Of Course Eddie's Upside Down Song Was Perfect In Stranger Things S4

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4 part 2.

What song does Eddie play in The Upside Down in Stranger Things season 4 part 2's finale? Stranger Things season 4 part 2's ending sees Hawkins' Hellfire Club head into the Upside Down to take on Vecna, with Joseph Quinn's D&D dungeon master playing a key role in Nancy's four-phase plan to defeat him. And in probably the coolest ever Stranger Things moment, Eddie Munson plays guitar in Hawkin's hellish alternate universe, facing down a horde of hellish bats with his life in serious danger. Which song Eddie plays in the Upside Down is far from coincidental, and his choice fits both his character and the season's story perfectly.

Stranger Things season 4 part 1 had already given fans one incredible musical moment, with the use of Kate Bush's "Running Up The Hill" soundtracking Max's escape from Vecna. The 1986 classic then dominated the charts, earning Bush piles of royalties and introducing a whole generation to the singer's ethereal genius. It's likely that Eddie Munson's guitar solo in the Upside Down will do the same thing for the iconic rock band he chooses to channel. They couldn't be any different from Kate Bush.

What Song Eddie Plays In The Upside Down In Stranger Things Season 4 Part 2

When he takes up his guitar on top of the Upside Down's version of his trailer, Eddie plays Metallica's "Master of Puppets", the 1986 thrash metal classic. He plays an instrumental version of the beloved Metallica song, which is a staple of the LA heavy metal bands live sets even now.

Why Eddie's Upside Down Song Is So Perfect For Stranger Things S4

Joe Quinn as Eddie Munson in Stranger Things Season 4

Looking at rock songs that were released in 1986, there were other options Eddie could have chosen, such as Van Halen's "Dreams", given the way Vecna kills his victims, or Europe's tub-thumping "The Final Countdown" for the sake of familiarity and emotion. But Metallica's "Master of Puppets" is the perfect choice for Eddie's Upside Down guitar solo, for a number of reasons. First, it fits Eddie's aesthetic - he's clearly an early thrash metal fan - but the song is also about control and the idea of losing yourself to drugs. The dark atmospherics of James Hetfield's lyrics are the perfect match to Eddie defiantly playing to distract the hell bats.

While the drug motif of "Master of Puppets" is also a good match for Eddie's story in Stranger Things season 4, the meaning is a lot deeper than that. As lyricist James Hetfield explained in a interview with Thrasher magazine: "Master of Puppets' deals pretty much with drugs. How things get switched around, instead of you controlling what you're taking and doing it's drugs controlling you. Like, I went to a party here in San Francisco, there were all these freaks shooting up and geezin' and this other girl was real sick." It's also a deeply personal song for Hetfield, who realized in retrospect that it dealt with his own struggles with alcoholism. The idea of losing control is very fitting for Vecna, and Eddie and the gang's attempt to wrestle back control in the Upside Down makes the anthemic choice even more perfect.

For Stranger Things' cast of heroes the titular "Master of Puppets" can be read as Vecna, the dark force literally sucking life out of his Hawkins' victims and inspiring fear by his very name. And there's a tragic element behind Eddie's choice of Upside Down song being Metallica's "Master of Puppets" - ultimately, the song is about losing, it's not a triumphant rallying call, but a mournful ission of defeat. Just as Eddie is ultimately killed, and Vecna's defeat is short-lived, Metallica's drug spectre is the victor in James Hetfield's lyrics.

What Are The Lyrics To Eddie's Upside Down Song, Metallica's "Master of Puppets"?

A lot of the lyrics James Hetfield wrote for "Masters of Puppets" feel particularly appropriate for Stranger Things season 4 part 2's finale, to the extent that it could have been written for Vecna and the finale. The imagery of "veins that pump with fear", a force "feeding on your death's destruction" and particularly, the lines "Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams, Blinded by me, you can't see a thing" almost directly matches how Vecna kills his victims. It's a perfect choice:

End of ion play, crumbling away

I'm your source of self-destruction

Veins that pump with fear

Sucking darkest clear

Feeding on your death's construction

Taste me and you will see

More is all you need

Dedicated to

How I'm killing you

Come crawling faster

Obey your master

Your life burns faster