The Metallica Blacklist – a monstrous collection of covers from over 53 artists paying tribute to Metallica's 1991 self-titled effort, The Black Album – has spawned plenty of quality material thus far, with highlights coming from St. Vincent, Jason Isbell, Volbeat and J Balvin.
And now, Weezer has dropped its contribution to the release: a mostly faithful take on Enter Sandman.
We say mostly faithful because – although guitarists Rivers Cuomo and Brian Bell nail the track's world-renowned main riff and Kirk Hammett's wah-flavored leads, the solo is vastly different, trading the original's rapid-fire note runs for an Iron Maiden-esque harmonized version of track's verse and chorus vocal line… and a cheeky nod to Weezer's own Buddy Holly. Check it out below.
The full Metallica Blacklist arrives September 10 via Blackened Recordings – Metallica's own label – and is set to feature Ghost, Corey Taylor, Royal Blood, PUP, IDLES and, as you'd expect, tons more.
“The Metallica Blacklist offers up new dimensions of the record whose gravitational pull first drew the mainstream to Metallica – and provides new insights into the universal and timeless appeal that kept it there: the boundary-smashing influence these 12 songs have had on fans and musicians of all stripes,” a statement by the band reads.
“The [album's] 53 tracks find singer-songwriters, country artists, electronic and hip hop artists sharing their love of these songs alongside punk rockers, indie darlings, icons of rock, metal, world music and many, many more…
“It’s a truly staggering, at times mystifying assemblage of musicians, dozens of whom have little to nothing in common other than the shared passion for the music that’s united them for this album: 1 Album. 12 Songs. 53 Artists. Unlimited possibilities.”
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
All profits from the release will be distributed evenly between Metallica's All Within My Hands foundation and over 50 charities chosen by artists who appear on the record.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.
“We knew we didn’t want to do an acoustic version of Teen Spirit, that would’ve been horrendously stupid”: The story of Nirvana's seminal MTV Unplugged set
“I was just learning to play – I started strumming the chords and ran upstairs and said, ‘Guys, I think I just wrote a song!’”: Gwen Stefani on the only No Doubt song she's ever written on guitar