Kate Bush and Metallica aren’t the only artists to get some love in the latest season of Stranger Things.
The Netflix phenomenon has long been beloved for its lovable gang of characters and ’80s soundtrack alike, and this season was no different. In the second volume of the series’ hit fourth season, Eddie Munson (played by Joseph Quinn) holds a cassette tape of Iron Maiden’s Piece of Mind (1983) and proclaims, “This is music!”
It’s a pivotal scene that has since gone viral across social media thanks to Quinn’s hilarious line delivery. The selection of Piece of Mind is one of many Stranger Things easter eggs: The mascot on the cover of the album is also named Eddie. In fact, the Eddie mascot has appeared on the cover of each Iron Maiden’s 17 studio albums in various forms.
On Tuesday afternoon (July 5), the legendary heavy metal band posted a screenshot of the scene on Instagram with the caption “We’re with you, Eddie!” The band’s acknowledgement of the subtle reference follows shout-outs from Kate Bush (“Running Up That Hill”) and Metallica (“Master of Puppets”), both of whom had songs that were prominently featured in the last two episodes of the blockbuster season. References to Iron Maiden also appear by way of the patches on Eddie’s leather jacket.
The Stranger Things reference comes as the band treks through their Legacy of the Beast World Tour – 2022, which features a slew of arena dates across the United States and Europe. Iron Maiden has earned nine top 10 albums on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, including last year’s No. 1 Senjutsu.
Watch the full scene below:
eddie : " what are you even looking for? "
robin : " madonna, blondie, bowie, beatles? music! we need music! "
eddie : " THIS. IS. MUSIC. "eddie munson defending his musical tastes.
nothing but chaos in this scene.#StrangerThings#StrangerThings4#StrangerThings4Vol2 pic.twitter.com/5GYEZx6yDD— ᴡɪɴᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴏʟᴅɪᴇʀ (@xvperrieres) July 2, 2022
