Eddie Munson is without a doubt 2022's most beloved metalhead. The Stranger Things character, portrayed by actor Joseph Quinn, is a Dio backpatch-wearing, B.C. Rich Warlock-shredding high-school hesher who plays a ripping cover of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" in the finale of the Netflix show's fourth season. Unless you've been living under a rock, that scene has single-handedly made the Metallica classic the unexpected song of the summer, and a lot of that is due to Quinn's convincing performance as a quintessential '80s metalhead.
While Quinn previously mentioned that he "listened to a ton of heavy metal" to prepare for his role, he now revealed to Metal Hammer the exact bands and albums he was listening to to get him in the Eddie Munson spirit.
"I listened to Master Of Reality by Black Sabbath over and over," he said. "'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."
Those are the essential entry points into the metal canon, so good on him for doing his due diligence. In the same interview, he also named his personal guitar heroes, who are less metal, but still iconic.
"Jimi Hendrix is an obvious one," he said "I was always very enamored with him. Nirvana were my first proper band obsession — I was obsessed with Kurt Cobain and had all of his posters in my wall. It's kind of cliché, but it's true."
