Spinal Tap II: The End Continues film and soundtrack are due in September
Fictitious heavy metal legends Spinal Tap team up with music icon Elton John for an epic re-recording of the band’s classic cut “Stonehenge,” via Interscope Records. A music video for the song, featuring footage from the film, is also available.
The soul-stirring single will appear on The End Continues, the forthcoming album for the mockumentary Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, out September 12th to coincide with the film’s theatrical release. The 13-track set includes nine new songs and four reinvented favorites featuring additional guests Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, and Trisha Yearwood.
A new trailer for the movie, featuring a musical clip of “Stonehenge,” premiered last week at San Diego’s Comic-Con 2025 after Rob Reiner and Paul Feig’s panel “Directors On Directing.”
Destined to become an instant cult classic, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues picks up 41 years after the release of 1984’s groundbreaking This Is Spinal Tap, when now estranged bandmates David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, and Derek Smalls (Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer) are forced to reunite for one final concert. Documentarian Marty Di Bergi (Rob Reiner) also returns to try to capture his favorite metal gods as they contemplate mortality. Joined by music royalty like McCartney and John, Spinal Tap wrestle with their checkered past to put on a concert that they hope will solidify their place in the pantheon of rock ’n’ roll.
“Stonehenge” looms large in Tap lore thanks to a prop gaffe captured in the first movie, where the band ordered an 18-foot high version of the monument but instead received an 18-inch one. They’ve performed the song many times since, with rocks of various sizes, and Tufnel even appeared on NatGeo’s 2008 Stonehenge: Decoded special to share his theories about the mysterious megaliths. For the new recording, John brings his most arena-sized vocals to the mix, lording over shredding guitar, swirling synths, pounding drums, shrill panpipes, and a full-band medieval jam session. Tufnel still holds down the eerie spoken parts.
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues will open in theaters and IMAX nationwide on September 12th, following a recent limited theatrical re-release of This Is Spinal Tap, newly restored in 4K resolution. The original film — directed by Reiner and written/improvised/performed by McKean, Guest, and Shearer — was released to critical acclaim and went on to become a cult classic that has directly inspired actual metal bands like Metallica, spawned the “turn it up to 11” idiom, and been referenced in pop culture ever since. In 2002, it was deemed “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.
Meanwhile, Tap has played on, reuniting for various tours, charity gigs, festivals, and TV appearances (including SNL and The Simpsons); collaborating with the likes of John Mayer, Cher, Slash, Adam “MCA” Yauch, and members of Fleetwood Mac, Foo Fighters, and Metallica; and releasing three albums: 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap, 1992’s Break Like the Wind, and 2009’s Back from the Dead, which was nominated for a Best Comedy Album Grammy Award (all three charted on the Billboard 200).
1. Nigel’s Poem
2. Let’s Just Rock Again
3. Flower People with Elton John
4. Brighton Rock
5. The Devil’s Just Not Getting Old
6. Cups and Cakes with Paul McCartney
7. I Kissed a Girl
8. Angels
9. Big Bottom with Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood
10. Judge and Jury
11. Rockin’ in the Urn
12. Blood to Let
13. Stonehenge with Elton John
