Metallica’s “Master Of Puppets” has joined the Spotify Billions Club. It’s their second song to achieve the milestone, following “Nothing Else Matters.”
The titular track from their 1986 album, “Master Of Puppets” found renewed popularity in 2022 when it appeared in season four of Netflix’s Stranger Things. In the series, the character Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), performs the song in the hopes of presenting “the most metal concert of all time” to vanquish an otherworldly foe. The feature brought the song to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, marking the band’s first-ever number one in an over 50-year career.
Master Of Puppets was Metallica’s first album on a major label, released shortly after they signed with Elektra Records. The record peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard charts, but has sold over six million copies in the U.S. since its release.
The album also marks the final Metallica record to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died on September 27, 1986 when the band’s tour bus was involved in an accident in Sweden. Following the tragedy, the band cancelled the rest of the tour and returned home to mourn and, eventually, audition a new bassist. Jason Newsted took on the role, and stayed with the group until 2001.
In a statement, Metallica said they were “psyched” to see the song reach a billion streams. Last month, the group confirmed plans to collaborate with Apple Music on a self-titled “immersive” VR concert film. Released exclusively on Apple Vision Pro on March 14th, the film gathered footage from a stop on the group’s M72 World Tour, which kicked off in early 2023. It supports the band’s most recent album, 72 Seasons. The tour will conclude in November 2025 in Auckland, New Zealand.
Listen to Metallica’s Master of Puppets now.
