Let’s be honest, what is more metal than a creepy lullaby version of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”? SHEL, a Nashville-based group of sisters, has created the platonic ideal of one of the metal group’s classic numbers. Paring the song down to softly delivered vocals and spare acoustic instrumentation, the version of the track is as disconcerting as it is beautiful.

The same could easily said about the simply shot music video, which features lead vocalist Eva Holbrook donning grim face paint and brooding expression in the wild environment of Anchorage, Alaska. As Holbrook delicately whispers, “Off to never never land,” the usually mystical, elegant Alaskan wilderness becomes quietly sinister. The audio-visual subtlety of this track makes for an extremely unique cover that hits a totally different chord of terror than the original.

While recording a deferent cover of “Enter Sandman,” Holbrook was concerned about how to tackle it. “When recording ‘Enter Sandman,’ I said a prayer to the god’s of rock that I wouldn’t be struck dead, or mysteriously electrocuted in the studio for whispering the lyrics to a Metallica song, or for not including an electric guitar in the arrangement.  I’ve survived to say that I am truly blown away by the poetry of the song.”

We think that Metallica would be very pleased with this cover. It’s great, and I am excited for the rest of this record. SHEL’s new record Just Crazy Enough will be out May 13.

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Matt Grosinger is the Music Editor of Nerdist and loves solid Metallica covers. He is a happy camper.