“Big thank you to Metallica for giving you that song. That doesn't happen very often”: 11-year-old metal guitarist nails Master of Puppets on America’s Got Talent – with Dave Mustaine’s signature model

11-year-old shredder Maya Neelakantan has gone viral again for her epic rendition of Metallica’s Master of Puppets at the America’s Got Talent quarterfinals. The young guitarist had previously covered Papa Roach's Last Resort in front of a packed live audience at the AGT auditions.

This time, however, Maya Neelakantan was accompanied by a full band. She wielded a Gibson Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP in a silver metallic finish – perhaps a nod to the Megadeth leader's early tenure with the group – and performed the Metallica classic before exclaiming, “AGT, are you ready?”

She then promptly switched an effect on her Neural DSP Quad Cortex, which made her guitar sound like a sitar, paying homage to her Tamil heritage.

11-Year-Old Guitarist Maya Neelakantan Performs "Master Of Puppets" | Quarterfinals | AGT 2024 - YouTube

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Following a standing ovation by the awestruck audience, judge Howie Mandel said, “That was like Van Halen reincarnated. You're amazing on that thing. And not only that, but you were mixing it in with your culture, like a sitar making it sound like a guitar, and your smile, it doesn't end. You wouldn't think it would come from you. You are a surprise. You're amazing and I love you.”

Heidi Klum added, “You are amazing. You're perfect. You're perfectly you. I love that you didn't pick dolls. Maybe you have, but you picked this instrument instead.”

Simon Cowell also praised Neelakantan, saying, “That was wild... I gotta say a big, big thank you to Metallica for giving you that song. That doesn't happen very often. I just think you're one of these people that has a god-given talent and it's always brilliant to be surprised.”

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Unfortunately, Neelakantan's flawless performance wasn't enough for her to make it through to the next round.

However, she recently hung out with Slayer and Exodus guitarist Gary Holt, while Tool guitarist Adam Jones gifted her one of his own signature Gibson Les Pauls after coming across her rendition of Tool's 16-minute masterpiece, 7empest.