'We were the ‘no’ guys': Lars Ulrich reveals why Metallica allowed 'Master of Puppets' on 'Stranger Things'
The 'Stranger Things' season 4 scene featuring Joseph Quinn's Eddie Munson playing a guitar solo of Metallica's 1986 track 'Master of Puppets' at the series finale was one of the most viral moments this summer. Lars Ulrich, the drummer for Metallica, discussed in an interview on Monday, November 28 how that scene developed on 'The Howard Stern Show'.
Eddie's performance in the show's climax, during a do-or-die situation, was enough to make audiences fall in love with the song he played that was originally performed by American heavy metal band Metallica. Thanks to recent changes by the band regarding music licensing they are now yielding big returns, as per reports from hollywoodreporter.
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Metallica's ICONIC 'Master of Puppets' sees surge in streaming since ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4
Ulrich said that until just a few years ago, he and his colleagues had never wanted to give their music to TV and film projects. "It used to be, with Metallica, we were always the ‘no’ guys, 'Hey, can we have this song for this? Can we have that song for that?’ And it was just no, no, no, no, no," Ulrich said. “We did a 180,” the drummer shared. “We just said, ‘You know what? This is stupid. Why are we hanging onto these [songs] like they’re so important, like they’re the crown jewels?’"
The 'Stranger Things' scene appeared after they adopted a new approach and started saying "yes" to these situations. Ulrich stated that the band was aware of the program and was "so proud" of how the concluding sequence turned out. Ulrich continued, "A couple of years ago, we started saying ‘yes’ to everything. Obviously, we're all somewhat familiar with the ‘Stranger Things’ phenomenon. But we got that in six, nine months ago, and said yes. They wanted to build this whole scene about ‘Master of Puppets.’ And we said of course. Then it came out over the summer. And it was such a mindf--- to see how that became a phenomenon. We were so proud."
Although this isn't the first time Metallica has paid respect to 'Stranger Things' after the tribute. MEAWW previously reported the band "applauded" the performance and the Duffer brothers for featuring the music on the program on Instagram, stating they were "stoked" to see the scene come to life. The band also claimed that they were ecstatic to learn that one of their songs would be used to film one of the season's most pivotal scenes.
“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,” the band wrote on Instagram.