Ever since Metallica's "Master of Puppets" was featured in the finale of Stranger Things Season 4, there has been a flurry of new interest in the band and their epic, 36-year-old track. Of course, Metallica has been around for decades and the band has practically been a household name for most of that time. Still, that hasn't stopped new fans, via the Stranger Things appearance, from gravitating to the metal icons.
The 1986 title track to Master of Puppets shot up into Spotify's list of Top 50 Tracks for the United States this week, as nearly all outlets covered the track's inclusion in the popular show's finale. (You can click the previous link for our coverage.) Of course, there's always naysayers and parade-rainers, who engage in the good ol' pastime of gatekeeping in an attempt to keep the upstarts down, and protect what's precious. A classic example of gatekeeping is to say something or someone isn't "metal enough," for one reason or another—and most of the reasoning is purely beyond one's control.
To wit, it's hard to have "been there in the eighties" if you weren't born yet. Personally, I'm starting to wonder if I'm not metal enough because I wasn't born when Black Sabbath's first album came out, but that is neither here nor there. Regardless, Metallica—seemingly taking notice of the hoopla—were highly active on their social media accounts this week, commenting on Instagram that "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." However, over on TikTok, the band had a little message for those who were getting the haterade ready (you can find the complete post below):
Seems like the boys from the Bay Area weren't keen on all the rank pulling, and sent a message out to the world: cut it out with all that gatekeeping! And to everyone who recently jumped on the Metallica crazy train via Stranger Things, welcome aboard—and hold on to your ass! It's a wild, wicked, and wonderful ride!
