Before he shredded Metallica‘s “Master of Puppets” in the Upside Down, Joseph Quinn was rocking to Nirvana.
The actor, who plays the Dungeons & Dragons-loving metalhead Eddie Munson in the latest season of Stranger Things, tells Metal Hammer that the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” outfit was his “first proper band obsession.”
“I was obsessed with Kurt Cobain and had all of his posters in my wall,” Quinn reveals. “It’s kind of cliché, but it’s true.”
Quinn also names Jimi Hendrix as one of his “guitar heroes,” sharing, “I was always very enamored with him.”
When it came to preparing to play Eddie, though, Quinn turned to the heavy stuff.
“I listened to Master of Reality by Black Sabbath over and over,” Quinn says. “Master of Puppets, as well, Slayer … all that kind of stuff. That was my way into that whole world, really. Black Sabbath were my guys, and Led Zeppelin, too, but I guess they’re less metal.”
Quinn’s performance of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in the season 4 finale of Stranger Things led to renewed interest in the 1986 thrash classic, which made its first appearance on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart following the episode’s premiere. The season also made a resurgent hit out of Kate Bush‘s “Running Up That Hill,” which has run up all the way to the top five on the Hot 100.
Stranger Things season 4 is streaming now on Netflix.
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