Here’s a Cover of Animals as Leaders’ “Tempting Time” on a Sitar

Just when you’ve finally given up on the Internet and written it off as an infinitely deep toilet of flushable crap, something comes along that makes you think there’s hope in humanity after all.

The latest platter of hope du jour: Rishabh Seen from India, age 18, an accomplished and trained sitar player who released a cover of Animals as Leaders’ classic track “Tempting Time” on the instrument that, at least to Western ears, defines Indian music. And he fucking kills it. Because of course he does. It’s not that his cover changes the original around all that much — he mostly covers it note for note — but hearing it played on a completely different instrument is not only novel but a bit of a mind-fuck, given the differences between Western and Eastern scales.

Here’s what Seen offers on his approach to the cover:

For starting something that has never been done on a Sitar – I had to change nearly everything related to how I approached my instrument,how I played the instrument, how I viewed my FretBoard,using the theory of Indian music that I have studied and relating it to Metal and particularly Animals as Leaders – which was mind numbing , eye opening and Opened a whole new door of musical possibilties for me – I can’t say If i’ld be ever able to thank Animals as Leaders enough for their music and Metal music in general.

Badass, yeah? Here’s to hoping Mr. Seen produces many more sitar covers of metal songs.