Metallica perform in Las Vegas in 2022
(Picture: Getty Images)Stranger Things looks to be working its magic again, with Metallica’s song Master of Puppets currently listed at number 40 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart after being played in the series finale. The song was also recently listed in the number one spot on the iTunes rock charts.
Master of Puppets was first released in 1986, and over the years has become widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest guitar tracks - but its chart-worthy days seemed long behind it.
However, after the song was used in the finale of Netflix’s smash hit Stranger Things, the show’s legions of fans are giving the song a chart resurgence.
The song is used in a nail-biting scene where (spoilers ahead, if you still haven’t got round to watching it...) Joseph Quinn’s character Eddie Munson plays Master of Puppets on his guitar to try to sidetrack the Demobats (flying predatory creatures in the parallel world called the Upside Down).
Metallica backed the use of their song on the Netflix show, writing a post of appreciation on their Instagram.
The band said: “The way The Duffer Brothers have incorporated music into Stranger Things has always been next level, so we were beyond psyched for them to not only include ‘Master of Puppets’ in the show, but to have such a pivotal scene built around it.
“We were all stoked to see the final result and when we did we were totally blown away... it’s so extremely well done, so much so, that some folks were able to guess the song just by seeing a few seconds of Joseph Quinn’s hands in the trailer!! How crazy cool is that?
“It’s an incredible honor to be such a big part of Eddie’s journey and to once again be keeping company with all of the other amazing artists featured in the show.”
Kate Bush’s song Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) also found a new audience after being used on the show. The song had been released 37 years earlier and was part of Bush’s 1985 album Hounds of Love. At the time, the song went to number three on the British charts.
But when the song was played in the final season of Stranger Things it was catapulted to the top of the charts in countries around the world. It currently remains at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts.
It even broke three Guinness World Records: oldest female artist to reach number one on the UK’s Official Singles Chart, the longest gap between number ones on the UK’s Official Singles Chart and the longest time for a track to reach number one on the UK’s Official Singles Chart.
Writing on her website Bush said: “It’s all so exciting! The track is being responded to in so many positive ways. I’ve never experienced anything quite like this before!
“I just want to say a really big thank you to everyone in the US who has supported the song. It’s the first time I’ve had a top ten single over there and now it’s in the top 5!
“Thank you so much again to the Duffer Brothers - because of their latest, extraordinary series of Stranger Things, the track is being discovered by a whole new audience.”
Stranger Things’ fourth season had a record-breaking opening weekend in late May that saw it pull in 286.79 million viewing hours. It beat Bridgerton’s numbers by a long way – Bridgerton garnered 193 million hours over the same period.
