The meaning of Metallica's Master of Puppets

10 July 2022, 20:00

Metallica frontman James Hetfield — The meaning of Metallica's Master of Muppets is a serious one. Picture: 1.Ricardo Rubio/Europa Press via Getty Images 2. Press

By Radio X

Metallica's anthem has been climbing the charts thanks to Stranger Things, but there's much more to the 1986 single than meets the eye.

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Metallica's Master of Puppets has found new fans thanks to Stranger Things season 4.

The 1986 anthem, which comes from the album of the same name, has topped the iTunes Rock Chart and climbing various others due to its prominence in a scene featuring the beloved character Eddie Munson, who is played by Joseph Quinn.

Stranger Things has given the anthem a defiant new connotation, but it's not the only meaning attached to the single.

So what is Master of Puppets actually about? Come with us as we delve into the track that's still making waves 36 years after it was released.

Eddie Munson's Upside Down Guitar GOD Scene - Master of Puppets | Stranger Things | Netflix

Master of Puppets was released on 2nd July 1986. The only single to come from the album on the same name, the song was recorded from October - December 1985 at Sweet Silence studios in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Notable for its long instrumental section and its extensive use of "downpicking", the song is one of the band's signature anthems and is regularly given an outing on the band's live setlist.

As with many Metallica tracks, the lyrics on don't pull their punches, as frontman James Hetfield sings: "End of passion play, crumbling away/I'm your source of self-destruction/Veins that pump with fear/Sucking darkest clear"

If you're thinking these convey a crippling and evil force, then you'd be right, but it's not not the occult the track is referring to. In fact, it's something far more dangerous and closer to home.

What is Master of Puppets about?

In an 1988 interview with Thrasher magazine, Hetfield explained Master of Puppets “deals pretty much with drugs. How things get switched around, instead of you controlling what you're taking and doing its drugs controlling you."

Taste me and you will see
More is all you need
Dedicated to
How I'm killing you

- Metallica

Despite being written over 35 years ago, the song has now gone on to take on a whole new fanbase. Just like Kate Bush, James Hetfield has shown his appreciation on the internet and praised the Stranger Things showrunners for the scene it's featured in.

Taking to Instagram, the band wrote: "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."

They added: "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?

"It’s an incredible honor to be such a big part of Eddie’s journey and to once again be keeping company with all of the other amazing artists featured in the show."