Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has joined the chorus of praise for burgeoning multi-instrumentalist Tye Trujillo, son of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, after the 17-year-old rocker contributed riffage to the mix of Metallica’s classic “Master of Puppets” that drives the finale of Stranger Things 4.
The shredding showed that Tye, usually a bass player, rocks on more than just four strings.
“Very proud of my little bro Tye Trujillo who pulled off the lead to Master of Puppets for the Netflix show Stranger Things,” Hammett wrote on Instagram on Wednesday (July 6) alongside a photo of him with the young musician. “He’s not a guitar player but a bass player just like his pop! Impressive!”
It emerged with the finale’s two-part premiere last week (July 1) that “Master of Puppets” was part of the popular Netflix series’ Season 4 sendoff, the character Eddie Munson performing the 1986 thrash metal track during a key scene. The song is also part of the most recent Stranger Things soundtrack, which features further heart-pumping selections by KISS, Journey, Talking Heads and more.
Meanwhile, Tye currently performs in his own band OTTTO and has sat in with Korn and Suicidal Tendencies in the past. Robert revealed his son’s involvement with the show, writing, “That’s my boy! Proud of ya Tye! Stranger Things finale shredding it on ‘Master of Puppets’ and big thanks to @kirkhammett on helping!”
Tye’s contributions were subsequently acknowledged by peers such as Korn’s Ray Luzier and Munky, Suicidal Tendencies’ Ra Diaz, Bad Wolves’ Doc Coyle, drummer Josh Freese, Machine Head’s Robb Flynn, Sepultura’s Derrick Green and Cradle of Filth’s Richard Shaw.
Eddie Munson is the Stranger Things character who waved the heavy metal flag throughout Stranger Things 4, sporting a Dio back patch and rocking the guitar. Joe Quinn, the actor who played him, even listened to metal to prepare. Watch the [spoiler alert!] scene where Munson plays “Puppets” below.