Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.
While we weren’t able to deliver on our call to arms that we issued last week, anyone that likes or ever has liked extreme metal still succeeded, as Lamb of God’s Resolution is the #3 album in the country. Let’s face it: Adele is a juggernaut that can’t be stopped, and Tim McGraw is his own kind of juggernaut, a country standby that’s got over ten albums out. And while some some more kvlt metal fans probably gave up on Lamb of God when they changed their name from Burn the Priest, this is still a pretty momentous occasion for our genre. As Randy Blythe himself puts it: metal is more of a lifestyle than regular music. Check the rest of his Twitter comments here.
Notable Debuts:
Lamb of God, Resolution (Epic) #3, 52,430 sold
How does this compare to 2009’s Wrath? Well, that album sold around 63,000 copies in its first week, debuting at #2. Still, considering how much has changed in two years with sales, Resolution‘s first week sales is pretty damn fantastic.
Lacuna Coil, Dark Adrenaline (Century Media) #15, 19,760 sold
The Italian metal group sells roughly around 1,000 copies less than 2009’s Shallow Life and ranks only one slot higher. But like with Lamb Of God’s first week sales, considering how much has changed in just two years regarding album sales, though, Lacuna Coil still have a solid first week. And chances are, Gigantour will continue to help out sales.
Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Area 52 (ATO) #60, 7,000 sold
This album features metal’s favorite flamenco acoustic trio rerecording a few tracks with an ensemble of Cuban musicians. So it’s more Buena Vista Social club than their first two albums.
Scorpions, Comeblack (Sony) #84, 4,880 sold
Don’t call it a comeback! No, seriously don’t. And not just because of the play of words in the title, but also because it’s actually just an album of covers and re-recorded versions of Scorpions’ big hits.
Halestorm, Hello, It’s Mz. Hyde (Atlantic) #124, 3,370 sold
Considering that this EP is merely of taste for what fans can expect from the band’s new album The Strange Case Of… (coming out on April 10), it’s impressive to see this crack the top 200 in its first week.
††† (Crosses), EP †† (self-released) #199, 2,190 sold
The second EP from Chino Moreno and Shaun Lopez’s side project sells enough to tie for the #199 position. Their current mini-tour is probably helping sales as well.
You Me At Six, Sinners Never Sleep (Astralwerks) 1,550 sold
The band’s third album finally makes its debut in the U.S. (having been released in the UK this past October).
Blessed by a Broken Heart, Feel the Power (Tooth & Nail) 1,120 sold
Ever wish there was a band that meshed Stryper with Avenged Sevenfold? Well, apparently over 1,100 people did, hence why this album has sold so many copies.
Aborted, Global Flatline (Century Media) 980 sold
A solid first week for the deathgrind band’s seventh studio album
Primal Fear, Unbreakable (Frontiers) 630 sold
A good start for the German power metal group.
Abigail Williams, Becoming (Candlelight) 600 sold
The black metal group’s third full length has a solid first week. Guess their tour with Dark Funeral helped…oh wait.
Notable Sales:
Five Finger Death Punch, American Capitalist (Prospect Park) #61, 6,740 sold
Despite a slight increase in sales (1% to be exact), FFDP get booted out of the top 60.
Korn, The Path of Totality (Roadrunner) #68, 6,180 sold
After eight weeks, the band’s electronic/ dubstep album sells over 155,200 copies. Not bad for most bands, but certainly low in regards to Korn’s past releases.
Evanescence, Evanescence (Wind-Up) #81, 5,080 sold
Similar situation with Korn: While selling well slightly less than 348,400 copies in 16 weeks is pretty good for many bands featured in this column, it’s not that great for Evanescence.
Foo Fighters, Wasting Light (RCA) #95, 4,380 sold
A 13% increase in sales find the Foo Fighters back in the top 100. And now we also know what Grohl has been working on lately.
Chevelle, Hats Off to the Bull (Epic) #96, 4,360 sold
The hard rock trio find themselves dropping another 17 spots down the charts. At least they’ve got Rock On The Range to look forward to.
Attack Attack!, This Means War! (Rise) #97, 4,320 sold
Those afraid that the princes of crabcore’s #11 debut last week would mean they’d be hanging around the charts for a while might not need to fret, as a 76% finds them three spots away from exiting the top 100 in their second week.
Nightwish, Imaginaerum (Roadrunner) #129, 3,270 sold
Another 27% decrease in sales for the Finnish symphonic metal group in their third week on the charts. At least they got to have some fun in the sun while on board the 70,000 of Metal Cruise, and were even featured in CNN’s video report of the festival.
Disturbed, Lost Children (Reprise) #151, 2,950 sold
Even though it dropped down the charts by 23 spots, it’s still impressive that Disturbed’s b-sides album has lasted this long on the charts.
Volbeat, Beyond Hell/Above Heaven (Universal) 1,620 sold
It’s safe to say that Gigantour is already starting help the Danish rockabilly metal group.
Like Moths To Flames, When We Don’t Exist (Rise) 620 sold
Another 13% increase for the deathcore group in their twelve week on the charts.
Memphis May Fire, Hollow (Rise Records) 460 sold
Only a slight change in sales from last week keeps this fire strong.
Red Fang, Murder the Mountains (Relapse) 370 sold
The stoner rock band is back on the charts after a long absence from the charts, most likely thanks to their new awesome video.
Carnifex, Until I Feel Nothing (Victory) 320 sold
The deathcore group is still hanging in there as if they’ve got nothing to lose.
