Metallica is one of several bands featured in Stranger Things season 4, with a storming cover of ‘Master of Puppets’ included in the final battle against Vecna. The Netflix series has released a quick behind-the-scenes clip of the song coming together, with Joseph Quinn practicing his riffs.
In the sci-fi series, Quinn plays Eddie Munson, a metal-obsessed Dungeons and Dragons fan who joins our heroes in the fight to protect Hawkins. During the climax, he uses Metallica’s ‘Master of Puppets’ to distract Vecna, the latest Stranger Things monster to rear its ugly head. Let it not be said Quinn didn’t put in the work to prepare for the scene, practicing here with clear dedication.
He’s playing a special truncated version of the eight-minute epic, where frontman James Hetfield’s vocals come in around the 30 second mark, as opposed to a minute in. Still, Quinn’s put through his paces with several sections that stretch both his picking hand and his fretting hand. Note all the downpicking he’s doing, Hetfield’s preferred way of playing these songs that makes them an endurance test at times.
The short clip is a fun little snippet that shows the magic that goes behind momentous scenes. Making the whole performance believable would’ve required a lot of this, especially with all that guitar work.
Kate Bush and Iron Maiden also got nods during the TV series. Both have enjoyed a new generation of fans checking them out. In fact, Bush has broken records now with her song ‘Running Up That Hill’ becoming number one several decades since it was released.
practice makes perfect pic.twitter.com/yjv63A1pfp
— stranger writers (@strangerwriters) July 10, 2022
Could the same thing happen for Metallica? Stranger things have happened, eh? Sorry, not sorry. Check out our guide to Stranger Things season 5 to check if your favourite band is next on the list for a shout-out.