This week, Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” hit number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has never hit the charts before – it owes its increased popularity to season 4 of Stranger Things.
In the final episode 9 of season 4, protagonist Eddie Manson, played by Joseph Quinn, performs “Master of Puppets.”
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The creators of Stranger Things chose the track with a special meaning – they sorted it out here. Since the episode aired on July 1, streams for the Metallica track have increased by 650% to reach 17.5 million streams in a week.
With renewed interest, “Master of Puppets” also charted in the UK, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Ireland.
The number of people wishing to learn the lyrics of the song has also increased significantly, according to the interactive music service Yousician. Since the premiere of the season 4 finale of Stranger Things, their numbers have increased by 1,700%.
Here is how Metallica members themselves commented on the story with “Master of Puppets”:
“The Duffer Brothers, the creators of the show, have always done a great job with the soundtrack. We are absolutely delighted. Not only did they have “Master of Puppets” in the show, but they also built a key scene around the song.
We were looking forward to being shown what the result was. And we were just amazed. It was so cool that some people guessed the song just by seeing Joseph Quinn’s hands in the trailer for a few seconds.”
“Master of Puppets” was released in 1986 on Metallica’s third self-titled album. It was the band’s last record to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died during a promotional tour for the release in a car accident.
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In 1986, he was replaced by Jason Newsted, and in 2003 by Robert Trujillo, who plays with Metallica to this day.
