A video has emerged of Stranger Things actor Joseph Quinn rehearsing what would become one of the most pivotal moments of the show’s latest season – as well as one of the most viral heavy metal moments TV has ever produced.
In the Stranger Things Season 4 finale, Quinn’s character, eccentric but misunderstood metalhead Eddie Munson, plays Metallica track Master Of Puppets to help save his friends from an attack by Vecna’s evil forces (if that sentence is still confusing you by this point, where have you been?!). There has been much speculation over whether Quinn actually played any of the the song himself, with it recently being confirmed that Metallica bassist Rob Trujillo’s son, Tye, was involved in Master Of Puppets being used in the show (as was Rob’s bandmate, guitarist Kirk Hammett).
Now, thanks to this new footage, it’s clear that Quinn did at least learn Master Of Puppets for the scene, as the video shows him, out of character, jamming and finding his way around the thrash metal classic.
“I wouldn’t consider myself a brilliant guitarist, but I can play,” Quinn told Entertainment Weekly back in May. “That was very lucky because those scripts came out, I think, at some point in the pandemic. I did start practicing pretty furiously.” Quinn also noted that he listened to “a lot of heavy metal” to get into character, getting an extra touch of authenticity for the role courtesy of the estate of Ronnie James Dio, who lent him the Dio backpatch he can be seen wearing throughout the show.
Watch Quinn playing Master Of Puppets out of character below. The latest season of Stranger Things is out now via Netflix.