Acclaimed Mexican acoustic-guitar group Rodrigo y Gabriela are diehard, lifelong metalheads. Natives of Mexico City, the duo’s Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero first played together in Tierra Acida, a heavy-metal band that gig’d on the city’s underground circuit for seven years. On their 2006 debut as Rodrigo y Gabriela, they covered Metallica‘s “Orion” and they’ve since performed onstage with the group’s own Robert Trujillo multiple times. On their 2009 album, 11:11, they collaborated with Alex Skolnick of Testament. Their love of heavy metal will be cemented even more on Black Friday event on November 29th, when the pair will release a new EP, titled Mettal, as a one-sided 12-inch vinyl Record Store Day First release, limited to 2,500 and available only at independent record stores. A companion piece to Rodrigo y Gabriela’s recently released LP, Mettalvolution, the EP sees Rodrigo y Gabriela paying tribute to their thrash0metal heroes with three previously unreleased covers: Megadeth’s “Holy Wars,” Slayer’s “Seasons in The Abyss” and Metallica’s “Battery.” Ahead of Black Friday, the duo have unleashed the last of these, a virtuosic, flamenco-inflected reimagining that’s simply jaw-dropping.
“It’s no secret that we love Metallica,” Sánchez said of the cover. “Master of Puppets changed everything for us when we first heard it all those years ago.” Quintero added, “We’ve played parts of ‘Battery’ in our live set for many years. We’re so happy to release our studio version in full for our fans. Thank you to the fans for coming with us on this trip, and eternal gratitude to Metallica for the incredible music.” Listen below.
