A progressive metal musician is turning a sword into a functioning guitar.
YouTuber Michael Kupris, known by the screen name Become The Knight, posted his creation online on Thursday (21 September).
“I was keeping this a secret for years lol!” the Tennessee-based guitarist wrote in a YouTube community post.
“This has never been done before, making a functional guitar out of a sword. And I doubt anyone will beat me to this. It's extremely difficult, a massive challenge for any tech without just slapping a fretboard on it (which would be lame imo).
“Right when we got out of lockdown, I started visiting my local guitar store [World Music Nashville] which is now permanently closed. Chris Roberts of [Vibratone Guitars] was working with me on this absolute beast and we had to pause it for several years. It seems as though we may be at a point where we can pick this project back up again. Will keep you posted when it's finished. God bless.”
Fans were greatly impressed by photos of the creation. “That's actually one of the coolest things I ever seen from you stick with it Mike,” reads the top comment.
Another user adds: “You can’t get more metal than that.”
Kupris, who also plays in the progressive metal band Crusade, started the Become The Knight channel in 2015 and currently has 191,000 subscribers.
The YouTuber is best known for his reaction videos, where he critiques rock- and metal-related content by such large-scale content creators as the Fine Brothers, as well as commentating on the work of pop musicians from Cardi B to Post Malone.
In similar metal-as-hell instrument news, Exodus and ex-Slayer guitarist Gary Holt recently talked about a guitar he owns that was painted with his own blood in 2016.
“I met [artist Vincent] Castiglia, and we just started looking at his art, which is just the most phenomenal thing in the world,” Holt told Diablo Guitars (via Metal Injection).
“And we thought, ‘Why don’t we do a guitar, no one’s ever done that?’ So he came with a phlebotomist to a Slayer show backstage and pulled 18 vials of blood.
“He wanted 32, but it was the first of a two-night stand, and my wife was there and she said, ‘That's enough of my husband.’”