Fans know that “Master Of Puppets,” the title track from the 1986 album of the same name, is one of Metallica’s biggest songs — it’s one of their 13 tracks to achieve at least Gold certification from the RIAA. So, it might be surprising to learn that when the song was released as a single back in the day, it didn’t actually make it onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Now, though, that has changed thanks to Stranger Things.
On the new Hot 100 dated July 16, “Master Of Puppets” makes its debut at No. 40. It is now the band’s 17th song to appear on the chart and their first since “Cyanide” in 2008. It’s also just their eighth top-40 single and their first since 2008’s “The Day That Never Comes.” This is all happening after the song made a memorable appearance in the new season of Stranger Things, which has brought renewed attention to the classic track.
.@Metallica‘s 1986 song “Master of Puppets” debuts at No. 40 on this week’s #Hot100, following is appearance in @netflix‘s @Stranger_Things.
It earns Metallica its 17th career entry on the chart, and first since 2008.
— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) July 11, 2022
Meanwhile, Metallica appears to really be enjoying this new spotlight that’s shining on them at the moment. Aside from retweeting the above tweet about their new chart achievement, they’ve expressed how happy they are with how Stranger Things used their song and shared a welcoming message to Stranger Things fans who are just now learning about their music.