'Master Of Puppets' Is Pop Punk Now, No Take Backs

Metallica's iconic metal masterpiece Master of Puppets has been having itself a moment in 2022. A new legion of fans have become obsessed with the track, following its inclusion in a key scene of Stranger Things. The resultant hype has sent the track racing up the charts across the globe, including here in Australia, where it finally cracked the singles chart, some 36 years after release.

Unsurprisingly, the fixation on the timeless metal anthem has drawn the attention of a bunch of YouTube mashup artists, who have delivered a seemingly endless amount of Master of Puppets reimaginations. With everyone from Anthony Vincent to Fountane Trivium's Matt Heafy dishing up creative interpretations of the track, it was only a matter of time until a pop-punk version of the song emerged and now, thanks to Kala and Todd Barriage, it has, much to the delight of pop-punk kids and the dismay of metalheads.  Kala and Barriage give Master of Puppets the full pop-punk/easycore treatment, transforming the song into a bright and infectious three-and-a-half-minute bop. 

The attention to detail in the production and performance is impressive with everything from the guitar, to the vocals, to the drums perfectly played and placed. There's a definitive New Found Glory meets Taking Back Sunday vibe to the arrangement, with soaring melodies and bright melodic leads on display, while the intimate, emotional outro gives it a bit of an emo vibe.  

As for what inspired the cover, the video description simply offers "Kala started playing Master of Puppets on guitar the other day, and then I said haha what if it was pop-punk tho, and now we've covered a Metallica song together. MoP is pop punk now, no take-backs!" 

We don't know what Metallica make of it all and we probably never will, but we do know that they are fans of the Stranger Things scene and all of the new metalheads it dragged in. In the days following the release, James Hetfield stated his approval via social media  “The way The Duffer Brothers have incorporated music into Stranger Things has always been next level, so we were beyond psyched for them to not only include Master Of Puppets in the show but to have such a pivotal scene built around it.” 

“We were all stoked to see the final result and when we did we were totally blown away... it’s so extremely well done, so much so, that some folks were able to guess the song just by seeing a few seconds of Joseph Quinn’s hands in the trailer!! How crazy cool is that?

“It’s an incredible honour to be such a big part of Eddie’s journey and to once again be keeping company with all of the other amazing artists featured in the show.”

Further, the band also launched a collaborative 'Hellfire Club' merch line with Stranger Things.