Metallica and Stranger Things‘ Joseph Quinn held an epic backstage jam session at this year’s Lollapalooza in Chicago.
Hours before Metallica’s headlining performance at Lolla on Thursday (July 28), the legendary rockers met up with the British actor, whose metalhead character Eddie Munson brought renewed interest to the band’s 1986 classic “Master of Puppets” during season four of the Netflix sci-fi series.
“I’m a big fan of [Stranger Things]. Have been since season one,” Metallica frontman James Hetfield tells Quinn while seated backstage at the festival. “My kids and I, it’s a bonding experience for us.”
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Quinn spent months perfecting the intricate metal guitar solo, and his hard work didn’t go unnoticed by Hetfield, who thanked the actor for doing the song justice. “It’s all I was listening to for two years,” Quinn told the group. “I feel very connected to you guys.”
The actor’s much talked-about scene takes place when the entire cast is working to take down the season’s main villain, Vecna. Eddie and Dustin (played by Gaten Matarazzo) are in charge of distracting Vecna’s guarding fleet of bat-like creatures in the Upside Down, which they decide to do by staging a full-blown performance of “Master of Puppets,” led by Quinn on electric guitar.
Back at the festival, Quinn was invited to jam with Metallica in the band’s tuning room, where he expertly played the heavy track alongside Hetfield and guitarist Kirk Hammett, with drummer Lars Ulrich providing the beat.
“You’re hired!” Hammett says after they finish the opening riff, with Ulrich playfully adding, “We’d like to make an announcement: Metallica is now a five-piece, guys.”
Metallica ended the jam session by giving Quinn a signed B.C. Rich guitar that resembles the one he used in Stranger Things.
Later in the day, Metallica closed out their Lollapalooza set by paying tribute to Quinn’s Munson while performing “Master of Puppets.” Staged in front of a large video screen playing the Stranger Things standout scene, the band synchronized their performance of the song with Eddie’s.
When the final episodes of season four dropped earlier this month, Metallica took to social media to express their excitement for the spotlight on “Master of Puppets,” which has also climbed to the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 since Eddie’s rock star moment.
“We were all stoked to see the final result and when we did we were totally blown away,” the band wrote on Instagram. “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!
Watch Metallica and Quinn jam backstage at Lollapalooza on Twitter below.
🤘this is for Eddie 🤘
Joe Quinn met Eddie Munson’s heroes: @Metallica! pic.twitter.com/y0oaSLpT6P— Netflix (@netflix) July 29, 2022
