Metallica Just Gave Stranger Things The Ultimate Shout-Out
Metallica and "Stranger Things" go together like peas and carrots. One is the story of four friends on a quest for power and recognition, and the other is "Stranger Things." Kidding aside, the dark and moody environment of the Upside Down in "Stranger Things" would be perfect for the cover of a Metallica album. The flashes of colored lightning, the bloodthirsty beasts, the writhing tentacles creeping across the ground, the ominous chimes of a floating grandfather clock, and the distorted look of victims and villains ... all ideal to cover the energy and attitude of some hard rock music.
One thing that "Stranger Things" does well is bring back the spotlight on popular music from the 1980s. Considering it's currently the 2020s, some viewers may have never heard of Metallica, Musical Youth, or Kate Bush in any true capacity. However, after Season 4, that's no longer the case. According to NPR, Bush's "Running Up That Hill" originally crested at the No. 30 spot on the charts in 1985, but thanks to "Stranger Things," it soon rose to be a top 10 hit in the United States, Bush's first in her 50-year career, and No. 1 in the United Kingdom. Needless to say, having one's music featured prominently in "Stranger Things" leads to some rather unexpected results and popularity.
Metallica paid homage to Stranger Things' Eddie Munson during Master of Puppets
As reported by the New York Post, Metallica frontman James Hetfield gave a special shout-out to "Stranger Things" onstage on the first day of Lollapalooza, thanking its producers for featuring the band's "Master of Puppets" so prominently in Season 4. As they played the song in question, the screens behind them showed several shots of Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) playing it in the Season 4 finale intermixed with live footage of the band (via Instagram).
Eddie's cover of "Master of Puppets" proved to be one of the most memorable moments from Season 4 of "Stranger Things." Surrounded by Demobats in the Upside Down, Eddie absolutely shreds the song as a distraction so that his friends can successfully strike down Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), the figurative master of puppets, even though the act ends up being a heroic last stand. However, as Eddie said, this is his year, and by extension, Metallica's.