Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.
With each passing year, I feel like I write the phrase “sold less than the previous album/predecessor” more and more. I know that sometimes that’s just the way of the music business: certain albums debut well for certain reasons and others don’t. Maybe it was a surprise release and didn’t sell as much because of lack of promotion, maybe the trend is down, on and on it goes. Of course, most people will say the real culprit is just that people aren’t buying music anymore, and that is certainly an issue. All that said, I want to be clear that I’m not trying to diminish an artist’s success when I say “sold less”; it’s just a state of fact. The fact that Breaking Benjamin’s new album sold some 50-60k shouldn’t take away from the fact they made the Billboard top 5 or that many bands would kill to sell 80k their first week. It’s all about perspective.
Notable Debuts:
Breaking Benjamin, Ember (Hollywood)
80,000 sold
Though it didn’t sell as much as its predecessor, Breaking Benjamin’s sixth album had a big first week and made the top 5.
Ledger, Ledger EP (Atlantic)
8,300 sold
This is the debut solo release from Jen Ledger of Skillet.
Nekrogoblikon, Welcome To Bonkers (Self-Released)
2,400 sold
The band’s fourth studio album sold nearly four times its predecessor in its debut.
Dead Crown, Come Hell (Self-Released)
1,400 sold
This EP is the band’s debut release. Also, there’s another band called Dead Crown, so it took me a while to distinguish the two.
Behemoth, Messe Noire (Metal Blade)
800 sold
I want a new Behemoth record as much as anyone, but I’ll take a new live album in the meantime.
Wrong, Feel Great (Relapse)
400 sold
This is the band’s second album.
Gozu, Equilibrium (Metal Blade)
300 sold
This is the latest release from the stoner rock band, and their first for Metal Blade.
Graveshadow, Ambition’s Price (M-Theory Audio)
300 sold
This is the second album from this symphonic metal band.
The Dali Thundering Concept, Savages (Self-Released)
200 sold
This is the second album from this French prog metal band.
Unreqvited, Stars Wept to the Sea (Self-Released)
150 sold
This is the band’s second album.
Notable Sales:
Metallica, Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (Blackened)
19,000 sold
This got an enormous boost from last week.
Nightwish, Decades (Nuclear Blast)
5,200 sold
A 24% boost.
Greta Van Fleet, From the Fires EP (Lava)
4,700 sold
A 13% drop.
Judas Priest, Firepower (Columbia)
2,900 sold
A 5% boost.
Five Finger Death Punch, A Decade Of Destruction (Prospect Park)
2,800 sold
A 18% drop. Only a matter of time before a new FFDP album tops the charts.
Underoath, Erase Me (Fearless)
1,800 sold
A 92% drop in week two.
Three Days Grace, Outsider (RCA)
1,400 sold
A 3% drop.
Stone Temple Pilots, Stone Temple Pilots (Rhino)
1,200 sold
A 29% drop.
Linkin Park, One More Light (Warner Bros.)
1,200 sold
This is back on the charts again.
Kamelot, The Shadow Theory (Napalm)
900 sold
An 83% drop in week two.
Greta Van Fleet, Black Smoke Rising EP (Republic)
700 sold
Over 50k sold.
Light The Torch, Revival (Nuclear Blast)
700 sold
A 24% drop.
Turnstile, Time & Space (Roadrunner)
500 sold
A 15% drop.
The Dead Daisies, Burn It Down (Spitfire)
500 sold
A 76% drop in week two.
Red Sun Rising, Thread (Razor & Tie)
350 sold
A 48% drop.
Rivers Of Nihil, Where Owls Know My Name (Metal Blade)
300 sold
A 6% drop.
Righteous Vendetta, Cursed (Century Media)
300 sold
10,000 sold.
Earthless, Black Heaven (Nuclear Blast)
200 sold
About the same sold as last week.
Kalmah, Palo (Spinefarm)
150 sold
A 74% drop in week two.
