Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.
Trying to find a new metal album on the charts at this time of year is like trying to find a store that isn’t playing Christmas music: there’s at least one, but not whole lot of people know about it. That’s not meant to downplay Circle of Contempt’s new EP, which is our only notable debut. The only other bit of action going is the many albums that have received boosts this week (likely due to the holiday season), ranging from as low as 4% to as high as 68%.
Notable Debuts
Circle of Contempt, Entwine The Threads (Sumerian) 1,100 sold
The latest from Sumerian is an EP from this Finnish prog metal act.
Notable Sales
Led Zeppelin, Celebration Day (Atlantic) #21, 43,300 sold
Funnily enough, this live album doesn’t feature the song “Celebration Day”.
Kid Rock, Rebel Soul (Atlantic), #27, 37,200 sold
I promised myself I wouldn’t crack a joke about Kid Rock. Mostly because doing so would be redundant considering he’s, well, Kid Rock.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Dreams of Fireflies (On A Christmas Night) (Lava) #35, 28,250 sold
I used to think they said “balls of holly” instead of “boughs of holly.” The former now seems absurd in retrospect.
Aerosmith, Music From Another Dimension! (Columbia) #76, 10,800 sold
Fun fact: 4 out of 15 tracks involve some form of the word “love”.
Soundgarden, King Animal (Universal) #81, 9,950 sold
The band’s next music video is being directed by Dave Grohl a.k.a. the Superman of the music industry.
Deftones, Koi No Yokan (Reprise) #118, 6,850 sold
This album has been included on many end of the year lists including our own.
AC/DC, Live At River Plate (Columbia) #129, 6,300 sold
The band’s first live album in 20 years hangs in there.
Stone Sour, House of Gold & Bones (Roadrunner) #148, 5,050 sold
Corey Taylor and company get a small boost.
Rock of Ages, Soundtrack (WaterTower Music) #155, 4,800 sold
On a related note, I’ve seen Tom Cruise in too many movie trailers lately.
In This Moment, Blood (Century Media) #161, 4,550 sold
One of three albums that have been on the charts seemingly forever,
Halestorm, The Strange Case Of… (Atlantic) #168, 4,450 sold
The second album that has stayed on the charts and napped a Grammy nomination in the process.
KISS, Monster (UMe) #171, 4,300 sold
KISS’s hasn’t exactly been selling like some kind of monster (oh, wrong band).
Shinedown, Amaryllis (Atlantic) #156, 2,600 sold
Well, look what made it’s way back onto the charts!
Volbeat, Beyond Hell/Above Heaven (Universal) 3,250 sold
Rounding out the trio of immovable albums is Volbeat with a 21% boost this week.
Crown The Empire, The Fallout (Rise) 1,050 sold
This one has essentially shared sales with…
Woe, Is Me, Genesi[s] (Rise) 1,050 sold
…and they’ve shared drops as well.
Otherwise, True Love Never Dies (Century Media) 700 sold
Oh yeah. Forgot that these guys haven’t moved much either. Can you blame me?
Bad Brains, Into the Future (Megaforce) 680 sold
Bad sales.
Graveyard, Lights Out (Nuclear Blast) 640 sold
A lot of albums have gotten some boost this week. This one got a nice 47% boost.
Porcupine Tree, Octane Twisted (Kscope) 530 sold
This album reminds me of how awesome The Incident, but it also reminds me that Porcupine Tree are on hiatus. And that makes me sad.
Upon A Burning Body, Red.White. Green. (Sumerian) 430 sold
And this decided to show up again.
Witchcraft, Legend (Nuclear Blast) 420 sold
I Am (Almost) Legend.
The Devin Townsend Project, Epicloud (HevyDevy) 410 sold
The fact that we’ll likely end up seeing another DTP album next year makes me giddy.
Upon This Dawning, To Keep Us Safe (Fearless) 390 sold
To Keep Us Safe…From Falling Off the Charts.
Affiance, The Campaign (Bullet Tooth) 370 sold
Looks like people prefer to buy the movie The Campaign instead.
Pig Destroyer, Book Burner (Relapse) 370 sold
Yet another album that’s been topping end of the year lists.
Wintersun, Time I (Nuclear Blast) 360 sold
These guys are currently on tour with Eluveitie and Varg.
Texas Hippie Coalition, Peacemaker (Carved) 340 sold
This sells about the same as last week.
In Fear & Faith, In Fear And Faith (Rise) 340 sold
How do bands decide which album should be the self-titled album?
Cattle Decapitation, Monolith of Humanity
Big 68% boost to an album featuring an absolutely beautiful music video. You know, if you’re Charles Manson or something.
