Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.
Continuing a trend we saw last week, there’s not a ton of metal being sold. In fact, with only five albums notching sales of over 100,000, there’s not a ton of music being sold in general. This has nothing to do with metal, but it’s pretty interesting to see Kanye West’s protege, the Joe Satriani-sampling Nicki Minaj, selling more albums than he did this week, despite his massive ego and his album being named the best of the year in many polls.
Notable Debuts:
Flyleaf, Remember to Live (Octone) #94, 11,000 sold
Enough Christian rock fans came out of the chapel and into the record store this past week to make this the top rock debut of the week.
Notable Sales:
Kid Rock, Born Free (Atlantic) #14, 66,000 sold
This album isn’t rap or rock, it’s straight up classic rock. Kid did sample Metallica, and has long hair though, so I guess we’ll let it slide.
Linkin Park, A Thousand Suns (Warner Bros.) #66, 17,000 sold
A 20% increase in sales from last week, but still a little lackluster from a band that sold 10 million copies of their debut album a decade ago.
Disturbed, Asylum (Reprise) #108, 9,300 sold
This album will have sold 400,000 by this time next week. It will eventually go gold, but might not be platinum for a while.
A Day To Remember, What Separates Me from You (Victory) #110, 9,200 sold
The band has sold 100,000 copies in four weeks, which is pretty impressive for any band, even though I couldn’t even tell you what any of their songs are like.
Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare (Warner Bros.) #115, 8,300 sold
And the band cross the 400,000 sold mark just about one year after the untimely departure of their drummer.
Five Finger Death Punch, War is the Answer (Prospect Park) #135, 7,000 sold
With a 36% increase over last week, this is another band that will hit 400,000 sold before Christmas.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Night Castle (Lava Records) #149, 6,000 sold
A 40% increase over last week, which might even increase more. Although it’s not a straight up Christmas album. What I want to know is where are all the metal Kwanzaa and Hanukkah bands are.
Godsmack, Oracle (Universal) #184, 4,500 sold
Who names their kid Sully?
AC/DC, AC/DC: Iron Man 2 (Columbia) #194, 4,200 sold
It’s about time these guys came out with a new album, but it’ll probably be another five years. Until then, you’ve got this greatest hits album soundtrack.
Asking Alexandria, Stand up and Scream (Sumerian) 1,300 sold
How has this band sold 67,000 albums already?
Agalloch, Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore) 600 sold
The best band ever for watching snow fall. Or walking in a forest. Or pretty much anything to do with nature.
Motionless In White, Creatures (Fearless) 600 sold
Did you know that all the lyrics except for the chorus on the title track of this album were fan-submitted? Me neither.
Pierce the Veil, Selfish Machines (Equal Vision) 550 sold
These guys have sold 21,000 copies without me ever having heard a note of them.
Halford, Halford IV: Made of Metal (Metal God) 500 sold
You’d think Priest announcing their farewell tour might spark sales of their singer’s latest solo album. You’d be wrong.
We Came As Romans, To Plant A Seed (Equal Vision) 500 sold
These Metal By Numbers mainstays have pretty much been in here since we started the column, and have sold about 45,000 so far.
Helloween, 7 Sinners (The End) 480 sold
Are you metal? Just under 500 of you are this week.
Oceano, Contagion (Earache) 480 sold
It’s pretty amazing that there are five metal bands in a row that sold within 20 copies of each other. This is the third.
Blind Guardian, At the Edge of Time (Nuclear Blast) 480 sold
This is the fourth…
Killing Joke, Absolute Dissent (Spinefarm) 480 sold
And this is the fifth. And a great album. Go buy it!
