The rock world has seen plenty of reinventions, but few land with the force of Electric 5. The Chicago-based, all-female electric string quintet is rewriting the rules of crossover music with a debut that feels both rebellious and precise: a blistering, no-tracks cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
Five women, five electrified string instruments, and not a single safety net—Electric 5 arrives as a collision between classical discipline and rock bravado. Their lineup of two cellos and three violins gives the track a layered, orchestral punch. Frontwoman Adia’s shredding violin solo pushes the limits of what strings can sound like, blurring the line between symphony hall and stadium stage.
Electric 5‘s “Enter Sandman” arrangement was built from scratch, every riff and harmony handwritten, every run played live. The result: a full-scale reconstruction that slams with the intensity of Metallica while carving out a sound entirely their own.
With this release, Electric 5 isn’t just introducing themselves—they’re claiming space in a genre that hasn’t always made room. They’re here, they’re loud, and they’re proving that strings can thrash just as hard as guitars.
Electric 5 sat down with us to talk about their explosive debut, rewriting rules, and what it means to walk on stage with bows instead of picks.
We’ve seen all-male rock groups forever, especially in rock bands. Now, you play strings and are all women and cover “Enter Sandman.” What changes when five women are holding the strings—and the spotlight?
Performance-wise, we like to think nothing, and perception-wise, hopefully everything. When people hear we are a string quintet, they get confused when 5 women show up with electric stringed instruments and guitar amps. They don’t know how to take us until we start playing. But once we do, you can just tell by their faces they are like, “What is happening?” So yeah, we’re definitely trying to show the world we can do it just as well as the boys, or better!
If Metallica saw your version of “Enter Sandman,” what do you think their reaction would be?
Oh man, they could say something like “Oh, cool,” and we would probably melt. Seriously, though, we don’t have any idea what their reaction would be, but we would love, love, love to know. Can you ask them? 🙂
What’s one part of your electrifying cover of “Enter Sandman” that you think the listeners may miss? But you are secretly proud of?
The arrangement we wrote has some really cool runs by Carlysta that you may miss while listening. You can hear them around 35 and 43 seconds into the track.
There’s something rebellious about making this song your debut. Was that intentional, like claiming space in a genre that doesn’t always make room?
Yes, absolutely. We wanted to kick the door open and come at the world loud, hard, and in your face. To do that, we needed a song that demonstrates the extremes to which this genre can take us. It also features everything we are as a band—the palpable raw power, the arrangement we are really proud of, and everyone playing their asses off, capped by Adia’s banging solo in the middle.
If Electric 5 had its own genre, what would it be called—and what would the dress code be at your shows?
Maybe “electric chaos” or “indie string pop” and no dress code whatsoever. While we rock out in this particular video, our music covers anything from rock to pop to hip hop and beyond. And that’s the coolest thing about this—you can be a punk rocker or a top 40 fan and be drawn to our music.
The beauty of our genre is that it blends so many other styles into a unique, recognizable “Electric 5” sound. It shows the listener that ultimately music is music, and that’s why we expect to see anything in our crowd—from a 15-year-old tour T-shirt from a punk band to a sequin skirt ready to dance to a pop chorus or laid-back “baggy jeans and a crop top to flow with some R&B music. You see it all because we play it all!
When performing, do you intentionally coordinate your looks? Or is it more about letting each personality speak through fashion?
It’s a bit of both. We are not fans of super coordinated looks that are common in this genre. So we definitely let each member’s personality speak through the fashion. It’s a part of feeling empowered to play this kind of music. But there is also just a little bit of coordination involved. Like, it probably doesn’t make sense to have someone wear a cocktail dress while the rest of us are all grunge rock LOL!
Your version of “Enter Sandman” feels both nostalgic and revolutionary. How do you keep the balance and maintain its relevance for our times?
The original “Enter Sandman” is just one of those timeless classics that will live on forever because of the sheer raw visceral energy that Metallica brought to it. The song slammed 30 years ago, and it doesn’t slam any less right now. So our version is definitely an homage to the original, where we are paying respect. While at the same time, we bring a new edge and fresh “Electric 5” twist to it. If, in the process, we rewrite a few rules of what heavy metal music and classical instruments should sound like, it’s all for the better.
How has “Enter Sandman” changed how you hear the original? Can you even listen to it without mentally rearranging the strings now?
It really hasn’t because we grew up with and love the original so much that we’ll always headbang to it. At the same time, we took the song in an entirely different genre and direction, where we think the two versions stand by themselves. So yes, we can still listen to, enjoy, and absolutely rock out to the original without hearing our own arrangement with one exception. Those Carlysta runs we mentioned earlier. We hear them every single time the original gets to that point!
If you could place Electric 5 in any iconic rock music video of all time, which one would it be? And what would your role be?
Oh, this is a fun one! Kelsee is not ashamed to admit that she would love to live in the world of Finger Eleven’s “Paralyzer” video. She envisions us playing a note and having her cello bow summon all the dancers in black! Carlysta sees us as the rock band behind Olivia Rodrigo in “Obsessed,” where we are all dressed as previous exes. Lastly, Adia imagines us as the cheerleaders in Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”; only halfway through the video, we ditch the pom-poms, break out our axes, and start jamming with the band!
