Never underestimate the all-consuming cultural influence of Stranger Things. For the second time this year, a classic song from the ’80s—this time, Metallica masterpiece “Master of Puppets”—is making a new run at the charts thanks to a prominent synch in the Netflix teen horror-drama [Note: Light spoilers for Stranger Things season 4 ahead].
Much like Kate Bush‘s 1985 single “Running Up That Hill” has experienced a seismic, worldwide resurgence following its prominent inclusion in the show earlier this season (it peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and presently sits at #6), 1986’s “Master of Puppets” is once again climbing the charts thanks to its climactic role in the plot of the show’s Season 4 finale.
Following the July 1st release of Season 4’s second and final installment, the Metallica song has jumped to the #1 slot on the iTunes Rock Chart and #23 on the overall iTunes Song Chart as of publication time. According to Luminate, the track’s “daily on-demand U.S. audio streams have grown nearly 400% from 224,000 last Thursday (June 30th), the day before the latest Stranger Things episodes were released, to 1.11 million streams on Sunday (July 3).”
[UPDATE 7/11/22]: Per Billboard‘s the latest U.K. singles chart has Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” at #47, marking the track’s first-ever appearance on the chart. With streaming numbers for the track continuing to trend up, the track is set to become Metallica’s first U.K. Top 40 hit in 14 years.
Kate Bush continues her stronghold on the pop rankings following the show’s continued use of “Running Up That Hill” in the season’s fourth episode. Pop hitmaker Halsey seemed to embody the single’s rejuvenation with a new, younger crowd when she performed it during her headlining set at Governors Ball in June to a crowd of 20-somethings who happily sang along to every word.
As Metallica noted in an Instagram post, “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. We were all stoked to see the final result and when we did we were totally blown away… it’s so extremely well done, so much so, that some folks were able to guess the song just by seeing a few seconds of Joseph Quinn’s hands in the trailer!! How crazy cool is that?…It’s an incredible honor to be such a big part of Eddie’s journey and to once again be keeping company with all of the other amazing artists featured in the show.”
Adding further allure to the Stranger Things/Metallica crossover, guitarist Kirk Hammett revealed in a post on Instagram that Tye Trujillo, son of bassist Robert Trujillo, added some extra guitar riffs to the version of “Master of Puppets” used in the show. Watch the clip from Stranger Things Season 4 featuring Eddie Munson playing “Master of Puppets” by Metallica below.
Stranger Things – Eddie’s Guitar Scene – Metallica – “Master of Puppets”
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[Originally published 7/7/21]