Lars Ulrich Calls Mindf**k’s Metallica ‘Stranger Things’
Who would have thought that in 2022, Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” would be one of the hottest songs, some 36 years after its release? The track’s popularity was sparked by its inclusion in Netflix’s recently concluded season stranger thingsand even Lars Ulrich is surprised by the response he got.
“The whole thing is such a motherfucker,” Ulrich explained to interviewer Walt of Chicago’s Rock 95.5. “It’s so hard to understand. Obviously we followed it, and obviously stranger things have been an incredible phenomenon for years. And the fact that he kind of came out of nowhere just three months ago, six months ago – ‘Master of Puppets’ [in] the end of the season. [We said] ‘sure.’ We were happy to participate.”
“We try to be very involved in making our music part of those cultural things that are out there and just connecting with the fans and spreading the music,” Lars explained. And true to that point, Metallica did its fair share of helping the song’s momentum after its stranger things the appearance continues.
First, it was revealed that Robert Trujillo’s son, Tye Trujillo, shredded the performance featured on the show. Metallica also shut down guardians who lamented new Metallica fans acquired through the stranger things inclusion and even filmed their own TikTok duo, joining Eddie Munson’s “Hellfire Club.” Metallica also finally gave the song a lively lyric video, and most recently it all came full circle with Eddie Munson actor Joseph Quinn hooking up with Metallica backstage at Lollapalooza and shredding “Master of Puppets” with the group.
“The way this thing took off. And who would have thought that – what is it? 36 years old… So this song is 36 years old, and it’s now Top 40 in the UK. It’ is an eight-minute song, and it’s fucking making a statement,” Ulrich says.
He continued, “[It shows you] the power of cinema, the power of television, the power of just culture, and obviously any opportunity you have to introduce new children or younger children to music that can be a gateway to discover anything – whether it’s harder rock or different stuff, anything that’s on their radar, is super cool. But this stuff is just crazy. It’s a bit hard to fully understand, but it’s great. So we’re very excited.”
Since Eddie Munson’s pivotal scene in the season finale in which the character rips “Master of Puppets,” the classic Metallica song has cracked Spotify’s Top 50, received over 17 million Spotify downloads (and more ) and entered the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the first time.