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11-year-old Maya Neelakantan has performed a cover of Metallica‘s ‘Master Of Puppets’ on America’s Got Talent – the first time the band have permitted for their music to appear on the show.
Last week, Neelaknatan performed at the quarter finals of America’s Got Talent, where she ripped through a cover of Metallica’s ‘Master Of Puppets’. It marks the first time that the thrash metal legends have ever allowed their music to be performed on the show.
She said in a pre-performance vignette: “I’m the first act Metallica have ever given permission to play on AGT. I really want to make Metallica proud.”
For her performance, Maya incorporated her classical Indian music influences into the cover, playing a segment on the electric guitar that was tuned to sound like a sitar. Judge Simon Cowell said after the performance: “You’re just one of these people who’s got a god-given talent… this is something you’ve got to do for the rest of your life because you’re so good at this.”
Neelakantan said after the performance: “Thank you Metallica, and also thank you to the Cliff Burton family for making this possible.”
Following her audition to join America’s Got Talent earlier this year, Neelakantan revealed that she met with Slayer‘s Gary Holt and Testament‘s Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson, who taught her more about metal guitar playing.
NME spoke with Metallica last year, where drummer Lars Ulrich opened up about the impact of Stranger Things on their fanbase. The show used ‘Master of Puppets’ during a key scene in the show’s season 4 finale.
“We see a lot of 13 to 14-year-olds coming for the first time,” said Ulrich. “There’s always been a coming-of-age element to our shows, and just look at the Stranger Things phenomena of last summer. “That came out of nowhere and all of a sudden introduced Metallica to a whole other set of younger people.”
The conversation was released around the time of their latest album ‘72 Seasons‘, which NME also gave four stars: “For young fans just now learning the joys of heavy rock – perhaps lured in by the appearance of this band’s 1986 classic ‘Master of Puppets’ on Netflix megahit Stranger Things last year – this new record will be a fitting gateway drug. For everyone else there’s simply the reassuring thrill that, after so many decades on stage, Metallica are still capable of delivering sharp, spiky metal – and sticking it where the sun doesn’t shine.”