Do you recall the epic face-off in Stranger Things Season 4 between Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) and the demobats? Rocking out on his B.C. Rich Warlock NJ Series electric guitar to the backing track of Metallica's "Master of Puppets." Here's a fun fact for you - The series of guitars Munson is seen shredding were produced in the '80s, in Nagoya, Japan (NJ), which just happens to be the same time period that Season 4 takes place. Coincidence?
We all know the scene where he distracted the Demobats (hellish winged creators and antagonists of the hit show) to keep them from swarming his friends in a heroic exit. The scene served as a great redemption arc for those familiar with Quinn's character. That is, of course, if you believe that Eddie Munson has truly exited the series... or you're ready to fall down the 'Eddie Lives' rabbit hole...
"Master of Puppets" rolled its way back to the Billboard Hot 100 list peaking at 35 after Quinn's performance in the Upside Down and Howard Stern (via Billboard) recently had the chance to sit down and speak with Lars Ulrich, Metallica's founder and drummer, regarding the bands relationship with the hit series. Metallica has been know for a long time as the "'no' guys" for not lending their work out to other projects according to the drummer (insert South Park's MOOP reference). It's a new age, though, as they gave Netflix the green light in their MTV Movie & TV award-winning show in perhaps the most rock & roll scene ever filmed.
“We did a 180,” Ulrich shared during the interview. “We just said, ‘You know what? This is stupid. Why are we hanging onto these [songs] like they’re so important, like they’re the crown jewels?’ We started saying yes to everything. Let’s share our music with the world.”
“It was such a mindf–k to see how that became a phenomenon,” the drummer went on to say. “It was totally unexpected. Who would’ve thought 40 years later that these songs could still have that impact? We were psyched to be part of it.”
It's no surprise they were excited to have a hit like "Master of Puppets" resurrected and climbing the charts again. It was excellently done in reaching out across the generations and drawing in more fans, both to the show, and the band. It's no doubt brought more fans to the heavy metal genre in general!
Metallica being big fans of Quinn is an understatement. The lead vocalist of the band, James Hetfield, donned an Eddie Munson costume for Halloween and Quinn even had the opportunity to rock out with the Grammy Award-winning band during summer where they commended him for his skills and signed a B.C. Warlock for him!
It's safe to assume that 1985's "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush made it's way back onto Billboard Hot 100 thanks to the popularity and use of it in the show. With these hits along with the easter eggs to other bands of the '80s, perhaps we could expect more iconic scenes with the sounds to match!