Watch 10-Year-Old Guitar Virtuoso Slay Metallica Classic On 'AGT'

After stunning the America's Got Talent judges with a creative performance of Papa Roach 's "Last Resort" during her initial audition, 10-year-old guitar virtuoso Maya Neelakantan (she's since turned 11) blew them away once again with a flawless performance of Metallica 's "Master of Puppets" during the AGT quarterfinals.

The song is far more technically challenging than the Indian musician's first piece, but she made it look effortless—smiling the whole time she was on stage. Equipped with a Flying V, she ripped through the song's iconic riff and chorus, and even made her guitar sound acoustic for a minute during Kirk Hammett's solo section, during the condensed instrumental version of the classic track.

When it was time for the judges to give their thoughts, everyone had high praise. “That was like Van Halen reincarnated,” said Howie Mandel. “You wouldn’t think it would come from you. You’re a surprise. You’re amazing!”

Simon Cowell noted that this was a big step up from her first audition and was in awe of Neelakantan's talent before acknowledging how impressive it was that the band gave her permission to play the song. “A big thank you to Metallica for giving you that song, that doesn’t happen very often,” he said. (This was the first time "Master of Puppets" has been performed on the show.)

Neelakantan's been awing the internet ever since TOOL's Adam Jones gifter her a guitar back in 2022 (when she was just nine years old!). In 2023 she went viral after playing a mashup of 22 TOOL songs all in one take. The musical prodigy finds out if she made it to the next round when AGT reveals voting results Wednesday night (August 28). Watch her breathtaking performance below.