert. They will reunite once more to deliver their “most ambitious” show yet.
Tickets are now on sale and available through the official Queen website.
The Rhapsody Tour North America 2019
** Canadian shows are bolded **
July 10 — Vancouver, B.C. @Rogers Arena
July 12 — Tacoma, Wash. @Tacoma Dome
July 14 — San Jose, Calif. @SAP Center
July 16 — Phoenix, Ariz. @Talking Stick Resort Arena
July 19 — Los Angeles, Calif. @The Forum
July 23 — Dallas, Tex. @American Airlines Center
July 24 — Houston, Tex. @Toyota Center
July 27 — Detroit, Mich. @Little Caesars Arena
July 28 — Toronto, Ont. @Scotiabank Arena
July 30 — Washington, D.C. @Capital One Arena
July 31 — Pittsburgh, Pa. @PPG Paints Arena
Aug. 3 — Philadelphia, Pa. @Wells Fargo Center
Aug. 4 — Boston, Mass. @Xfinity Center
Aug. 6 — New York City, N.Y. @Madison Square Garden
Aug. 9 — Chicago, Ill. @United Center
Aug. 10 — St. Paul, Minn. @Xcel Energy Center
Aug. 13 — Columbus, Ohio @Nationwide Arena
Aug. 15 — Nashville, Tenn. @Bridgestone Arena
Aug. 17 — Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. @BB&T Center
Aug. 18 — Tampa, Fla. @Amalie Arena
Aug. 20 — New Orleans, La. @Smoothie King Center
Aug. 22 — Atlanta, Ga. @State Farm Arena
Aug. 23 — Charlotte, N.C. @Spectrum Center
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