You’ve heard Metallica. You’ve heard strings. But you’ve never heard “Enter Sandman” like this. Meet Electric 5, the all-female electric string quintet from Chicago reimagining what rock can sound like. With no backing tracks and a setup of three electric violins and two electric cellos, they’ve taken on one of rock’s most recognizable anthems and built it back from the ground up. We caught up with the band ahead of their release to talk about shredding stereotypes, building a cover from scratch, and what it really means to play at the highest level.
Let’s start with the fire—why “Enter Sandman” for your debut release? What drew you to Metallica and that particular track?
We just absolutely love Metallica and “Enter Sandman”! They are such an amazing band, and the song is an all-time anthem we grew up listening to, so we’re definitely paying homage to that. We also wanted to challenge ourselves to see if 5 string instruments alone could pull off a heavy metal tune. As far as our decision to use it for our debut release, we actually had to take a step back after we finished recording our full album. At that point, we felt too close to the music and weren’t quite sure which song to pick. But when we came back, it was clear that Enter Sandman was the one. The song is so powerful, and it features everything we are as a group—it’s got that distorted rock sound, we are really proud of the arrangement, Adia is going off on a wah-wah pedal solo in the middle, and everyone is just playing their butts off.
Your arrangement is completely original and performed without backing tracks. Can you walk us through the creative process of building this version from scratch?
Just like any song we cover, it all starts with a complete deconstruction of the song. We break it down into the main chords and harmonies that need to be present in the arrangement and then reconstruct the whole thing from the ground up. The vocal line is easy because it just mimics the song, but everything else has to be thoroughly composed. We start with one line we feel really strongly about, and then we just continue adding layers to it. There is a lot of experimenting involved because you can have a really good individual idea that may or may not fit when you layer it in with the other instruments. So, just like a chef experimenting with a recipe, you may have to test the idea multiple times before it is just right. This is a delicate, creative process—but it’s also super fun and highly rewarding. There’s nothing like hearing the final product for the first time after putting on the finishing touches.
How long did it take to arrange and perfect your version of “Enter Sandman,” and what were some of the biggest challenges along the way?
That’s kind of a funny answer because it defines us in terms of the format we use as a band—3 violins and 2 cellos. We first wrote the arrangement for Enter Sandman way back when we were still just a quartet, and we just felt that something was missing. So we put it aside and never performed it. Adding that second cello “bass line” to our music was a revelation that changed our sound, and once that happened, we thought, why not go back to Enter Sandman and see if we can “fix” it, so to say? We like to think we did 🙂
The “Enter Sandman” video has a powerful visual style. How did you approach translating the energy of the song into a visual story?
Enter Sandman is all about energy and musical performance. So our visual story approach was to keep things simple and make a performance video to show the world just who we are. That’s why there’s no background story, B roll, special effects, none of that. Just a good location and 5 women dressed to the nines kicking ass.
What’s the first myth about classical crossover music that you’re here to destroy?
I think the first myth is that just because we are playing classical instruments, we can only sound like classical players and can’t play rock and pop music that sounds like the original artists. By using electric instruments, guitar amps, intricate arrangements, and modified playing techniques, we are able to bring a new edge to instruments that were created well over 500 years ago. It’s counterintuitive from a classical perspective to play based solely on a feeling rather than the ink on the page. But for Electric 5, it’s imperative that you allow yourself to just feel the rhythm and groove of the song. That’s when things begin to gel, and then you’re just rocking out and having fun.
From weddings to festivals to full-on rock stages, your performance history is diverse. How do you adapt the Electric 5 experience to different audiences?
The key to the answer here is that we have a very diverse repertoire of songs we can play on any given night. That’s what gives us the flexibility to adapt to different stages and shows we play. The second part is that we really try to understand who our audience is for any given performance before we walk in, so we can custom-tailor our show. But the last and most fun part is when you actually see the crowd and feel their energy. That’s when we start calling audibles and just playing certain tunes we think will resonate.
Beyond covers—are there plans to release original music? If so, what would an Electric 5 original sound like?
Eventually, yes, absolutely. But it’s really hard to answer the second part of your question because our sound and range of songs we cover are so diverse. So we just don’t know where the inspiration will come from. Our most “original” arrangement so far is probably the cover of Bradley Cooper’s song “Maybe It’s Time” from the movie “A Star Is Born.” Cooper performs this beautiful song in a bar, and it’s just him singing and playing a guitar—nothing else. We took the harmonies from that song and built an entire semi-symphony around it. Mood-wise, it’s the opposite of Enter Sandman. So, to go back to your question, we won’t know what sound or mood will inspire our own music until it does.
Let’s say someone’s never seen Electric 5 live. In five words or less, what should they expect?
Five. Women. Playing. Their. Asses. Off. Sorry—that was six words 🙂
What’s one song you’re dying to cover next that fans might not expect?
Oooh, we’ve got a good one for you that’s a bit out of left field—how about “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy” by Birdman and Lil Wayne! We were recently just sitting around, and it came on and we just looked at each other like, Damn, that would make for a great E5 cover.
Electric 5’s “Enter Sandman” goes beyond arrangement—it sets the tone for everything that follows, of intent, of skill, and of a new kind of artistry that refuses to choose between precision and power. With their debut, they stake out space not only in the classical-meets-rock world but in a broader conversation about musicianship and reinvention.