EXCLUSIVE: Tye Trujillo Discusses Bringing ‘Master of Puppets’ Back to Mainstream in Stranger Things
Never underestimate the power of cult tv shows. Evidence of this has been witnessed first hand with the latest blockbuster Netflix series Stranger Things which completely took the world by storm and managed to bring back UK musician Kate Bush to the current charts with her 1985 hit ‘Running Up That Hill‘ – 36 years after its initial release.
Seriously, you can’t go on social media (or listen to the radio) at the moment without hearing the song pop up and it goes to show the power this show has on shining a light on forgotten music of the past. In the season 4 finale (don’t worry, no spoilers here), it was metal’s time to shine with Metallica‘s ‘Master of Puppets‘ scoring a placement in the soundtrack to a pinnacle scene starring the show’s resident metalhead Eddie Munson (played by actor Joseph Quinn). Without giving too much away for those who are yet to see it, Eddie grips his guitar in the upside down and belts out the Metallica classic as a distraction – and for the first time in a long time, metal is predominantly played (and welcomed) in mainstream media again!
Now, what you might now know is that the guitar parts were actually recorded by Tye Trujillo… If you’ve been living under a rock, never fear, Uncle WoS is here!
Tye, who first of all is the son of Robert Trujillo, plays in his own metal band called OTTTO, who we caught up with backstage at Lollapalooza‘s return in 2021. Tye was also part of the ill-fated Suspect208, which also featured the sons of shredmaster Slash, and the late Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots. The 18-year-old is a king in his right and has been making a name for himself since he scored global headlines filling in for Suicidal Tendencies and KoRn – absolutely destroying expectations in the process.
The best part of that story? He was only a tween when he took to the stage!
So now, he’s taken on providing additional guitar tracks for a globally recognised hit tv series and we’re not going to say we’re surprised – because Tye is living proof that age is just a number and if you’re dedicated to a life of metal, good things will come your way!
Wall of Sound reached out to Tye to congratulate and commend him for his contribution to Stranger Things, and for bringing metal back to mainstream. When asked how the invitation to collaborate came about, he explained:
“Basically one of the producers of the show Rand Geiger is the husband of my past 3rd grade teacher. They had known that I liked playing guitar and bass so he reached out and asked if I were interested sure enough I most definitely was.”
As if you would turn down an opportunity to be part of such an incredible legacy, by doing what you do on a daily basis! We pressed on about the show’s scene itself, which as we mentioned, is a pinnacle part to the season’s climax. That’s gotta bring in some kind of pressure to live up to expectations in the recording process right? Well, Tye elaborated about the experience:
“There was some challenge involved. I learned most of the parts for it before I recorded. I practiced and then I went in there and tracked it and it all ended up working out.”
Dotting dad Rob was so chuffed with his boy’s appearance he leaked his involvement earlier in the week (just as part two dropped) expressing his excitement on social media.
The show has been critically acclaimed this time around, especially for the portrayal of metal man Eddie Munson, who a lot of us would see part of ourselves in. It’s not very often mainstream tv shows get our community and scene right – usually depicting metalheads as angry, overzealous buffoons – but Eddie will go down in history as one of the best representations of the metal community ever portrayed on the idiot box.
Tye weighed in on Eddie, hoping viewers will explore more heavy music because of their appreciation for his character:
“Overall I think that having a character like him is a great way to inspire people to get into that type of music.”
There’s an Eddie Munson (played by Joseph Quinn) in all of us…
And as for mainstream getting behind ‘Master of Puppets‘ like they did ‘Running Up That Hill‘ – well, Tye is a man who appreciates all music and just hopes it’s all supported by mainstream avenues:
“Well I think that it’s important that the media get’s a little bit of everything and all genres deserve to get the same amount of support I don’t think there should be a limit to the types of music the media includes.”
With a motivation and purpose like that, we can’t deny a word he says.
Stranger Things won’t return to our screens until 2024 for its final season, but until that point, if you’re looking to expand your musical horizons and appreciation for metal, we asked Tye what his go-to metal tracks were for those discovering the genre following that final episode, to which he replied:
“They should definitely check out the rest of the Master Of Puppets album tracks such as ‘Leper Messiah’ and ‘Orion’!”
We couldn’t agree more. You know what to do, let’s get Metallica back on mainstream radio (almost 4 decades after the release of the album Master of Puppets) by the only way we know how – blasting them at 11 and headbanging until the Vecna shows up to join in!
Words by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown @brownypaul
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