Here's what Eddie Munson would sound like if he hadn't practiced Master of Puppets

Stranger Things Eddie Munson
(Image credit: Stranger Things)

Warning: spoilers ahead!

Well, internet that was quick. No sooner than the last two episodes of Stranger Things' season four streamed last week on Netflix we’ve spent most of our time celebrating the fact that metalhead Eddie Munson shredded his way through Master Of Puppets during one of the key scenes in the Hawkins horror drama.

The use of the Metallica 1986 album title track during the show set the internet ablaze. Older metal fans got moist-eyed, while a whole new generation of fans got to hear that riff for the very first time. We’re jealous, in a way.

While the Hellfire Club headbanger’s performance was impeccable (you know, considering what was at stake) YouTuber KayJay – who recently tinkered with Pantera’s Mouth For War – has created an alternate, ponderous version. 

It basically sounds like someone shitting their pants with fear in the face of doom, yet tops off the deliberately amateurish version with a note-perfect nod to Megadeth’s Tornado of Souls.

Try not to cringe at the clip below:

Metallica, who've yet to comment on this particular version, recently commented on the use of their song in the Netflix show.

"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," say Metallica on their official Instagram page. "We were all stoked to see the final result and when we did we were totally blown away...it’s so extremely well done, so much so, that some folks were able to guess the song just by seeing a few seconds of Joseph Quinn’s hands in the trailer!! How crazy cool is that?" 

Simon Young

Born in 1976 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Simon Young has been a music journalist for over twenty years. His fanzine, Hit A Guy With Glasses, enjoyed a one-issue run before he secured a job at Kerrang! in 1999. His writing has also appeared in Classic RockMetal HammerProg, and Planet Rock. His first book, So Much For The 30 Year Plan: Therapy? — The Authorised Biography is available via Jawbone Press.