Which of the 53 new covers of songs from Metallica’s self-titled Black Album are the best?

If you’re going to faithfully cover a beloved heavy-metal track, why not try and tighten it up a little? That’s the approach wisely taken by Danish rock band Volbeat, who change “Don’t Tread On Me” ever so slightly, giving it more of a lumbering, “”-style rhythm than the metronome-beat flow of the original. There are also some synth flourishes, adding a polished sheen of color to the refrains that sound like the definition of a Euro-glam take on heavy metal. It’s not all that different, but it sneakily compresses some of the riffing in potent and cool ways.

A slinky, R&B-influenced number may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think “Metallica cover,” but Tomi Owó’s unexpected reworking of the song does just that. The singer breathes beautiful life into the melody, crafting a soulful and genre-mixing variation on the original “Through The Never.” But she also nods to the track’s heavy-metal origins, bringing in some nicely jarring samples of the riff and integrating an almost industrial throb at points. It’s the kind of pleasant surprise that covers collections all too rarely provide.

There are twelve—yes, twelve—covers of “Nothing Else Matters” on The Metallica Blacklist. Most of them are even pretty good, from Phoebe Bridgers and Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan delivering stirring piano renditions to My Morning Jacket transforming the song into a sunny, Beach Boys-like pop ditty. But the winning entry goes to Igor Levit, a Russian-German pianist normally more famous for his interpretations of Bach and Beethoven than adaptations of bombastic metal. But his sensibilities work in his favor, as he strips away all the bells and whistles—and even words—to get at the heart of the earworm-like appeal of the dark and foreboding track, and stretching it into something new. (This track has not been issued prior to the album’s release tomorrow.)

Hope you like acoustic-campfire-ditty versions of Metallica songs, because in the case of “Of Wolf And Man,” it’s the only option you’ve got. Happily, Goodnight, Texas’ folksy Americana rendition of the song ends up being pretty good, with the group’s voices harmonizing nicely over their spare arrangement. Some minimal drums enter after the first chorus, providing some thump as the instrumentation fills out as the song progresses. It may take a little while to settle into the vibe of this one, but it eventually finds its groove.

Okay, now this is some good fun. Chaotic and noisy, and only periodically returning to the meat of the song, the British post-punk outfit transform “The God That Failed” into something that sounds like it was always theirs, rather than a Metallica cover. Pummeling drums, jagged guitars, slashing bass thrums, and Joe Talbot’s angry, hectoring yell-sing vocals layered over the entire enterprise, the band’s take on the material is appropriately disrespectful—which ends up feeling like more of a proper homage than many of the more blandly iterative offerings contained on the record.

… And the award for best cover track on this album goes to Kamasi Washington. A fully reimagined jazz version of the song, it somehow both remains faithful to the arrangements of the original yet completely reworks it into an exciting and vital new interpretation. Smoky vocals, stunning solos from horn players, drums as electric as any of the lead instruments, and a punishing intensity that ebbs and flows as the song progresses. It’s one hell of an achievement from the saxophonist and bandleader, and it makes one long for more such ambitious and creative experiments from Washington and his fellow musicians.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela are no stranger to covers of Metallica songs, having done on their Mettal EP two years ago. (They’ve also done a medley of Metallica songs in their live show, including himself.) So it’s not surprising to see them turn up here—and as the only ones to offer up a cover of “The Struggle Within,” it becomes the default closer to this compilation. And happily, it’s a lively one, as the Mexican acoustic guitar duo delivers a sprightly, percussive instrumental take on the last song from the album. It’s simple but appealing, with a clever arrangement and riffing about as hardcore as an acoustic guitar can get.