Metallica clearly has a lot of love for actor Joseph Quinn and his work as the metal-loving Eddie on season 4 of “Stranger Things.”
The legendary band invited Quinn backstage at Lollapalooza in Chicago on Thursday to not only meet the rockers but also to rock out with them. Netflix posted a video documenting the meet-up on their Instagram account. “[T]his is for Eddie,” the streamer captioned the post alongside a rock ‘n’ roll salute emoji.
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Quinn has become indelibly linked with Metallica because of his impressive performance of their 1986 classic “Master of Puppets” on the popular series.
“You’re taller than on the TV,” Metallica frontman James Hetfield told Quinn when they met. After thanking the group for allowing “Stranger Things” to include “Master of Puppets” in the series, the actor asked Hetfield if he’s a fan of the show. “I’m a big fan of it,” he replied. “And have been since Season 1. My kids and I, it’s been a bonding experience for us.”
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Hetfield went on to praise how Quinn treated “Master of Puppets,” giving him kudos “for doing it justice.” Quinn appeared relieved, telling the rock star, “It’s all I was listening to for two years. I feel very connected to you guys.”
At that point, Quinn got to live out his “Stranger Things” alter ego’s dream: he got to jam with Metallica. “I’m a bit rusty, so I might need a lesson,” he said, apprehensive. But, as Netflix’s video shows, the star clearly held his own. Drummer Lars Ulrich even quipped that Quinn was now the band’s fifth member.
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As a final sign of their gratitude, Metallica gifted Quinn a replica of Eddie Munson’s red and black guitar which they all signed.
Metallica’s “Stranger Things” love at Lollapalooza didn’t end there. The group closed their set on night one of the Chicago music festival by doing a dueting Quinn’s “Master of Puppets” performance in “Stranger Things,” projecting the scene from the season 4 finale on a screen behind them as they played.
Metallica performing “Master Of Puppets” while Eddie Munson is on the screenspic.twitter.com/hw37cL1tyi
— best of joseph quinn (@bestofjosephq) July 29, 2022
Hi, Eddie Munson!
ICYMI, @Metallica gave a shoutout to #StrangerThings as they played ‘Master Of Puppets’ during their @lollapalooza set 🎸 #Lollapalooza #Lollapalooza2022 #lolla pic.twitter.com/k6hC4DeSOb
— NME (@NME) July 29, 2022
A guitar player since childhood, Quinn has said that he played along to the master recording of “Master of Puppets” when he filmed his now-famous scene. “We had a backing track and I was playing along with it,” he told EW earlier this month. “I wouldn’t want to mess with what they’ve already got, but it was very useful to be able to play along character-wise.”
“It’s a pretty adolescent fantasy to be a rock star, isn’t it? I felt like one for a night,” he added. “It was great having [co-star] Gaten [Matarazzo] up there with me. They really turned it up when they played ‘Master of Puppets’ and the whole crew were there.”
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The “Stranger Things” love-fest at Lollapalooza comes just weeks after Metallica praised the show on Instagram, writing, “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.”
