“Don’t Tread On Me” typically opens with Metallica playing a snippet of the melody out of “America” from the musical West Side Story (hey, maybe Volbeat just don’t dig Sondheim), and goes hard with the American military references (it can’t be a coincidence that James Hetfield’s cries of “So be it!” sound a lot like “Soviet”). But a slightly closer look shows a bigger shift: Volbeat have taken the America out of the track. What fans will immediately notice about Volbeat’s cover of “Don’t Treat On Me” is that they’ve put a spring in the track’s step, cutting the time between the track’s rapid-fire chugs and giving the chorus a little bit of vocal shimmer. Now, the cover of Metallica‘s “Don’t Tread On Me” by Danish Elvis-metallers Volbeat has been dropped, and it’s an interesting take on a pretty straightforward classic. Last month, it was announced that a tribute album dedicated to Metallica’s 1991 self-titled ‘Black Album’ was in the works to honor the record’s 30th anniversary.

Volbeat album art