Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week as well as what’s getting played at metal radio courtesy of radio trade magazine FMQB, whose metal panel consists of about 80 college and commercial stations that have metal shows, as well as SiriusXM, Music Choice, and more.
High on Fire’s fifth album is massive. Not only is it the most metal album cover we’ve seen this year, it’s also one of the most metal albums this year. A phenomenal debut of over 8,500 is easily their highest debut ever, and deservedly so. Can you tell we genuinely like this album? Fear Factory maintain their death grip on #1 at metal radio, while Dark Tranquillity and Acrassicauda top the most added at Metal Radio.
Notable Debuts:
High On Fire, Snakes for the Divine (E1) Debut #62, 8,600 sold
Matt Pike sounds like he’s gargling drano, whiskey and glass on this album. That’s a good thing.
Mutiny Within, Mutiny Within (Roadrunner) 950 sold
Considering they’re a relatively unknown band outside of metal radio and New Jersey, this is a pretty solid debut.
Suffokate, No Mercy No Forgiveness (Mediaskare) 625 sold
Go to their MySpace page and look at the singer’s ears. That is all.
Notable Sales:
Them Crooked Vultures, Them Crooked Vultures
This will cross 250,000 sold next week.
Rob Zombie, Hellbilly Deluxe 2: (Loud and Proud/Roadrunner) #61, 8,900 sold
This is probably the only CSI: Miami director that also has an album in the top 100.
Alice In Chains, Black Gives Way To Blue (Virgin) #96 6,000 sold
I can’t read this band’s name without thinking of the riff of “Check My Brain.” Guess I’ve moved on from Layne.
Five Finger Death Punch, War Is The Answer
A 6% increase from last week in a pretty down sales week all around.
H.I.M., Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice (Reprise) #131, 4,250
I still can’t get over the fact that they have a song called “Heartkiller.” I think Ville Valo might have stolen a goth girl’s Trapper Keeper with her poetry in it and made a career out of it.
Mudvayne, Mudvayne (Epic) #133, 4,200 sold
90,000 records sold so far, which is great for a band that hasn’t played a show since the album was released.
Slipknot, All Hope is Gone (Roadrunner) #137, 4,000 sold
And Slipknot cross 900,000 sold!
Fear Factory, Mechanize (Candlelight) #128, 2,750 sold
Remember when industrial metal was the shit? It kinda pre-dated nu-metal, but pretty much faded out around the same time it did.
Overkill, Ironbound (E1) 1,500 sold
The green and black make some more green this week.
Carnifex, Hell Chose Me (Victory) 1,400 sold
A 55% drop from last week, but still a solid showing.
We Came As Romans, To Plant A Seed (Equal Vision) 1,100 sold
Up to nearly 20,000 sold.
Bring Me The Horizon, Suicide Season
With an 8% increase in sales, this will cross the 90,000 mark in a few weeks. Huge.
Chelsea Grin, Desolation of Eden (Razor and Tie) 600 sold
This first release on the Artery Foundation, this has a pretty solid second week.
Attack Attack!, Someday Came Suddenly (Rise) 600 sold
Remember when I said I ran out of things to say about them? Still the case – three weeks running.
Annotations of an Autopsy, Reign of Darkness (Nuclear Blast) 575 sold
Still don’t know anything about this band, they still have a pretty cool name.
Otep, Smash the Control Machine (Victory) 500 sold
They’ve sold over 42,000 today. Good for them.
Charred Walls of the Damned, Charred Walls of the Damned (Metal Blade) 500 sold
Richard Christy and Ripper Owens have sold about 5,000 copies total.
Bruce Kulick, BK3 (Rocket Science) 475 sold
Where Bruce Kulick’s reality show and Cherry Dr. Pepper commercial?
Fozzy, Chasing the Grail (Riot Entertainment) 475 sold
Remember when the WWE was the WWF until that animal group got involved?
Through the Eyes of the Dead, Skepsis (Prosthetic) 450 sold
The band’s third full-length for Prosthetic is hanging in there, having sold about 3,750
Volbeat, Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood (Mascot/Megaforce) 450 sold
The perfect blend between rockabilly and metal, or an updated Misfits.
Taking Dawn, Time to Burn (Roadrunner) 400 sold
A solid 24% increase from last week.
Epica, Design Your Universe (Nuclear Blast) 400 sold
Would these guys returning to Metal By Numbers due to a sales increase be considered an epica win?
Between the Buried and Me, The Great Misdirect (Victory) 400 sold
Getting psyched for the Mastodon tour? I’ll bet BTBAM are!
FMQB Most Added
1. Dark Tranquillity, We Are The Void (Century Media) 33 adds
2. Acrassicauda, Only the Dead See the End of the War (Vice) 32 adds
3. Van Canto, Tribe of Force (Napalm) 31 adds
4t. Desdemon, The Awakening (DM Records) 29 adds
4t. Triptykon , Eparistara Daimones (Century Media) 29 adds
FMQB Top Ten
1. Fear Factory, Mechanize (Candlelight)
2. Living Sacrifice, The Infinite Order (Tooth & Nail)
3. Fozzy, Chasing the Grail (Riot Entertainment)
4. High On Fire, Snakes for the Divine (E1)
5. Overkill, Ironbound (E1)
6. Mutiny Within, Mutiny Within (Roadrunner)
7. Mudvayne, Mudvayne (Epic)
8. Slayer, World Painted Blood (Sony)
9. Through the Eyes of the Dead, Skepsis (Prosthetic)
10. Freya, All Hail the End (Victory)
