Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.
This week sees nine new metal/hard rock related releases debuting on the charts (four of them appearing in the top 200). But it’s just our luck that out of the nine, the top debut comes from the least metal of them all. This week, the onetime kings of 80’s hair metal Def Leppard crack the top 20 with their new release Mirrorball. Now selling just under 20,000 copies is a bit low for a band like Def Leppard (their last album, 2008’s Songs from the Sparkle Lounge came in at #5 and sold about 55,000 copies in its first week). However, considering that Mirrorball is a live album that only features three new songs and was sold exclusively at Walmart and Sam’s Club, we’d say that’s pretty impressive.
Notable Debuts:
Def Leppard, Mirrorball (Mailboat) #16, 19,830 sold
Somewhere in the world as you read this, at least four strippers are dancing to “Pour Some Sugar On Me.”
Arch Enemy, Khaos Legions (Century Media) #76, 6,060 sold
The Swedish death metal group’s first album of original material in four years is also their highest ranking album (though sells around 3,000 copies less than its predecessor, 2007’s Rise Of The Tyrant).
Iron Maiden, From Fear to Eternity: The Best of 1990-2010 (Universal) #84, 5,560 sold
This compilation’s decent first week sales is proof that there are a handful of Maiden fans who love their later stuff.
Morbid Angel, Illud Divinum Insanus (Season of Mist) #127, 3,590 sold
Despite being panned by…well pretty much everyone, the death metal legend’s first studio album in seven years has a decent first week.
Hammerfall, Infected (Nuclear Blast) 1,700 sold
The Swedish power metal group’s first week on the U.S. charts isn’t as strong as their debut on the Swedish charts (where they came in at #2 behind Lady Gaga’s Born This Way).
Origin, Entity (Nuclear Blast) 1,520 sold
The death metal group’s first album in three years (and first with Nuclear Blast records) has a solid first week.
Amorphis, The Beginning of Times (Nuclear Blast) 1,300 sold
The progressive death metallers’ tenth studio album has a decent first week.
Týr, The Lay of Thrym (Napalm) 720 sold
Týr has the top selling folk metal debut of the week.
Touché Amoré, Parting the Sea Between the Brightness & Me (Deathwish) 480 sold
The post hardcore band’s first album through Deathwish is off to a slow start.
Notable Sales:
Foo Fighters, Wasting Light (RCA) #31, 12,060 sold
A 17% increase in sales shows that their performance at the MTV Movie Awards last weekend helped.
Seether, Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray (Wind-Up) #34, 12,240 sold
A 23% decrease is enough to kick the post-grunge rockers out of the top 30 in their third week on the charts.
Kid Rock, Born Free (Atlantic) #66, 7,200 sold
Thanks to a 34% increase that came out of nowhere, the American Badass’ less than badass record gets new life after 30 weeks on the charts.
Hollywood Undead, American Tragedy (A&M/Octone) #72, 6,350 sold
Apparently the rapcore group is going to tour with All That Remains this Summer.
Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare (Warner Bros.) #98, 4,750 sold
A7X experience a nice 20% increase in their 46th week on the charts.
Black Stone Cherry, Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea (Roadrunner) #28, 13,120 sold
Last week’s top metal/hard rock debut experiences a 66% decrease in their second week, falling down the charts by 73 spots.
Five Finger Death Punch, War is the Answer (Prospect Park) #144, 3,250 sold
This album has been on the charts for 90 consecutive weeks! Congrats! We’d ask the band what they wanted as a celebratory gift, but we think we already know the answer.
Sixx:A.M., This is Gonna Hurt (Eleven Seven) #172, 2,780 sold
After falling down the charts again by 32 spots….yeah, sales are definitely hurting.
Linkin Park, A Thousand Suns (Warner Bros.) #192, 2,540 sold
Even with only a 3% decrease, LP find themselves 8 spots away from saying goodbye to the top 200.
Volbeat, Beyond Hell/Above Heaven (Universal) 1,260 sold
After seeing modest improvement in sales over the past few weeks, the Danish metallers are starting to slip back down in their 30th week on the charts.
Vampires Everywhere!, Kiss The Sun Goodbye (Century Media) 830 sold
Somehow forgot to mention Vampires Everywhere!’s sales for the past few weeks. After selling around 1,030 copies, the group experiences a 20% decrease.
Art Of Dying, Vices And Virtures (Reprise/Intoxication) 580 sold
A 12% increase for the Canadian hard rockers keep them around the charts for another week.
Boris, Heavy Rocks (Sargent House) 870 sold
Another 34% decrease for the experimental Japanese rockers’ new album that shouldn’t be confused with the 2002 album of the same name.
Boris, Attention Please (Sargent House) 450 sold
The Japanese rockers’ other release also experiences a 32% decrease. Confused yet?
Avantasia, The Flying Opera (Nuclear Blast) 430 sold
Not entirely sure how this live album that Tobias Sammet’s power metal project released back in March made its way back onto the charts.
Scar Symmetry, The Unseen Empire (Nuclear Blast) 390 sold
Looks like the Swedish metallers’ time on the charts is nearing its end.
For the Fallen Dreams, Back Burner (Rise) 370 sold
After only three weeks on the charts, the metalcore group experiences another major 65% decrease. Ouch!
Memphis May Fire, The Hollow (Rise) 360 sold
A 32% decrease in its seventh weeks on the charts doesn’t look too good for the Southern metalcore group either.
Hate Eternal, Phoenix Amongst the Ashes (Metal Blade) 360 sold
After five weeks, the death metal legends have only sold slightly above 3,200 copies of their latest release.
