Metallica gave a street musician a new drum kit after he was the victim of a theft.

Sheriff Drumman has become a well-known face in Los Angeles, where he’s spent the past six years performing from the back of his truck. He refined and customized the rig until it was stolen from outside his home last month. Although cops returned the truck, the drums weren’t recovered.

NBC Los Angeles followed a Metallica representative as he presented a new Tama kit to Drumman, saying: “We can’t have Sheriff Drumman without drums. So our friends at Metallica wanted to say: ‘Here you go, my friend, get back to drumming. This kit’s all for you – we hope you enjoy it.”

He added: “Keep up the spirits of the L.A. community – they all love you, man!”

The emotional recipient whispered: “I don’t know what to say.” A little later he spoke to the camera, telling the band, “Man, thank you guys so much. Thank you for taking the time and the resources to support and help what I do. I love you for that – and I’d love to meet you one day in person!”

The band responded in a tweet: “We're honored to be able to help out a fellow artist. Keep the music going, Sheriff Drumman!”

“When I got outside, I had a total panic attack,” he told the Los Angeles Times after the theft. “I fainted in front of my neighbors. I started screaming, I was calling for help like someone had shot me. It felt like the devastating news of a loved one being murdered.”

He added that "without drums, my life would have [gone] a completely different way. There’s no other way to say it. It’s my therapy, it’s my fun, it’s my life. … I know life isn’t perfect, I know people can’t get what’s needed out of life, especially today. When I play, I try to bring that fulfillment.”

You can watch him talk about the experience below.

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