You might have heard that Master Of Puppets is pretty much the hottest song around thanks to it being featured in the finale of Season 4. of Stranger Things. Which must mean that Metallica are the new Kate Bush. Or something.
We’re not arguing that the sight of Eddie Munson blasting out ’Tallica’s 1986 classic isn’t epic TV, but Stranger Things showrunners The Duffer Brothers weren’t the first TV or movie recognise its genius.
No, that honour goes to Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn, who beat ST to the punch by a full 19 years. Yep, Master Of Puppets appeared in a scene from their frat-boy comedy Old School way back in 2003.
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It's been a while since we watched it, and so, undaunted by its 60 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score, we decided to give it another look. And it’s definitely, uh, a comedy starring Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn, in which they play a pair of aging doofuses looking to recapture their youth. And it's worth every one of those 60 percentage points.
The short but sweet scene in question arrives around the 34 minute mark. It involves our heroes and buddy Luke Wilson driving a black van around town and kidnapping a bunch of dudes they want to be part of their new fraternity, all soundtracked by a snippet Master Of Puppets.
Cue all manner of mayhem – screeching tyres, skateboarders crashing into swimming pools, husbands being bundled into the back of vans. Granted, it’s not cranking up a guitar to attract the attention of a horde of fanged, winged beasties, but, hey, Will Ferrell got there first, and for that Old School will always have a place in our hearts.
Old School and Stranger Things are both streaming on Netflix now.
