Master of Puppets sat untouched by film and television for decades, protected by a band that built its entire reputation on turning down licensing requests. Then Stranger Things asked, Metallica said yes, and a 36-year-old thrash metal deep cut ended up somewhere it had genuinely never been before: the Billboard Hot 100.
Table of Contents
- How Master of Puppets ended up in Stranger Things at all
- Why Metallica used to say no to almost everyone
- What happened to Master of Puppets on the charts
- How Metallica responded to the song’s second life
- Frequently asked questions about Master of Puppets in Stranger Things
How Master of Puppets ended up in Stranger Things at all
Master of Puppets appears in the season 4 finale of Stranger Things, played by Eddie Munson on his guitar in the Upside Down as a way of distracting a swarm of Demobats guarding Vecna’s lair. According to Fear HQ’s coverage of the scene, Eddie performs the song on a B.C. Rich Warlock NJ Series guitar — a detail fans noted was produced in Nagoya, Japan, during the same 1980s period the show’s fourth season is set in.
Metallica issued a public statement on July 5 addressing the decision to let the Duffer Brothers use the track, according to Blabbermouth’s reporting: “The way The Duffer Brothers have incorporated music into ‘Stranger Things’ has always been next level, so we were beyond psyched for them to not only include ‘Master of Puppets’ in the show but to have such a pivotal scene built around it.” The band added that they were “totally blown away” once they saw the finished sequence, noting some fans could identify the song from just a few seconds of Joseph Quinn’s hands in the trailer alone.
Why Metallica used to say no to almost everyone
Master of Puppets’ appearance in Stranger Things marked a genuine shift in how Metallica approached licensing requests. Speaking on The Howard Stern Show, drummer Lars Ulrich explained the band’s history bluntly, as reported by Fox News: “It used to be, with Metallica, we were always the ‘no’ guys. ‘Hey, can we have this song for this? Can we have that song for that?’ And it was just no, no, no, no, no.”
Ulrich described a deliberate policy change that predated the Stranger Things opportunity: “A few years ago, we reversed it. We did a 180. We just said, ‘You know what, this is stupid.'” That shift in philosophy is part of why the timing worked out — NME’s reporting notes that “a few years earlier, the band might not have given their blessing to the use of the song at all,” meaning the Stranger Things sync arrived at almost the exact moment Metallica had become newly open to it.
What happened to Master of Puppets on the charts
Master of Puppets’ chart performance following the episode’s release was historic by the band’s own standards. According to the Official Charts Company, the song jumped to Number 22 on the UK Official Singles Chart, becoming Metallica’s first UK Top 40 hit in 14 years and the band’s 20th Top 40 single overall — a notable achievement given the original 1986 album version had only reached Number 41 on the UK chart at the time of its initial release.
The song’s US performance broke entirely new ground. Rolling Stone and Winter Is Coming both reported that Master of Puppets climbed to Number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 — the first time in Metallica’s entire career that the song had appeared on that chart at all. Loudwire’s coverage added that the track cracked Spotify’s global Top 50 and logged more than 17 million Spotify downloads in the weeks following the episode’s release, figures that continued climbing as word of the scene spread.
“That whole thing is such a mindfuck,” Lars Ulrich said of the resurgence. “It’s so difficult to fathom.”
How Metallica responded to the song’s second life
Master of Puppets’ new audience prompted an unusually active response from the band itself. Loudwire reported that Robert Trujillo’s son, Tye Trujillo, performed the guitar shredding heard in some fan recreations of the scene, and that Metallica filmed their own TikTok duet joining Eddie Munson’s fictional Hellfire Club performance. The band also released a new animated lyric video for the song and publicly pushed back against longtime fans who complained about the wave of newcomers the show had brought to their fanbase.
That connection extended into live performances as well. Fox News reported that Metallica played Master of Puppets at Lollapalooza in July 2022 with Eddie Munson’s Stranger Things scene projected behind them on stage, directly acknowledging the crossover in front of a festival crowd. The relationship between the band and the show’s cast grew further from there — Joseph Quinn was invited to spend time with Metallica in person, receiving a signed B.C. Rich Warlock guitar from the band, while frontman James Hetfield later dressed as Eddie Munson for Halloween, closing the loop on a collaboration that started as a single licensing request.
For more on the character whose guitar performance drove this entire resurgence, Read more: Eddie Munson’s Death covers his full sacrifice in the season 4 finale. And for the other classic song that experienced a nearly identical chart revival the same season, Read more: Running Up That Hill breaks down Kate Bush’s own reaction to the phenomenon.
Blabbermouth’s full transcript of Metallica’s statement on the collaboration goes deeper into the band’s decision-making process, and it’s worth reading in full here.
Frequently asked questions about Master of Puppets in Stranger Things
Why did Metallica allow Stranger Things to use Master of Puppets? Metallica allowed the use of Master of Puppets after reversing a longstanding policy of declining nearly all licensing requests, with drummer Lars Ulrich explaining the band had deliberately become more open to such opportunities in recent years.
Did Master of Puppets reach the Billboard Hot 100 because of Stranger Things? Yes. Master of Puppets reached Number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 following its use in the season 4 finale, the first time the song had ever appeared on that chart in Metallica’s career.
How did Master of Puppets perform on the UK charts after Stranger Things? Master of Puppets reached Number 22 on the UK Official Singles Chart, becoming Metallica’s first UK Top 40 hit in 14 years.
Did Metallica interact with the Stranger Things cast after the episode aired? Yes. Metallica invited actor Joseph Quinn to spend time with the band, gifted him a signed guitar, and performed Master of Puppets live at Lollapalooza with the show’s scene displayed behind them.
What guitar does Eddie Munson play Master of Puppets on in Stranger Things? Eddie Munson performs the song on a B.C. Rich Warlock NJ Series guitar, a model originally produced in Nagoya, Japan, during the same era the show’s fourth season is set in.
