Lars Ulrich Reveals Why Metallica Let Stranger Things Use 'Master of Puppets'

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Lars Ulrich Reveals Why Metallica Let Stranger Things Use 'Master of Puppets'

Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” was recently the beneficiary of a huge surge in popularity thanks to its inclusion in a now iconic scene in Season 4 of Stranger Things. In a recent interview, drummer Lars Ulrich revealed why the band allowed the show to use its song.

Speaking to Howard Stern in a recent interview for his SiriusXM show, Ulrich talked about how years ago, Metallica used to be a band that would say no to almost any request to use its songs in media. After years of saying no, however, Ulrich said the band eventually decided to reverse course and say yes to everything.

“It used to be, with Metallica, we were always the ‘no’ guys,” Ulrich said. “‘Hey can we have this song for this? Can we have that song for that? Can we have this? Blah blah blah, and we’d just say no, no, no.’ And a few years ago, we did a 180. 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?’ Let’s share our music with the world. So, we started saying yes to everything.”

When it came to Stranger Things, Ulrich said the band was aware of how popular the show was and that they said yes when the team behind the series told them they wanted to build a scene around “Master of Puppets.” For Ulrich, it was a crazy experience to see that almost 40 years later, the song would still have a big impact.

“It was such a mindf— to see how that became a phenomenon,” Ulrich said. “It was totally unexpected. Who would’ve thought 40 years later that these songs could still have that impact? We were psyched to be part of it.”

Stranger Things is set in the 1980s in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one strange little girl.