Metallica Back on Top of the Charts Thanks to 'Stranger Things'

Metallica Back on Top of the Charts Thanks to ‘Stranger Things’

2022-07-16

Metallica press image featuring (from left to right) James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujilo.

Metallica – Story by Anne Erickson, photo by Herring Herring

Thanks to their music appearing on “Stranger Things,” Metallica are back on top of the Billboard chart

It’s amazing what a little exposure on Netflix will do for a band. Case in point: Metallica are back on top of the charts, following their music appearing in the final episodes of “Stranger Things,” which aired on July 1.

As of today, Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” had racked up 17.5 million streams in the last week since the final episodes of “Stranger Things” aired. Due to those numbers, the song has entered Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for the first time ever.

This isn’t Metallica’s first time inside the Billboard 100. They’ve had a total of 16 singles make the chart, but they’ve never had one reach No. 1 on the chart. It would be very difficult for even a band as popular as Metallica to do that, since the Billboard 100 mixes genres, and that would mean Metallica would have to beat out popular hip-hop and pop acts.

Due to the “Stranger Things” Season 4 finale, which had metal-happy character Eddie Munson performing “Master of Puppets,” the song has made its way into the Hot 100 for the first time ever. The track is a whopping 36 years old, but hey, there’s a first time for everything. In order to hit No. 1, Metallica would have to muscle out Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” which is currently at the top of the chart.

In other news, Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation recently donated $500,000 towards the cause of feeding Ukrainian refugees. According to the band, the funds will go to the World Central Kitchen, which is giving meals to millions of people who have left Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion. Chef José Andrés founded World Central Kitchen to offer “meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises.”

.@Metallica's "Master of Puppets" enters the Hot 100 for the first time ever following #StrangerThings, 36 years after release.

— chart data (@chartdata) July 11, 2022

Author
Recent Posts

Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based music reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, Loudwire.com and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.