“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
Maya Neelakantan had previously covered Papa Roach's Last Resort on AGT and gone viral for her Tool covers
(Image credit: Trae Patton/NBC via Getty Images)
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 Resortin 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.
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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Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.
