Metal By Numbers 2/14: Have a saxy Valentine’s Day

Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.

So it’s Valentine’s Day, and if you’re reading this column chances are you either don’t care, forgot and now have to run out and buy flowers for your significant other, or you’re snuggling your cat while muttering “You’re my Valentine” in an overly cutesy voice (no judgement). And if you do happen to be a rare breed of metalhead that revels in Valentine’s Day, hey, don’t let anyone tell you metal and love don’t mix. I mean, the holiday mascot is a dude shooting arrows at people. That’s kind of brutal right? The arrows may be heart-shaped, but if Cupid hits you in the eye it’s still an arrow sticking out of your goddamn eye. If nothing else, if you’re a fan of Saxon you’ll be happy to know they’re our top debut this week with their highest charting debut in the United States ever.

Notable Debuts:

Saxon, Thunderbolt (Militia Guard)
Debut #58
2,175 sold

This is Saxon’s highest charting album ever in the US.

W.A.S.P., ReIdolized (The Soundtrack To The Crimson Idol) (Napalm)
Debut #74
1,625 sold

W.A.S.P.’s sixteenth album has a respectable debut, though not as high as its 2015 predecessor.

Genocide Pact, Order Of Torment (Relapse)
330 sold

This is the band’s second album.

Brick by Brick, Thin the Herd (Fast Break!)
260 sold

The latest from this Albany hardcore/metal act.

Notable Sales:

Five Finger Death Punch, A Decade Of Destruction (Prospect Park)
#29 (from 34)
4,575 sold

This sold the same amount as last week.

Greta Van Fleet, From the Fires EP (Lava)
#33 (from 42)
4,200 sold

A 7% boost with just under 70,000 sold.

Black Label Society, Grimmest Hits (eOne)
#65 (from 57)
1,875 sold

A 30% drop with nearly 20,000 sold.

Machine Head, Catharsis (Nuclear Blast)
#68 (from 17)
1,800 sold

A 79% drop in week two.

Greta Van Fleet, Black Smoke Rising EP (Republic)
#71 (re-entry)
1,675 sold

This got boosted back up onto the charts.

Corrosion Of Conformity, No Cross No Crown (Nuclear Blast)
#85 (from 87)
1,400 sold

A 18% drop.

Foo Fighters, Concrete and Gold (RCA/Roswell)
#88 (from 86)
1,400 sold

A 21% drop.

Linkin Park, One More Light (Warner Bros.)
#122 (from 148)
1,025 sold

A small 1% boost.

Joe Satriani, What Happens Next (Sony)
#124 (from 105)
1,025 sold

A 27% drop.

Metallica, Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (Blackened)
#125 (from 117)
1,025 sold

A 22% drop. Also, James Hetfield is a movie star now.

Black Veil Brides, Vale (Lava/Republic)
#134 (from 159)
970 sold

A 1% boost.

Ghost, Ceremony and Devotion (Loma Vista)
#154 (from 116)
890 sold

A 33% drop.

Nothing More, The Stories We Tell Ourselves (Better Noise/Eleven Seven)
#155 (from 134)
870 sold

Over 40,000 sold.

Linkin Park, One More Light Live (Warner Bros.)
#162 (from 170)
840 sold

A drop of 9%.

Theory of a Deadman, Wake Up Call (Atlantic)
#166 (from 181)
840 sold

A 1% drop.

Asking Alexandria, Asking Alexandria (Sumerian)
#168 (from 77)
820 sold

A 59% drop.

Queens Of The Stone Age, Villains (Matador Records)
#173 (from 143)
800 sold

A 25% drop.

Glassjaw, Material Control (Century Media)
#194 (re-entry)
710 sold

This re-enters the charts.

Evanescence, Synthesis (BMG)
#197 (re-entry)
680 sold

This dropped off last week, but now it’s back up.

Terror Universal, Make Them Bleed (Minus Head)
#90 (from 165)
680 sold

A 58% drop

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Polygondwanaland (Blood Music)
500 sold

If it seems like you’re seeing a lot of new King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard one here, it’s not just you. The band put out five albums last year, and this is one of them.

Tribulation, Down Below (Century Media)
450 sold