Watch Quebec Excavators Move Gracefully to Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters"

The diggers' dance is soundtracked by Apocalyptica's cello cover

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Feb 3, 2021

"Heavy metal" can be ascribed to both the music of Metallica and construction equipment, and a Quebec construction company has now combined the two for a moment of levity and grace.

A new entry in the genre of "Big Machines Dancing" from Bertrand Ostiguy Inc. finds eight total machines taking to a snowy field in Shefford, QC, to spin and swing themselves in sync to a cello arrangement of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters," recorded by Apocalyptica.

The stunning choreography and drone shots come courtesy of 14-year-old Julien Ares, whose uncle owns the construction company. As he told CTV News Montreal, "My uncle, he had this idea a long time ago. We did a Zoom for Christmas and the idea came...about doing some dancing excavators. We just laughed at this but we were thinking about it all night."

Ares told CTV that Metallica was not his initial choice to soundtrack the performance, and found the cello cover at the suggestion of his uncle, explaining, "At the start I wanted to do something that was slow because excavators are really big and can't make really fast movements. I wanted a song that was slow."

Perhaps a cut set to Miley Cyrus' cover of "Nothing Else Matters" is up next for the budding filmmaker. Watch the mesmerizing movements of the excavators below.

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