Guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela are digging into their heavy metal roots this upcoming November by released a new EP entitled Mettal, featuring covers of Metallica’s “Battery,”, Megadeth’s “Holy War,” and Slayer’s “Seasons in the Abyss.” This new three track EP will first be released on Record Store Day Black Friday on November 29th, which will be followed by a wide release some time in the future. Only 2,500 copies have been pressed for this upcoming 12-inch vinyl release from ATO Records.

The duo have a history of recording metal covers such as Metallica’s “Orion,” along with the Led Zeppelin classic “Stairway To Heaven.” The duo have also performed on-stage with members of Metallica and Megadeth during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl in 2016.

Announcing the Mettal EP – A Limited Edition @recordstoreday Release!

3 previously unreleased metal covers.

A limited run of 2,500 12″ vinyl is released 29th November 2019 via independent retailers.

For details of
participating record stores visit https://t.co/GtLIm6OJMM. pic.twitter.com/q2mDGEYCAW

— Rodrigo y Gabriela (@rodgab) October 8, 2019

Both of the performers began their careers as teenagers in Mexico, where they bonded over their mutual love of heavy metal music. Rodrigo, his brother and Gabriela formed a short-lived heavy metal band named Tierra Ácida in the mid to late 1990s, which fell apart, leading Rodrigo and Gabriela to explore different musical directions.

“We both needed something different. After seven years of playing around Mexico we had done the band thing, the metal thing – the Spinal Tap thing!” Rodrigo told Irish indie site cluas.com in 2002. “It came to a point where we wanted to play a different kind of music, something we could make as our own.”

Earlier this year the duo released their album METTAVOLUTION, which featured a 19-minute cover of Pink Floyd’s “Echoes.” This cover was a raw and stripped down take of the psychedelic rock classic, which managed to capture the duo’s musical prowess without the need of a backing band.

Mettal EP

“Holy War” (Megadeth cover)
“Battery” (Metallica cover)
“Seasons in the Abyss” (Slayer cover)