Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.
What a week! The end of August (queue 36Crazy Fists) had many notable debuts from all over the metal spectrum. Topping the charts was Turnstile with their impactful debut, crushing the metal competition. This week’s fun addition to the charts was Pawnee’s greatest band, Mouse Rat. For those who are unaware, Mouse Rat is fictional band from the TV show Parks and Recreation created by Chris Pratt’s character Andy Dwyer. Now there’s an actual album and it’s even #17 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales. Lastly, I want to apologize to our favorite visitor Henry, as Evanescence did not come back to life. I really thought they would return. Instead we saw the return of Anthrax’s Charlie Benante, Night Ranger, and Blacktop Mojo.
Notable Debuts:
Turnstile, Glow On (Roadrunner Records)
Debut #8
11,500 sold
An incredible debut for the Baltimore band’s fourth album.
Jinjer, Wallflowers (Napalm)
Debut #14
4,750 sold
A crushing debut for the Ukrainian metalcore outfit. Managed by Devildriver’s Dez Fafara and backed by the entire metal community.
Mouse Rat, The Awesome Album (DualTone/Entertainment 720)
Debut #15
4,100 sold
They actually did it! Parks and Recreation‘s Mouse Rat actually came out with an album. Andy Dwyer must be so proud.
The Bronx, Bronx VI (Cooking Vinyl)
Debut #29
2,800 sold
Eighteen years in, the punk outfit releases their sixth studio album.
Phinehas, The Fire Itself (Solid State)
Debut #38
2,125 sold
A fantastic record from the Los Angeles natives. Metalcore to the maX.
Megadeth, Unplugged In Boston – Live 2001 (Cleopatra Records)
Debut #63
1,400 sold
Megadeth drops their rare and limited acoustic album. Just in time for their tour with Lamb of God, Trivium, and Hatebreed.
Neal Morse Band, Innocence & Danger (InsideOut)
Debut #64
1,400 sold
Neal Morse teams up with prolific drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater) on their fourth studio album.
Hooded Menace, The Tritonus Bell (Season of Mist)
Debut #84
1,110 sold
A full force of 80’s heavy metal for their sixth album.
TesseracT, P O R TA L S (kscope)
Debut #96
950 sold
Back in December 2020, TesseracT hosted a cinematic live performance with top-notch production value. Now it’s available for all to see on Blu-ray. Read my review here!
Leprous, Aphelion (InsideOutMusic)
Debut #114
750 sold
The seventh studio album from the Notodden natives. Get your prog rock here!
Wormwitch, Wolf Hex (Prosthetic Records)
Debut #160
540 sold
Canada’s favorite black metal outfit drops their third album with southern blackened riffs.
Grayscale, Umbra (Fearless)
Debut #187
450 sold
The Pennsylvania natives dropping their Fearless third studio album.
Danko Jones, Power Trio (Sonic Unyon)
270 sold
The Canadian power trio give it their all on their 10th studio album.
Ex Deo, The Thirteen Years Of Nero (Napalm Records)
170 sold
The side project of Kataklysm frontman, Maurizio Iacon, drops their fourth album focusing on the history of the Roman Empire.
Thyrfing, Vanagandr (Despotz)
150 sold
Thyrfing is a Viking metal band from Sweden named after the royal sword Tyrfing from Norse mythology. The more you know!
Notable Sales:
Greta Van Fleet, The Battle At Garden’s Gate (Lava/Republic Records)
#16 (from 17)
3,975 sold
Another 13% jump! Their sophomore release has now sold roughly 97,500 copies to date.
Deafheaven, Infinite Granite (Sargent House)
#58 (from 7)
1,525 sold
Their fifth studio album drops a substantial 79% in week two. Give it a listen on Bandcamp!
Night Ranger, ATBPO (Frontiers)
#81 (re-entry)
1,160 sold
Even though they dropped off for week three, the heavy metal veterans return with a 227% increase.
Mammoth WvH, Mammoth WvH (Ex1)
#83 (from 87)
1,150 sold
WvH jumps 9% but still got beat by Night Ranger.
Between The Buried And Me, Colors II (Sumerian Records)
#93 (from 13)
1,040 sold
An amazing tenth studio album from the Raleigh natives. Did you know “Fix The Error” has three drum solos from Navene Koperweis (Entheos), Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater) and Ken Schalk (ex-Candiria)!?
Wolves In The Throne Room, Primordial Arcana (Relapse Records)
#112 (from 32)
750 sold
The seventh studio album drops a troubling 71%.
Foo Fighters, Medicine At Midnight(Roswell)
#124 (from 124)
700 sold
Same position but a 1% increase. 1% is better than nothing!
AC/DC, Power Up (Columbia)
#124 (from 141)
650 sold
7% increase. POWER UP!
Paul McCartney, McCartney III Imagined (Capitol)
#148 (from 134)
575 sold
A 10% drop but hey, Sir Paul McCartney has sold roughly 29,500 records in 6 weeks.
George Lynch, Seamless (Rat Pak Records)
#170 (from 33)
500 sold
The former Dokken guitarist and his solo instrumental record drop 80%. Damn.
Metallica & The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, S&M2 (Blackened)
#175 (from 157)
475 sold
First time in awhile where the bay area thrashers drop but it’s only by 8%. I’ll ask again, have you pre-ordered their remastered Black Album?!
Various Artists, Dark Nights: Death Metal Soundtrack (Loma Vista)
#192 (from 110)
450 sold
The comic book crossover soundtrack drops again by 19% in week eight.
Will this be their last time on the charts!? Stay tuned next week on METAL INSIDER!
Blacktop Mojo, Blacktop Mojo (Sand Hill Records)
Re-entry
425 sold
They’re back after falling off their #71 debut week. It might be self-titled but it’s the Texas natives 4th studio album.
Slaughter To Prevail, Kostolom (Sumerian Records)
400 sold
Their second studio album drops another 58% in week three. Do yourself a favor and taste the brutality here!
Dee Snider, Leave A Scar (Napalm Records)
190 sold
Dee Snider drops 31% but still put out a badass record. He might be “Down But Never Out.”
Fiddlehead, Between The Richness (Run For Cover)
170 sold
A 12% decrease!
Darkthrone, Eternal Hails (Peaceville)
160 sold
15% drop in week 10.
Powerwolf, Call Of The Wild (Napalm Records)
150 sold
Better but not great. A 6% drop off for the story of a man-eating half-wolf, half-dog hybrid.
Matt Heafy (Trivium) guests on “Fist By Fist” and kills it.
King Woman, Celestial Blues (Relapse)
140 sold
A 47% drop for the Iranian producer and vocalist Kris Esfandiari. This album tells a story about a near death experience she had as a child.
Charlie Benante, Silver Linings (Megaforce)
Re-entry
120 sold
The cover album by the Anthrax kit wizard returns to the charts!
