First Kate Bush, now Metallica: Thanks to a high-profile feature on Season 4 of Stranger Things, the metal legends have enjoyed a nice little bump on the Billboard charts, with the 1986 song “Master of Puppets” entering the Hot 100 for the first time ever.
After Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) shredded the song from the Upside Down (with an assist from Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo’s son Tye, who recorded additional guitar parts for the scene), “Master of Puppets” entered at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of July 16th.
Metallica already thanked the popular Netflix series for the feature by duetting with Munson on TikTok, with each member of the band sporting “Hellfire Club” T-shirts.
Kate Bush was the first artist to benefit from the so-called Stranger Things bump this year. In June, her 1985 single “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” re-entered the Billboard charts at No. 4, while it topped the UK Singles Chart. Bush’s pop culture resurgence prompted the reclusive artist to give a rare interview with BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour podcast. “There’s all these really young people hearing the song for the first time and discovering it,” she said. “I think it’s so special.”
“Master of Puppets” also recently soundtracked a video of crop art Netflix commissioned in tribute to Munson, who became a fan-favorite character this season. Check out the environmental ode to the metalhead here, and watch the aforementioned guitar-shredding scene from Stranger Things below.
