Social media is full of videos we take a look at, go “Wow! That was cool!” and then we move on to the next thing that attracts our attention for 36 seconds or so. We are all gaining the attention spans of fleas. However, occasionally, we see something that makes us stop, really watch or listen or both, and want to find out more. That happened to me when, via SheHeroes, a Facebook page I follow, I came upon a video of a trio of Mexican girls playing a cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”. They are called The Warning and they made this video as a kind of audition to be able to perform on the Ellen DeGeneres Show back in 2015. Take a watch/listen before you get properly introduced to these girls:

The Warning is from Monterrey, Mexico and is comprised of the Villarreal sisters: Guitar and vocals, Daniela (Dany); drums and vocals, Paulina (Pau); bass, Alejandra (Ale). At the time the above video was made they were 15, 12 and 9, respectively. Upon seeing the video, which has since received over 5 millions views, Kirk Hammett of Metallica remarked that the drummer, Paulina, “kicks maximum ass”.  Truth is, they all do! And the video did get them a shot on the Ellen Show and so much more.

Here is an edited clip of their appearance on that show which includes an abbreviated cover of Black Sabbath and part of their interview with Ellen.

Just being real here – I teared up at the girls’ reaction to receiving $10,000 each towards their goal of going to music school. They are so sincere and I couldn’t help but be swept up in their drive to play music together. They have since secured a record deal and released an album of original material. As I searched around the web for them I realized just how far they have gone in such a short span of time. Their story is inspiring and joyous in so many ways. I was caught up in their level of musicianship, in their love for each other and love for music, and in their genuine and honest character. The fact that three girls from Mexico could embrace a genre so often considered uber-male and absolutely crush it was thrilling to me. They should be celebrated and I am so happy that we live in an age when that thing called “social media” – sometimes a curse – can be a blessing and make something like this possible.

You can find out more about them yourself by simply searching them out. Their website is http://www.thewarningband.com. You can also find them on Facebook and, of course, see many videos on YouTube, including a TED presentation from the University of Nevada.

Below is a music video of their cover of the Foo Fighters’ “The Pretender”. Ironically, these three are NOT pretenders at all but the real deal.

Rock on, Dany and Pau and Ale! Can’t wait to see where this musical journey takes you and all of us over the years.