Often when covering world famous tracks, it’s important to put your own stamp on the work. Once in a while, though, a track will come along that’s so perfect, a great cover won’t necessarily need a lot more than a huge amount of enthusiasm applied to make it work. Such is the case with the version of The Beatles’ ‘Help!’ recorded by Nashville based hard rockers Kalamity Kills.

Their take on the 1965 Beatles cut retains the original vocal melody, but just as importantly, places a huge focus on some great harmonies. The melody and tempo also remains intact. Pretty much the only changes made here are the decision to transpose the riff into a melodic metal framework and to add a much bigger, far more contemporary lead guitar break, which is flawlessly played.

The vocal melody stands up brilliantly against a little extra aggression, and the familiar melody provides a perfect entry point into the world of Kalamity Kills for the first time listener. Kalamity Kills aren’t the first band to deliver a great cover of ‘Help!’, of course – just to give two excellent examples, The Damned gave it a brilliant punky makeover in 1979, and in 2001, singer songwriter Howie Day reworked it into a slow, semi acoustic rendition which really did sound like a plea for emotional support – but this take stands as potentially one of the most fun.

Check out the new video below.