Metallica are officially members of the Hellfire Club, as they’ve shared a duet with Stranger Things 4 hero Eddie Munson on the epic “Master of Puppets.”
Much like Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” the 1986 thrash metal classic played a pivotal role in the most recent season of the hit Netflix series. And just like Bush’s track, “Master of Puppets” has seen a major bump in streams as a result.
Metallica have openly expressed gratitude for their part in the epic Stranger Things final, and now they’ve taken it a step further, giving Eddie the ultimate stamp approval by duetting with him via the magic of TikTok.
Netflix posted a duet challenge on the app earlier this week, tasking fans with playing along with Eddie as he ripped “Master of Puppets” from atop an RV. Donning the already iconic Hellfire Club shirts (which you can buy here, by the way), Metallica responded with all four members playing along to the climactic scene. “Eddie, this is for you!” the band wrote in the caption.
Check out the clip below.
@metallica #duet with @netflix Eddie, this is for you! #StrangerThings #StrangerThings4 #MasterOfPuppets #EddieMunson #Netflix
(And now here comes the spoiler warning.) The duet is something of an epic parting gift for Eddie (played by Joseph Quinn), as the character was killed off shortly after his heroic performance. In Stranger Things, Eddie rips “Master of Puppets” in the Upside Down in order to call the attention of some hell bats. While it proved effective, it also proved fatal, as Eddie chose to buy his friends some more time by getting into a hand-to-fang battle with the bat swarm.
According to Q Prime’s Director of Creative Sync Licensing Hannah Davis (via Metallica’s website), “The song was scripted in by The Duffer Brothers, so it was in their mind from the very beginning.”
While Metallica’s original recording plays over most of the scene, it’s actually Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo’s son Tye who’s riffing on the opening notes. “My dad asked Kirk [Hammett] to help me, and Kirk sent me recordings of him playing the solo (and rhythm) down,” Tye explained. “At first, I didn’t know how I was going to learn it, but I quickly figured I’d be able to get to grips with it, and the clips were hugely helpful in that process.”
Having just wrapped up a European run, Metallica are returning to the States for three concerts this summer, including Lollapalooza in Chicago on July 28th, and headlining shows in Buffalo, New York, on August 11th and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on August 13th. Tickets are available here.