Kate Bush and “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” have gotten a lot of buzz lately thanks to the fourth season of Stranger Things, but that song isn’t the only one the show has given a boost. Metallica’s 1986 classic “Master Of Puppets” features prominently in the season finale, and subsequently, it has received renewed attention. The song entered Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA chart for the first time on July 1 (the day the two latest Stranger Things episodes were released) and rose to the No. 10 spot on July 4. (All the while, by the way, “Running Up That Hill” was No. 1 on that chart.)
Now, the band have shared their thoughts on the situation, offering some praise by writing on Instagram:
“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.”
Robert Trujillo also noted on his own Instagram that his son Tye actually recorded guitar for the show, writing, “That’s my boy! Proud of ya Tye! Stranger Things finale shredding it on ‘Master of Puppets’ and big thanks to @kirkhammett on helping!”
Despite “Master Of Puppets” being one of Metallica’s most popular songs — it’s one of their 13 tracks to achieve at least Gold certification from the RIAA — it has actually never appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, so the tune’s potential debut on those ranks could be something to look out for when next week’s chart is released.
Meanwhile, in a new Variety interview, Stranger Things music supervisor Nora Felder noted of the track’s role in the show, “It was another one of those ‘it has to be this song’ moments. This part of the story was anticipated to be a pivotal and especially hair-raising scene in which Eddie heroically stood tall for the fight of his life. I believe the Duffer Brothers felt that playing ‘Master Of Puppets’ throughout the extended scene was the clear choice. No other song was discussed further, and we jumped in to clear it straight away.”
Find the aforementioned Instagram posts below.
