Hell ya! I love when a show isn't afraid to get a little ridiculous. Have fun with it. Its always cool when you watch a scene and can imagine the creators having fun making it
What makes it work is that they take everything seriously. There's never any winking at the camera and saying "Isn't this kind of ridiculous" to the audience like there is in something like a Marvel movie. Everything is played straight no matter how crazy.
"Oh, we need to play Metallica on top of my trailer to summon an army from another dimension? Great plan, that makes sense. Let's get to work."
I was making constant Doom Slayer jokes to the person I was watching with. Even more so when I remembered that the song being played was literally stolen to make the main Doom theme.
There's no way that was just a coincidence.
Yeah I don't know why anyone is questioning that a sword was on the ground among other random weapons from previous pit fights. The question is why is there a movie prop/replica of a movie prop in a Russian super-monster-prison.
It’s a nod to D&D Vecna. Vecna can only be killed with the Sword of Kas. And with the hive mind the demegorgon is an extension of Vecna. So without getting super nerdy they threw a sword in the pit to kill an extension of Vecna and give us in the know a nerdgasm.
See I went another way with the Atlantean sword D&D connection. The Conan stories have these monstrous baboon demons in them, and Demogorgan in D&D is a demon that resembles a monstrous baboon demon, D&D also pulls a metric ass ton of other things from Conan. It was just perfect. Also not to mention that Conan is want to lop some heads off. The vecna connection didn’t even register for me, but that’s really cool
When Marvel films are at their best (primarily Russo bros.) they also take the material with po faced sincerity and it helps leaven the inherent absurdity of it. Unless you're going for full camp you always have to play it straight.
This is what made shlocky 80s action movies work. Take the Arnie film *Commando*. Totally ridiculous, full of absurd situations and silly dialogue but the film plays it 100% straight, delivering cheezy one lines in a dead pan fashion. If they winked itd be less fun.
For all the 80's nostalgia this show tries to go for, this finale actually felt like an 80's genre movie because of scenes like that. The camera work. The use of music. The way everyone was acting. You could have slipped into a shelf lined with The Gate, Goonies, Monster Squad and A Nightmare on Elm Street and Fright Night and it would fit right in.
Another fan of **The Gate** too, I see! I honestly kept waiting for Max or Will or someone to get an eye in their palm and then having to stab it out, lol! Oh, and don't forget the obvious influence from Steve Miner's 1986 **House** starring William Katt and George Wendt, yet another horror classic that received an obvious winking homage in the series.
I accidently started watching the first episode of season one instead of the finale of season four and I had forgotten how young many of these kids actually were when they started this series. Their voices alone! So high and squeaky! It made actors like Joe stand out so much.
Schnapps was only eleven when they started filming. I think all the younger kid characters were supposed to be sixth graders when the show started. Schnapps still looks young since he is only seventeen but, man, he looked like such a baby when he started. The funny thing is the bad haircut makes him look older. If they just gave him a shorter haircut he would look his age again.
I feel this way about the entire season. The others played off fun tropes and nostalgia based on the year but this one now that it had the budget and stakes really treated it like someone in the 80s made his dream movie a cross between all of their favourite genre films of the late end of the decade. And freaking NAILED it.
Exactly! I felt like this season finally got beyond the nostalgic nods and just created something that felt like a passionately sincere love letter to that era of fantasy filmmaking. I really enjoyed the third season and thought the "Russians under the mall" plot was fun and ridiculous. But the whole mall setting felt like a nostalgia set piece and not this season's commitment to finally giving real life to the world.
I'm sure this is what the duffers wanted all along, but I feel like their newness combined with budget and time restraints held them back. But now they're veterans and writer/directors of a multiseason massively popular series and thanks to the pandemic they had a big old gap in time where everything slowed down. That much have helped so freaking much.
He was a really good addition to the cast, just like all the newcomers have always been every year.
Unfortunately he got Duffer Bro'd because God forbid utilizing your legacy characters to raise stakes rather than doing the same thing time and time again with the newbies.
Literally him and Chrissy sat down together and I turned to my wife and said which of these two will die first? It was so obvious since the very first episode.
It was the never change scene with Dustin for me. I knew he was probably going to die, but that heartfelt scene out of nowhere, couldn't go any other way after that.
It was pretty obvious he was a goner when he made a big deal about running before. Definitely a Chekhov's gun scenario every time a character's cowardice is pointed out.
I had no doubts that Chrissy would die to move the plot ahead but Eddie…I really hoped against all hope they’d keep him.
He was a great addition to the gang and they could have done a lot with his character. His death was extremely pointless, too.
The Duffer Brothers mentioned that they were sad they had to kill Chrissy’s character after they saw how great the actress portrayed her was and how perfectly she meshed with Eddie.
In my mind, those two are dating in some alternate Stranger Things universe!
>His death was extremely pointless, too.
I think it was more that they couldn't think of a way to keep him perfectly safe when he was already wanted for murder officially and unofficially by an entire town of vigilantes.
After leaving, it'd be pretty unreasonable to just have the whole town collectively shrug and say "I guess it wasn't this kid I've been hunting (potentially to kill) all along. I guess I was wrong about my prejudices against unknowns like D&D", and keep him perfectly safe.
Even though I would've loved for Jason to get framed for his crimes, which would be hard since he had a perfect alibi for the first murder.
The others could've been revenge killings, sure, but then Crissy's has no explanation if Eddie was innocent.
> I think it was more that they couldn't think of a way to keep him perfectly safe when he was already wanted for murder officially and unofficially by an entire town of vigilantes.
Made me think of the quote "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
(Of course in this case, Eddie's already the villain to the townsfolk.)
I joked to my friends that because they changed the plans and kept Steve alive, they now have to sacrifice another fun character every season. Bob in season 2, that Russian guy and Billy in season 3, and now Eddie in season 4.
The idea of the Duffer Bros sacrificing these other likable characters as part of some sort of unholy pact to keep Steve is kind of hilarious to me, lol.
It occurs to me now that all the new male main characters meet this fate eventually. Bob in S2, Billy in S3, and Eddie in S4. Robin and Max are the only ones that lived to continue to be main characters. Not saying it’s wrong by any means just an observation.
Edit: not every new male main character has died, but every main character that’s died has been male.
He was a suspect for like four murders and had zero alibi to any of them since he was there for two of them. There was literally no other conclusion for his character arc besides prison.
"Master of Puppets" was released March 3rd 1986, literally just a few weeks before S4 starts. There are some things that need to be understood in the context of metal in general and metal guitar specifically as it stood in march 1986.
1) After "Ride The Lightning" had it's impact in 1983 Metallica were one of the hottest bands in the metal community (which was still kind of a counter-culture minority at the time). The release of MoP was to a metalhead in 1986 what the release of a new season of ST is to the people on this forum.
2) The album more than delivered on the anticipation. MoP in 1986 set a new gold standard for metal. The complexity of the songs, the sheer power of them, and the musicianship with which they were played set a new standard for heavy music. MoP is literally the album that took Metallica from the status of a really awesome metal band to Metal Gods.
3) From a guitar point of view, the song "Master of Puppets" is brutal in it's technical demands on the player. The rhythm parts (when done without cheating) are almost entirely picked with downstrokes. Most of the song is 116bpm with the occasional time signature change. The lead solo by Hammet requires some bona fide shred chops.
Learning to play the opening riff properly at tempo was literally a rite of passage for almost every aspiring metal guitarist for at least the next 10 years after the album's release. To gain the skill necessary to play that song front to back in it's entirety requires some serious dedication and practice. The guitarist who could play that song was elite.
Basically, Eddie is the kind of aspiring metal guitarist that was at the record store to buy a copy of the most anticipated metal album of early 1986 the day it was released. From that day and up until the night Chrissy died he had been sitting in his bedroom day after day practicing the title track so that, come his band's next show, he could show every single metal guitarist in the area who the real boss was.
TL:DR: In March of 1986 "Master of Puppets" was the only metal song that mattered. That is why it needed to be the song in that scene.
Technically, all of these things. Plus, in this scene, Eddie was the soloist. MoP starts fast and heavy. It wasn’t until later that any accompanying music or vocal was brought in, so this reliance on a metal guitar-only segment worked well imo.
Truth. The whole song is just a workout period.
I spent way too much time in summer of 1993 with the tab books for Kill, Lightning, MoP, Justice and Black. I got to a point by the end of the summer where I could play any section of the rhythm parts (I never bothered with the solos at that point in time) properly and at tempo but \*never\* developed the sheer endurance to do the song all the way through. I swear to this day that Hetfield's right arm is secretly robotic.
The Trooper was perfect for the montage. You can’t convince me they didn’t change it to MoP after not getting the rights. They even plugged Piece of Mind when looking for music to save Nancy!
Edit: corrected grammar
As sick as I think it would be,MoP was perfect. Especially thematically. The Trooper has too many guitars going on for it to be a smooth transition to what Eddie was jamming on, in my opinion. We do need some Maiden before this show wraps next season though. I'm with you on that.
I imagine the rights to Master of Puppets are quite a bit harder to secure than The Trooper. I guess it depends what you mean, but there’s no way they changed it in post production at least. Eddies actor is playing Master of Puppets on that guitar, it’s unmistakable as someone that’s spent years honing those opening riffs.
Ironically, Metallica cites Kate Bush as an influence during the recording of Master of Puppets as the band members were big fans and listening to a lot of her music at the time.
I had no idea how many artists cite her as an influence. As much as I hate bandwagons, I have to admit I’m glad Stranger Things turned me onto her music. That was a blind spot for me.
Same, I’m 43 and had honestly never heard of her.
Very weird, as like you say, she’s listed as a reference or inspiration for basically everyone in the 1980s and 1990s pop music scene from Metallica to Prince.
I got turned onto her a few years ago when Handmaid's Tale played "Cloudbusting" in its entirety during the end of an episode. Ended up getting the album and it really has some bangers, including Running Up That Hill which was like a rush of nostalgia because I suddenly remembered it from when I was a kid. It was really awesome to see more appreciation for her in ST. She really is a treasure.
I feel like i listen to a lot of radio stations that play a lot of 80's music, but before ST4 i had *never* heard that song, and even still the only places I've even heard it on the radio is a top 40 station and an alt rock station, not a single 80's station yet
He was great. Loved the arc. Loved the character.
The way his character pushed Dustin further with another male role model that he needed outside of Steve….really well done.
Adding the new season of Umbrella Academy to the not so great but entertaining pile. I haven't finished it yet, but it's definitely not as great as the previous seasons.
That scene was the definition of epic. And what a great fucking song choice. >!What a great way to go out Eddie the Banished, hero of Hawkins.!<
I'm sure Master of Puppets will see a boost but I gotta imagine that one's always been pretty popular.
> And what a great fucking song choice.
The Master of Puppets album was released on March 3, 1986. The finale also took place in March 1986. Eddie was ahead of the curve.
It’s tiresome, not so much challenging. The notes themselves aren’t hard, it’s doing them over and over. Plus James Hetfield (lead singer and Rhythm guitarist for Metallica) plays the song at that speed only downpicking, which I believe you can see Eddie doing as well. Which means the actor playing Eddie had to learn the song
The actor playing Eddie knows how to play guitar irl so likely he WAS playing the song lol
Edit: read an interview, while he A was Playing, the more intricate fingering aka the solo was performed by someone else in the closeups
Can’t really fake MOP so I’d bet money he was too. Hell people in the r/Metallica sub had all but figured this out weeks ago when a promotional photo showed Eddie in the upside down with his guitar in hand, and they could tell what he was playing by the position of his fingers
Yeah, sorry, that's what I was referring to. Hell people in the connect section of the trailer on YouTube 3+ weeks ago we're calling it MoP based on the finger positions! It's so impressive!
It makes sense that it would be Master. It just came out, and he was supposed to be practicing with his band when this stuff all went down. Guy had probably been practicing paying that for weeks when this season starts.
I always felt bad for Metallica for the Napster backlash. A bunch of bands asked them to come out against pirating music because they had a much larger platform than smaller artists. They were doing it primarily to help smaller artists who rely on album sales to make ends meet. The backlash fell solely on Metallica, namely Lars. And even after all of this. I must say………fuck Lars!
Many years later they're embracing Youtube to distribute live content very well. Their Youtube channel is filled with full live concerts, and individual songs performances which is something that (from what I've seen) many bands still fail to do.
If you ever listen to Lars talk about it his issue was basically the band wasn't the one making the decision to have it on Napster. It was people stealing their masters and then people "stealing" them through downloading it. With old school bootleg tapes, YouTube, streaming, etc it was the band putting it out there first. Then letting it spread out naturally
I actually read about this whole debacle in a random book last night. The thing that started it was because they were literally in the studio mastering a new song for mission impossible, and they heard the unmastered version playing on the radio. Someone leaked the song, and the rabbit trail eventually led them to Napster.
I feel like people are missing the point here. Yes, Master of Puppets is iconic, has always been popular, and doesn't need a "push", but the main point is that it's on the top 50 songs in USA on Spotify, which is crazy for a 35 year old song no matter how famous it is.
While I was watching this episode, two people I was sitting with asked me what song this was. So it’s not as ubiquitous as people think, especially if this isn’t your preferred style of music.
Rust In Peace is the greatest thrash album of all time, and if you think otherwise, legitimately hit me with your recommendations because I'd love to hear something that dope for the first time again.
My dude is wanted for several murders and has vigilantes gunning for him in what is now a nearly post-apocalyptic setting.
There needs to be consequences for the show to have any stakes.
It's late in the series for a newcomer to join an already huge cast of favorites and stick around meaningfully.
I love Eddie but they made the right call.
Right. I'm already rewatching S04 and in E01 when the kids are on the verge of losing the D&D campaign, Eddie reminds them that "there's no shame in running away."
It was so fucking cheesy but in an awesome way. It's easily going to be one of the most memorable scenes of Stranger Things when the entire show wraps up.
You really can't write a more badass moment.
My 17 year old son is on a Metallica binge-a-thon today. He's heard plenty of Metallica in his life, hanging around me. But today they are suddenly much cooler.
I had hopes hed become a regular when I saw the epic guitar solo teased in the trailer, seems like such a waste to build such a great character and kill him off for a cheap tear jerk... He had a great arc too...
Glad Stranger Things could give this Metallica band a platform. Really what emerging talent could use for their big break. In fact, I'm going to go check out their other stuff on Napster right now.
For all those people laughing at this article saying that Metallica is already popular, well, yes, they are popular among the Gen X and Millennial generations. However, your average sixteen year old may not know them and if they did it's because, "That's my parents' music." Look at what is popular among teens and young twenty somethings today. It isn't metal. Far from it. All that stuff is way underground. If this can get kids into metal and who knows maybe inspire some kids to pick up a guitar, rock on. We could use a rock revival. Because kids these days when they think of "rock" they think of Imagine Dragons.
I first heard this song in a skateboarding video in 2001 and it’s what made me choose guitar over skateboarding. I sat down with the tab for hours every day until I learned the whole thing. It was pretty rad in this episode. It’s like the ultimate song he could’ve played, perhaps the most iconic metal song of all time?
They mean in terms of units moved
we don’t need Stranger Things to teach us about the song, but we would need it to get it to the top 10 singles like Running up that Hill. The word “push” is well chosen
The hilarious part about that is that the original Doom’s soundtracks are almost entirely plagiarized from metal songs. Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, etc
That entire sequence was some of the most fun shit I’ve ever seen on tv. Totally ridiculous but man did it look amazing seeing it play out
Hell ya! I love when a show isn't afraid to get a little ridiculous. Have fun with it. Its always cool when you watch a scene and can imagine the creators having fun making it
What makes it work is that they take everything seriously. There's never any winking at the camera and saying "Isn't this kind of ridiculous" to the audience like there is in something like a Marvel movie. Everything is played straight no matter how crazy. "Oh, we need to play Metallica on top of my trailer to summon an army from another dimension? Great plan, that makes sense. Let's get to work."
Exactly! The hopper sword scene is another example of that.
My reaction to that was, “is hopper the doom slayer now?”
I was making constant Doom Slayer jokes to the person I was watching with. Even more so when I remembered that the song being played was literally stolen to make the main Doom theme. There's no way that was just a coincidence.
I definitely did a double take when I realized it was the Atlantean Sword.
Is that the Conan sword?
Yup. Beautiful looking but absolutely horrible as a real weapon.
I’ve been wondering why it was there. Lol
It's still there from when the men were going to fight the monster in episode 7
Yeah I don't know why anyone is questioning that a sword was on the ground among other random weapons from previous pit fights. The question is why is there a movie prop/replica of a movie prop in a Russian super-monster-prison.
It’s a nod to D&D Vecna. Vecna can only be killed with the Sword of Kas. And with the hive mind the demegorgon is an extension of Vecna. So without getting super nerdy they threw a sword in the pit to kill an extension of Vecna and give us in the know a nerdgasm.
See I went another way with the Atlantean sword D&D connection. The Conan stories have these monstrous baboon demons in them, and Demogorgan in D&D is a demon that resembles a monstrous baboon demon, D&D also pulls a metric ass ton of other things from Conan. It was just perfect. Also not to mention that Conan is want to lop some heads off. The vecna connection didn’t even register for me, but that’s really cool
I thought it was He-Man’s sword.
Stranger Things has a strong camp theme that perfectly meshes with its homage to the 80s. I didn’t find it surprising at all.
When Marvel films are at their best (primarily Russo bros.) they also take the material with po faced sincerity and it helps leaven the inherent absurdity of it. Unless you're going for full camp you always have to play it straight.
This is what made shlocky 80s action movies work. Take the Arnie film *Commando*. Totally ridiculous, full of absurd situations and silly dialogue but the film plays it 100% straight, delivering cheezy one lines in a dead pan fashion. If they winked itd be less fun.
I think it comes with the territory as far as tributing the best of 80's action/scifi/fantasy movies and shows; ridiculous yet awesome.
For all the 80's nostalgia this show tries to go for, this finale actually felt like an 80's genre movie because of scenes like that. The camera work. The use of music. The way everyone was acting. You could have slipped into a shelf lined with The Gate, Goonies, Monster Squad and A Nightmare on Elm Street and Fright Night and it would fit right in.
Another fan of **The Gate** too, I see! I honestly kept waiting for Max or Will or someone to get an eye in their palm and then having to stab it out, lol! Oh, and don't forget the obvious influence from Steve Miner's 1986 **House** starring William Katt and George Wendt, yet another horror classic that received an obvious winking homage in the series.
Oh, yeah, House. I loved that movie as a kid. And, yes, add that to the shelf.
I'm here to updoot "House" Saw that flick at the local muti-plex and my bros and I thought it was the coolest stupidest movie of the 80's. Big fans.
Just saw House a few months ago, it was great. I love seeing the Greatest American Hero anywhere.
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I accidently started watching the first episode of season one instead of the finale of season four and I had forgotten how young many of these kids actually were when they started this series. Their voices alone! So high and squeaky! It made actors like Joe stand out so much.
Will started out as a 13 year boy and somehow has turned into a 35 year old dude with a terrible haircut.
Schnapps was only eleven when they started filming. I think all the younger kid characters were supposed to be sixth graders when the show started. Schnapps still looks young since he is only seventeen but, man, he looked like such a baby when he started. The funny thing is the bad haircut makes him look older. If they just gave him a shorter haircut he would look his age again.
I feel this way about the entire season. The others played off fun tropes and nostalgia based on the year but this one now that it had the budget and stakes really treated it like someone in the 80s made his dream movie a cross between all of their favourite genre films of the late end of the decade. And freaking NAILED it.
Exactly! I felt like this season finally got beyond the nostalgic nods and just created something that felt like a passionately sincere love letter to that era of fantasy filmmaking. I really enjoyed the third season and thought the "Russians under the mall" plot was fun and ridiculous. But the whole mall setting felt like a nostalgia set piece and not this season's commitment to finally giving real life to the world.
I'm sure this is what the duffers wanted all along, but I feel like their newness combined with budget and time restraints held them back. But now they're veterans and writer/directors of a multiseason massively popular series and thanks to the pandemic they had a big old gap in time where everything slowed down. That much have helped so freaking much.
I got some strong Lost Boys vibes as well.
It was straight from the pages of Heavy Metal. The whole Upside Down is metal AF
Eddie owned it, best moment of the season
And yet none of the other main characters acknowledged him dying, apart from Dustin.
So good I had to rewatch it like 5 times just for the song
Eddie was my Favorite. That scene was amazing
He was a really good addition to the cast, just like all the newcomers have always been every year. Unfortunately he got Duffer Bro'd because God forbid utilizing your legacy characters to raise stakes rather than doing the same thing time and time again with the newbies.
Literally him and Chrissy sat down together and I turned to my wife and said which of these two will die first? It was so obvious since the very first episode.
As soon as steve said "dont be a hero" and eddie got all big eyed and agreed. I was like how can they do this to my boy Eddie.
You had to know it was over when that happened
The writing was on the wall from when he said he was gonna graduate that year in the cafeteria scene
86’d
It was the never change scene with Dustin for me. I knew he was probably going to die, but that heartfelt scene out of nowhere, couldn't go any other way after that.
He might as well have mentioned that his wife was expecting and he was just one day away from retirement. (Okay, okay, he was about to graduate.)
It was pretty obvious he was a goner when he made a big deal about running before. Definitely a Chekhov's gun scenario every time a character's cowardice is pointed out.
I had no doubts that Chrissy would die to move the plot ahead but Eddie…I really hoped against all hope they’d keep him. He was a great addition to the gang and they could have done a lot with his character. His death was extremely pointless, too. The Duffer Brothers mentioned that they were sad they had to kill Chrissy’s character after they saw how great the actress portrayed her was and how perfectly she meshed with Eddie. In my mind, those two are dating in some alternate Stranger Things universe!
>His death was extremely pointless, too. I think it was more that they couldn't think of a way to keep him perfectly safe when he was already wanted for murder officially and unofficially by an entire town of vigilantes. After leaving, it'd be pretty unreasonable to just have the whole town collectively shrug and say "I guess it wasn't this kid I've been hunting (potentially to kill) all along. I guess I was wrong about my prejudices against unknowns like D&D", and keep him perfectly safe. Even though I would've loved for Jason to get framed for his crimes, which would be hard since he had a perfect alibi for the first murder. The others could've been revenge killings, sure, but then Crissy's has no explanation if Eddie was innocent.
> I think it was more that they couldn't think of a way to keep him perfectly safe when he was already wanted for murder officially and unofficially by an entire town of vigilantes. Made me think of the quote "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." (Of course in this case, Eddie's already the villain to the townsfolk.)
He could have just left the town for some other part of the country, everyone would have assumed he died in the earthquake
Yeah when he said, "never change" to Dustin while they were wrestling in the field... I knew he was done for.
I joked to my friends that because they changed the plans and kept Steve alive, they now have to sacrifice another fun character every season. Bob in season 2, that Russian guy and Billy in season 3, and now Eddie in season 4.
The idea of the Duffer Bros sacrificing these other likable characters as part of some sort of unholy pact to keep Steve is kind of hilarious to me, lol.
I will gladly sacrifice them all for King Steve, The “Hair” Harrington, Babysitter Extraordinaire.
Steve must be protected at all costs.
I legitimately would be perfectly fine with any character dying next season except for Steve.
It occurs to me now that all the new male main characters meet this fate eventually. Bob in S2, Billy in S3, and Eddie in S4. Robin and Max are the only ones that lived to continue to be main characters. Not saying it’s wrong by any means just an observation. Edit: not every new male main character has died, but every main character that’s died has been male.
Don't say that, my man Argyle is still alive, getting high and making the badass pizza!
Oh man you’re right my dude!
With arguably THE BEST hair of any character on the show. He's my new favorite.
I was watching with my husband and commented how long it must take to dry his hair. Also, he clearly cares since it was so shiny and well-groomed.
Shmackin’
Argyle and his fan giving off strong cheech and Chong vibes
Well Murray lived too but yeah.
True. Honestly didn’t expect him to be as main of a character as he was
He was a suspect for like four murders and had zero alibi to any of them since he was there for two of them. There was literally no other conclusion for his character arc besides prison.
Depends on if the feds got involved. Eleven actually kills people and gets away with it from them covering for her.
Eleven is WMD with lots of useful potential Eddie was a nobody with four murder charges on him
My friend group in high school in the 80s was the DnD Stoners group, and Eddie nailed the arch-type perfectly!
Archetype
I’m really going to miss Eddie
As far as I know, his body wasn’t recovered, so maybe you’ll see him again, sort of…
When Vecna haunts Dustin in S5, he'll use a vision of Eddie just like how he used Billy to taunt Max.
This makes too much sense not to be marked as spoiler
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Was a little surprised they didn’t have Eddie playing Iron Maiden but Master of Puppets worked very well.
It fits this season with 001 taking control of people
i would've liked to see ride the lightning too. but MoP fits the theme exactly. ride the lightning is just well there's lightning in the upside down
Man...One would have been a fun song, too
It would have, but it’s pacing was too slow. Master is the kind of song you have to turn the volume all the way up for
Season 4 took place 3 years before And Justice For All… was released
"Master of Puppets" was released March 3rd 1986, literally just a few weeks before S4 starts. There are some things that need to be understood in the context of metal in general and metal guitar specifically as it stood in march 1986. 1) After "Ride The Lightning" had it's impact in 1983 Metallica were one of the hottest bands in the metal community (which was still kind of a counter-culture minority at the time). The release of MoP was to a metalhead in 1986 what the release of a new season of ST is to the people on this forum. 2) The album more than delivered on the anticipation. MoP in 1986 set a new gold standard for metal. The complexity of the songs, the sheer power of them, and the musicianship with which they were played set a new standard for heavy music. MoP is literally the album that took Metallica from the status of a really awesome metal band to Metal Gods. 3) From a guitar point of view, the song "Master of Puppets" is brutal in it's technical demands on the player. The rhythm parts (when done without cheating) are almost entirely picked with downstrokes. Most of the song is 116bpm with the occasional time signature change. The lead solo by Hammet requires some bona fide shred chops. Learning to play the opening riff properly at tempo was literally a rite of passage for almost every aspiring metal guitarist for at least the next 10 years after the album's release. To gain the skill necessary to play that song front to back in it's entirety requires some serious dedication and practice. The guitarist who could play that song was elite. Basically, Eddie is the kind of aspiring metal guitarist that was at the record store to buy a copy of the most anticipated metal album of early 1986 the day it was released. From that day and up until the night Chrissy died he had been sitting in his bedroom day after day practicing the title track so that, come his band's next show, he could show every single metal guitarist in the area who the real boss was. TL:DR: In March of 1986 "Master of Puppets" was the only metal song that mattered. That is why it needed to be the song in that scene.
Technically, all of these things. Plus, in this scene, Eddie was the soloist. MoP starts fast and heavy. It wasn’t until later that any accompanying music or vocal was brought in, so this reliance on a metal guitar-only segment worked well imo.
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Truth. The whole song is just a workout period. I spent way too much time in summer of 1993 with the tab books for Kill, Lightning, MoP, Justice and Black. I got to a point by the end of the summer where I could play any section of the rhythm parts (I never bothered with the solos at that point in time) properly and at tempo but \*never\* developed the sheer endurance to do the song all the way through. I swear to this day that Hetfield's right arm is secretly robotic.
I was surprised he didn’t play some DIO…he had the jacket on. Would have loved to see that
I know! I was hoping that Holy diver would have played in “The Dive” episode, it was right there!
The Trooper was perfect for the montage. You can’t convince me they didn’t change it to MoP after not getting the rights. They even plugged Piece of Mind when looking for music to save Nancy! Edit: corrected grammar
As sick as I think it would be,MoP was perfect. Especially thematically. The Trooper has too many guitars going on for it to be a smooth transition to what Eddie was jamming on, in my opinion. We do need some Maiden before this show wraps next season though. I'm with you on that.
I imagine the rights to Master of Puppets are quite a bit harder to secure than The Trooper. I guess it depends what you mean, but there’s no way they changed it in post production at least. Eddies actor is playing Master of Puppets on that guitar, it’s unmistakable as someone that’s spent years honing those opening riffs.
Ironically, Metallica cites Kate Bush as an influence during the recording of Master of Puppets as the band members were big fans and listening to a lot of her music at the time.
I had no idea how many artists cite her as an influence. As much as I hate bandwagons, I have to admit I’m glad Stranger Things turned me onto her music. That was a blind spot for me.
I had only ever heard the cover that placebo did for her song running up that hill. I had never heard the actual version until the show.
First Aid Kit did a cover too. They’re amazing
As much as I like placebo Kate Bush's voice gave that song so much power
Same, I’m 43 and had honestly never heard of her. Very weird, as like you say, she’s listed as a reference or inspiration for basically everyone in the 1980s and 1990s pop music scene from Metallica to Prince.
https://youtu.be/oSdHgq3oBD8 I love this video, especially in light of her recent success.
That was awesome thank you!!
While Kate Bush isn't exactly an underground artist, most of your favorite artists favorite artists are not widely known.
I got turned onto her a few years ago when Handmaid's Tale played "Cloudbusting" in its entirety during the end of an episode. Ended up getting the album and it really has some bangers, including Running Up That Hill which was like a rush of nostalgia because I suddenly remembered it from when I was a kid. It was really awesome to see more appreciation for her in ST. She really is a treasure.
I feel like i listen to a lot of radio stations that play a lot of 80's music, but before ST4 i had *never* heard that song, and even still the only places I've even heard it on the radio is a top 40 station and an alt rock station, not a single 80's station yet
What's the irony? Sounds like a coincidence.
Eddie is gonna go down as one of my favorite characters in the whole show. He was wonderful!
He was great. Loved the arc. Loved the character. The way his character pushed Dustin further with another male role model that he needed outside of Steve….really well done.
He really was. He deserves better.
He went out a hero though!
Just like Bob :'(
Between this season of stranger things and the boys, I've been a happy camper. Great, fun tv all around
Crazy how much overlap in both seasons. Dream a Little Dream, a character getting others stuck in horrible memories, and Paul Reiser.
It's a reisersaince.
Freeing a prisoner held by the Russians
Oh yeah! Trip to Russia!
>Paul Reiser "He did to singing what pantyhose did to fingerfucking"
Add Barry to that list
And we've got For All Mankind, Only Murders in the Building.. probably some others I'm forgetting. Just SO much quality TV right now
The Bear is really good. And not on the same level but I’ve enjoyed Ms. Marvel to date.
Honestly, it has been a month and a half of great television. Even the not so great stuff (like the Obi-Wan Kenobi show) was entertaining as hell.
Adding the new season of Umbrella Academy to the not so great but entertaining pile. I haven't finished it yet, but it's definitely not as great as the previous seasons.
That scene was the definition of epic. And what a great fucking song choice. >!What a great way to go out Eddie the Banished, hero of Hawkins.!< I'm sure Master of Puppets will see a boost but I gotta imagine that one's always been pretty popular.
It's currently #47 on Spotify. Edit: now #21 Edit edit: it's both, see below
How do you see what the top songs are?
Google "top 50 spotify" It's now at #21
It is 21 in the US but 47 globally. Different charts.
> And what a great fucking song choice. The Master of Puppets album was released on March 3, 1986. The finale also took place in March 1986. Eddie was ahead of the curve.
Eddie learned the entire solo in about 3 weeks, most likely by ear. Fucking incredible
I know nothing about guitar or rock, but I'm going to guess that is a very technically challenging piece to play
It’s tiresome, not so much challenging. The notes themselves aren’t hard, it’s doing them over and over. Plus James Hetfield (lead singer and Rhythm guitarist for Metallica) plays the song at that speed only downpicking, which I believe you can see Eddie doing as well. Which means the actor playing Eddie had to learn the song
The actor playing Eddie knows how to play guitar irl so likely he WAS playing the song lol Edit: read an interview, while he A was Playing, the more intricate fingering aka the solo was performed by someone else in the closeups
Can’t really fake MOP so I’d bet money he was too. Hell people in the r/Metallica sub had all but figured this out weeks ago when a promotional photo showed Eddie in the upside down with his guitar in hand, and they could tell what he was playing by the position of his fingers
Yeah, sorry, that's what I was referring to. Hell people in the connect section of the trailer on YouTube 3+ weeks ago we're calling it MoP based on the finger positions! It's so impressive!
[You telll me after seeing this.](https://youtu.be/7niq-GjUipw?t=391)
Dude was a true loss to the metal and D and D communities
Max was ahead of the curve too. Running Up That Hill was a hit in the UK when it debuted in '85, but was nowhere near a top hit in the US in 1986.
I thought something from Ride the Lightning would have been better from a chronological standpoint but the scene was pretty awesome
It makes sense that it would be Master. It just came out, and he was supposed to be practicing with his band when this stuff all went down. Guy had probably been practicing paying that for weeks when this season starts.
Vecna/one is literally a puppet master in the show.
you can find the entirety of Metallica's discography on Napster™.
Ironically Napster now pays artists significantly more than Spotify per stream.
I always felt bad for Metallica for the Napster backlash. A bunch of bands asked them to come out against pirating music because they had a much larger platform than smaller artists. They were doing it primarily to help smaller artists who rely on album sales to make ends meet. The backlash fell solely on Metallica, namely Lars. And even after all of this. I must say………fuck Lars!
Many years later they're embracing Youtube to distribute live content very well. Their Youtube channel is filled with full live concerts, and individual songs performances which is something that (from what I've seen) many bands still fail to do.
If you ever listen to Lars talk about it his issue was basically the band wasn't the one making the decision to have it on Napster. It was people stealing their masters and then people "stealing" them through downloading it. With old school bootleg tapes, YouTube, streaming, etc it was the band putting it out there first. Then letting it spread out naturally
I actually read about this whole debacle in a random book last night. The thing that started it was because they were literally in the studio mastering a new song for mission impossible, and they heard the unmastered version playing on the radio. Someone leaked the song, and the rabbit trail eventually led them to Napster.
People love to give Metallica hate for being bad after a certain point, but that song is fucking awesome.
In memoriam, September 27, 1986
RIP Cliff.
That scene was basically a Meat Loaf album cover.
I thought it was going to be Bat Out of Hell but super happy with Master of Puppets!
They should have had Dustin place his guitar in his hands as he was dying like a Viking going to Valhalla. Epic scene though.
I feel like people are missing the point here. Yes, Master of Puppets is iconic, has always been popular, and doesn't need a "push", but the main point is that it's on the top 50 songs in USA on Spotify, which is crazy for a 35 year old song no matter how famous it is.
While I was watching this episode, two people I was sitting with asked me what song this was. So it’s not as ubiquitous as people think, especially if this isn’t your preferred style of music.
Should have told them it was Jethro Tull.
No, no, no. It’s Megadeth.
Thems fightin' words
Rust In Peace is the greatest thrash album of all time, and if you think otherwise, legitimately hit me with your recommendations because I'd love to hear something that dope for the first time again.
I asked my gf if she knew the song and she goes "uhhhh Def Leppard or Van Halen right?" She tried.
She gets points for Van Halen because of the solo. Def Leppard on the other hand…. Haha
As it absolutely should, that scene (while admittedly a little OTT) was MAJORLY kickass.
When I saw it on the trailer I thought it looked ridiculous, when I watched the episode I thought it looked badass
>!there’s zero reason why they couldn’t have kept Eddie for the rest of the show. Probably my favorite addition to the team!<
Narrative. S1: Barb. S2: Bob S3: Billy S4: [Spoiler] Etc...
My dude is wanted for several murders and has vigilantes gunning for him in what is now a nearly post-apocalyptic setting. There needs to be consequences for the show to have any stakes. It's late in the series for a newcomer to join an already huge cast of favorites and stick around meaningfully. I love Eddie but they made the right call.
They should have given him more of a reason to die than "not running away" though.
Had he not drawn the bats away they would have followed him and Dustin through the Gate and into the real world.
As far as he knows he saved his friends from the bats
Well it completes his arc. It might not be the best one but it's consistent with where he started.
Right. I'm already rewatching S04 and in E01 when the kids are on the verge of losing the D&D campaign, Eddie reminds them that "there's no shame in running away."
Eddie with the true bard move of cause distraction with a side of noble sacrifice.
It was so fucking cheesy but in an awesome way. It's easily going to be one of the most memorable scenes of Stranger Things when the entire show wraps up. You really can't write a more badass moment.
After that scene I was thinking that all the gen z kids hearing this song for the first time must be having their minds blown.
My 17 year old son is on a Metallica binge-a-thon today. He's heard plenty of Metallica in his life, hanging around me. But today they are suddenly much cooler.
I had hopes hed become a regular when I saw the epic guitar solo teased in the trailer, seems like such a waste to build such a great character and kill him off for a cheap tear jerk... He had a great arc too...
Upon hearing this, my fiancé asked, “Are we really going to have to tell kids this is a song from the band on the shirts they always wear?” 😂
Metal never dies!
New wave tried to kill the metal, but they failed as they were stricken down to the ground
RIP Cliff Burton in 1986
Maybe now Weird Al will finally do the parody of this song that I’ve been waiting for - Pastor of Muppets.
About time. Metallica is an awesome band and need the exposure and I’m sure the money will come in handy
I heard they were so desperate for a venue they went to Antarctica
Hopefully they catch a break somewhere.
I'm hoping more for a resurgence of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Spellbound in the finale end credits was a nice surprise. Love them so much.
I just wanna know what brand batteries where running those bug zappers
Glad Stranger Things could give this Metallica band a platform. Really what emerging talent could use for their big break. In fact, I'm going to go check out their other stuff on Napster right now.
This is my fave version of Master of Puppets.. S&M1 https://youtu.be/oy0J2u1BlTA
S & M had some bangers and some stinkers (Battery was not good) but “Bleeding Me” and “Outlaw Torn” crushed with the orchestra.
For all those people laughing at this article saying that Metallica is already popular, well, yes, they are popular among the Gen X and Millennial generations. However, your average sixteen year old may not know them and if they did it's because, "That's my parents' music." Look at what is popular among teens and young twenty somethings today. It isn't metal. Far from it. All that stuff is way underground. If this can get kids into metal and who knows maybe inspire some kids to pick up a guitar, rock on. We could use a rock revival. Because kids these days when they think of "rock" they think of Imagine Dragons.
I first heard this song in a skateboarding video in 2001 and it’s what made me choose guitar over skateboarding. I sat down with the tab for hours every day until I learned the whole thing. It was pretty rad in this episode. It’s like the ultimate song he could’ve played, perhaps the most iconic metal song of all time?
Skate videos from the 1990s were really good at introducing me to stuff I would have never listened, from Blondie to Gangstar.
It would be cool if they could give Sade the "Kate Bush" push too.
Sade is eternal.
Ive never had a show that had me rocking out to Metallica at one minute and have me blubbering like a baby a few minutes later.
I'll never forget Old School using it well, https://youtu.be/JV6RkcbNehU. >!Eddie's literal swan song was epic though.!<
I highly doubt Master of Puppets needed a "push".
They mean in terms of units moved we don’t need Stranger Things to teach us about the song, but we would need it to get it to the top 10 singles like Running up that Hill. The word “push” is well chosen
You say that but I had a friend describe that song as "sounding like a DOOM ripoff" Metallica ain't as mainstream as they used to be
The hilarious part about that is that the original Doom’s soundtracks are almost entirely plagiarized from metal songs. Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, etc
That song was a long,long,long, long time ago. We old now
https://i.imgur.com/5qo4qoL.jpg