Yes, I Found Metallica through Stranger Things

I stand at the gates of Hades, naïve and uninitiated, hoping the hardcore metalheads and lifelong thrashers on the other side will grant me safe passage.

Just as the plot of the wildly popular, 80s-themed TV show Stranger Things has left the fictional town of Hawkins at the cusp of a “portal to hell,” so the show itself has opened up new worlds of music to thousands of unsuspecting Netflix viewers.

Stranger Things season 4 most famously catapulted Kate Bush back into relevance by inserting her hit “Running up that Hill” into a central element of the story. But a few episodes later, a new generation was exposed to Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in what was probably the most epic and aesthetically awe-inspiring scene in the show’s run thus far.

I was one of those people getting my first taste of thrash metal as I watched roster addition Eddie Munson lay down the most wicked guitar shredding the “upside-down” dimension had ever seen.

Just like the gates to the upside-down have been guarded by hellhounds, bat creatures and a souped-up psychic spider man over the years, so it seems the doorway to the metal fandom is guarded by internet warriors who don’t take kindly to new kids on the block.

Let’s be clear from the top: I’m not some oblivious high schooler who’s never heard of anyone before Ariana Grande. I grew up inundated in The Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Journey and other classics of decades gone by.

I was on the other side of this equation when the episode before the metal-infused finale showed off a blood-pumping remix of “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” — one of my favorite songs of all time.

But hardcore metal always seemed a little too aggressive for my tastes growing up. Now, as a 26-year-old settling into life in small-town USA, the unpasteurized power of Metallica is injecting some feeling into this cold, jaded heart.

Apparently some lifelong fans who didn’t need Stranger Things to show them the way to thrash city have recoiled from the hordes of newcomers Netflix has sent their way.

I totally understand. You feel like you deserve some recognition for being there first, some distinction that separates you from the fickle riff-raff chasing the newest fad.

The same temptation arises when I, who practically came out of the womb playing The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the Super Nintendo, look upon the waves of Gen-Z gamers who call themselves “Zelda fans” just because 2017’s Breath of the Wild knocked their spoiled little socks off.

Or when the Chicago Cubs, to whom I have always been loyal, finally went on a World Series run in 2016 and the bandwagon was suddenly bursting with new fans.

But every diehard obsession has to start somewhere.

The cool thing about letting that gatekeeping urge simmer down is realizing that you now have the opportunity to share what you love with new people who are interested to learn.

The “so you’re a fan? Name 10 other bands” mentality accomplishes nothing when you could instead come alongside those newborn babes dipping their toes in the pool of X fandom and help introduce them to what they’re missing.

“Master of Puppets” leads to “Ride the Lightning” and “Kill ’Em All,” which leads to Megadeath, Anthrax, Slayer and Testament, which leads to the myriad offshoots of metal that followed in their wake.

Breath of the Wild becomes Twilight Princess becomes Ocarina of Time becomes Link to the Past.

The 2016 World Series becomes… well, a whole lot of losing before and after that season. But you get the idea.

If someone’s out there buying Metallica t-shirts just because it’s back in the zeitgeist and doesn’t care to get into the rest of their music, then that’s one thing to judge. But if the sincerity is there, try to embrace it.

You don’t have to like Stranger Things. You don’t have to care or understand how the new fans got here. You don’t have to pretend we’ve been here the whole time.

All you have to do is open the gates.