Watch 11-Year-Old guitarist Maya Neelakantan shred ‘Master Of Puppets’ on ‘America’s Got Talent’

In case you missed it, 11-year-old guitar whiz Maya Neelakantan from India crushed through an incredible version of Metallica ’s “Master of Puppets” during the America’s Got Talent quarterfinals this week, surprising the judges with her impressive shredding skills.

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Taking on Metallica ’s nearly eight-and-a-half-minute metal opus is no easy task for even the most accomplished musician, and Maya proved she was exactly that – modifying the track to focus on her stellar performance backed by a full band.

While talking with the judges, Maya explained how Metallica and late bassist Cliff Burton 's family were generous enough to give her permission to perform the track on national television, with judge Simon Cowell chiming in with his own “big thank you to Metallica for giving you that song, that doesn’t happen very often."

“That was like Van Halen reincarnated,” judge Howie Mandel raved. Mandel added, “You wouldn’t think it would come from you. You’re a surprise. You’re amazing!”

For those looking to follow her rise, let’s start with Maya’s AGT audition cover of Papa Roach ‘s classic “Last Resort” when she was just 10 years old by the way, and keep it going with some of her YouTube videos, like this "30 years of TOOL " medley that she put together. Yeah, that’s right.

On Wednesday night’s quarterfinals results show Maya placed in the Top 5 along with Kelsey Jane , Learnmore Jonasi , Journeyy , and Reid Wilson . After returning to the stage, Reid, Kelsey, and Learnmore topped the votes and will perform again in the semi-finals scheduled for Tuesday, September 3.