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Maya Neelakantan – the 11-year-old guitar prodigy and sensation – recently joined Testament on stage at their show in Las Vegas.
On Friday (September 13), Neelakantan was invited by the heavy metal band to join them on stage to perform a rendition of ‘Curse of the Legions of Death (C.O.T.L.O.D.)’ from their seminal album ‘The Legacy’.
“So, a lot of you guys are probably on Instagram and know this artist named Maya, she’s 11 years old from India. She been on the ancient tv, anyway, she’s a special guest tonight and we are going to have her come down to perform with us,” guitarist Eric Peterson told the crowd.
“I just want to say, this is Maya’s very first time playing a metal concert,” guitarist Alex Skolnick said, with frontman Chuck Billy adding: “So let’s show her some love!”
During the performance, Neelakantan took on the role of rhythm guitarist until Skolnick pointed toward her to signal that she could take the first solo in the track. Following the show, the guitar prodigy went on to discuss the moment on her Instagram account.
“Just played with Testament @testamentofficial on stage now!!! It was incredible playing with all of them, playing to a metalhead crowd for the first time and meeting Eric Peterson, Alex Skolnick, Chuck Billy, Chris Dovas, Steve DiGiorgio and the amazing Testament crew too,” she wrote.
She continued: “It was all such an incredible experience and I loved hanging with the band as well as jamming with them on stage!!!! So unforgettable! Thank you so much Testament for giving the amazing opportunity and for always being so kind and supportive to me right from the beginning!!!! ❤️❤️❤️ More to come!”
Earlier this month, Neelakantan performed a cover of Metallica‘s ‘Master Of Puppets’ on America’s Got Talent, marking the first time the band have permitted for their music to appear on the show.
The cover was performed at the quarter finals of the talent show. Speaking about the track in a pre-performance vignette the musician said: “I’m the first act Metallica have ever given permission to play on AGT. I really want to make Metallica proud.”