Rina Sawayama is the latest musician to share a Metallica cover as part of the metal band’s upcoming tribute album, The Metallica Blacklist, a 53-track collection of “unique interpretations” of songs from 1991’s Black Album.
Taking on the seminal “Enter Sandman”, Sawayama “100000% understood the assignment” — as she herself writes on Twitter — opting for a particularly heavy cover. Listen below.
Previous covers shared as part of the anniversary project include a “baroque” take on “Nothing Else Matters” by Phoebe Bridgers, in which the singer takes a hushed “Billie Eilish approach”. In June, Miley Cyrus shared a version of the same track, performed with Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, and Metallica’s own Robert Trujillo.
The album will also include reworked tracks by Mac DeMarco, Weezer, St. Vincent, Moses Sumney, J Balvin, Kamasi Washington, and IDLES, whose take on the deep cut “The God That Failed” arrives alongside Sawayama’s cover.
100 per cent of the profits from the Metallica Blacklist will go to charity, with half going directly to Metallica’s All Within My Hands foundation. Rina Sawayama’s “Enter Sandman” will also benefit Positive East, a London-based charity that works in HIV support and prevention.
Listen to the new cover, and watch Sawayama mosh along on Instagram, below.