Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Austin symphony tape Austin City Limits episode

The guitar artistry of Rodrigo Y Gabriela defies comprehension. Their music expands the mind, explodes it and then, with intricate finger patterns that weave magic and mystery, reconstructs it. In the process, they shift everything you thought you knew about what a guitarist can be.

The Mexico City natives closed out the North American leg of their current tour with an “Austin City Limits” taping on Friday night. Joined by an ensemble of over 30 players from the Austin Symphony Orchestra, they led a rapt audience on an exhilarating thrill ride of astounding instrumental prowess.

The performance was “history in the making,” executive producer Terry Likona told the crowd at the top of the show. It was ASO’s first appearance on the storied television show, which has been bringing the sound of Austin to the world for 49 years.

Known for masterful acoustic interplay, Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s latest release “In Between Thoughts…A New World” is a hard left turn. For much of the album, Rodrigo plays electric guitar, experimenting freely with effect pedals. Recorded during the pandemic lockdown, the duo worked remotely with the Vienna-based composer Adam Ilyas Kuruc and the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra to create complex sonic explorations.

The duo opened with a furious clash of acoustic and electric guitar, executing “Astrum In Corpore,” with a maelstrom of distortion and flashing lights.

“True Nature,” the lead track on the new album, began with vigorous chord work from the guitarists. Then under a rise of soft filtered light, the symphony, under the direction of Peter Bay, joined the fray with a cinematic swell. Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s musical background spans the worlds of classical and heavy metal. As the song built to a climax of ferocious guitar and frenzied bow work, it provided one of many reminders throughout the night that the two genres are closer cousins than many people realize.

Breaking and remaking musical rules was what this show was about. Gabriela, in particular, redefines what a rhythm guitar can be. On songs like “The Eye that Catches the Dream” and the new track “Monster,” she pummeled the hollow body of the guitar with a persistent thwack that felt like a heartbeat.

On the latter track, the thump became ominous and anxiety-producing. The acoustic storyscape grew darker as Rodrigo switched to electric. He added a wah pedal moan as Gabriela exploded into punishing polyrhythms. With ludicrous speed they conjured the soundtrack to a terrifying run through the darkest forest, branches tearing at your clothes, the namesake monster just a step behind.

Later in the set, on the new song “The Simurgh,” her slap technique was a battering barrage of hail as Rodrigo bent notes on a lap steel, distorting a plaintive wail into a guttural howl.

The duo led the audience in a fast clap to bring in the hurtling bullet train “Ride of the Mind” and brought the crowd to their feet for the set closer “In Between Thoughts.” Playing with brutal intensity, the Austin Symphony Orchestra has probably never sounded more hardcore than it did on “Broken Rage.”

Overall, it was an evening of mind-boggling musical mayhem as the duo and the world class ensemble behind them unlocked sonic possibilities, sparking imagination and elevating spirits.

When the guitar masters flanked the ASO conductor for their final bows the crowd cheered and cheered and cheered.