Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.
Congratulations, metal! Between Black Label Society last week and Iron Maiden this week, the last two weeks have each had a metal record debut in the top five. If you take Avenged Sevenfold debuting at #1 into account at the beginning of the month, it’s been a pretty stellar month for metal releases. Sure, the overall sales for music have been horrible, with last week’s the lowest in Soundscan history, but at least some of the heavy stuff is being pushed higher than it would have a few years back.
Iron Maiden, The Final Frontier (UMe) #4, 63,000 sold
The 63,000 copies Maiden sold of The Final Frontier is more copies than they’ve sold of any of their albums since Bruce rejoined the band in 2000. In fact, each album since 2000’s Brave New World has sold better than the last. That’s amazing in this day and age.
Filter, The Trouble With Angels (Rocket Science) #63, 6,300 sold
This debuts right around the same place as their last album, 2007’s Anthems for the Damned, which came in at #60. Hey man, nice job.
Knights of the Abyss, The Culling of Wolves (Ferret) 450 sold.
This Arizona death metal band’s second album for Ferret has a relatively decent debut. They’ll be on tour with Cattle Decapitation following their own tour.
Notable Sales:
Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare (Warner Bros.) #14, 22,000 sold
In just four weeks, A7X are halfway to gold. That’s amazing for any band, let alone a metal one. They’re showing staying power too, with only an 18% decline.
Black Label Society, Order of the Black (E1) #37, 10,900 sold
A steep 68% drop, but still pretty good numbers for Zakk’s latest album. And with the huge tour he’s got coming up, it should stick around.
Ozzy Osbourne, Scream (Epic) #57, 6,900 sold
Ozzfest might be over, but Ozzy still soldiers on. He’s got a new video, and will undoubtedly come back for a more extensive tour if his voice can hold up.
Godsmack, Oracle (Universal) #61, 6,800 sold
Is there a way to use this band’s name in a sentence other than “God, I’d like to smack Sully Erna?”
Five Finger Death Punch, War is the Answer (Prospect Park) #65, 6,200 sold
The band crack 300,000 sold this week, and will have a nice week next week as well, since their album’s on sale for only $5 at Amazon.
Buckcherry, All Night Long (Eleven Seven) ##73, 5,700 sold
A pretty steep 50% drop in its third week for Buckcherry. Guess there aren’t enough crazy bitches that know it’s out.
Korn, Korn III: Remember Who You Are (Roadrunner) #84, 5,200 sold
Arrrre yooouuu readdddyyy? No? OK, just checkin’. Hed P.E.’s former guitarist is, though. He’s touring with them now.
AC/DC, AC/DC: Iron Man 2 (Columbia) #95, 4,700 sold
Why was this AC/DC’s soundtrack? That’s like a movie coming out called Whole Lotta Rosie and Black Sabbath getting the soundtrack. Then again, a movie called Whole Lotta Rosie would likely be a porn.
Hellyeah, Stampede (Epic) #101, 4,400 sold
This album has sold just over 60,000 in five weeks. Not terrible, but it might take the Uproar tour to kick things up a bit,
Motley Crue, Greatest Hits (Motley Records) #111, 4,000 sold
After having seen them do a great job at the Ozzfest this past weekend, we’re going to take a one week break from talking smack about the 469th greatest hits package they’ve released.
Bullet For My Valentine, Fever (Jive) #120, 3,600 sold
With a 4% increase in sales and poised to crack 200k in a few weeks, it looks like this is Valentine’s day.
Deftones, Diamond Eyes (Reprise) #176, 2,500 sold
This album’s doing well, but will likely pick up once the Blackdiamondskye tour starts. By the way, we’re pretty psyched for that tour.
Attack Attack, Attack Attack (Rise) #200, 2,200 sold
Oh hey, the charts just got a little crabby!
Pierce The Veil, Selfish Machines (Equal Vision), 1,100
An impressive 38% sold more than last week puts them up over 14,000.
In Fear and Faith, Imperial (Rise) 600 sold
Congratulations, In Fear and Faith, you just cracked 10,000 albums sold!
Eyes Set To Kill, Broken Frames (Break Silence) 600 sold
Congratulations, Eyes Set to Kill, you also broke 10,000 sold this week! I’m still not listening to you, though.
Iwrestledabearonce, It’s All Happening (Century Media) 575 sold
This sold almost double what it did last week. And it’s up to over 32,000 sold. Well played, guys (and girl). I like that one wacky song with the time changes and the ironic name.
Boris & Ian Astbury, BXI (Southern Lord) 500 sold
Ever wonder what happens when a band with a cult following meets a man IN The Cult? 500 people did this week, more than three times as many.
How to Destroy Angels, How to Destroy Angels (The Null Corporation) 475 sold
If you wish there was something real, wish there was something true, and wish Nine Inch Nails had a female singer, this one’s for you.
36 Crazyfists, Collisions and Castaways (Ferret) 450 sold
This band has sold over 5,000 albums in four weeks. And Amber from The Colony really digs them too.
Kingdom of Sorrow, Behind the Blackest Tears 450 sold
They tried to make Kirk go to rehab and he said yes, yes, yes. Dumbass Amy Winehouse jokes aside, good for him for looking out for himself and best of luck to him.
3 Inches of Blood, Here Waits Thy Doom (Century Media) 450 sold
This album is inching towards 20,000 sold, with less than 1,000 to go. Get it, INCHing? I slay me.
We Came As Romans, To Plant A Seed (Equal Vision) 400 sold
The band is streaming a new song, “To Move On Is To Grow,” on their Facebook page.
Carnifex,Hell Chose Me (Victory) 375 sold
They sold about 33% less than last week, but are still steadily selling.
Decrepit Birth, Polarity (Nuclear Blast) 400 sold
They should cross about 3,000 sold next week in their fifth week. Not bad.
