Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.
While this week only finds three new metal or hard rock releases hitting the charts, the top debut comes from the onetime king of shock rock. It’s been three years since Marilyn Manson released a new album, and chart watchers wondered how the long-awaited Born Villain (dubbed by Manson himself as his “comeback album”) would do in its first week.
Well, Born Villain was able to push a little more than 38,000 copies, enough to give it a top 10. Now just for shits and giggles, let’s take a look at the first week sales and chartings for Manson’s last three albums:
-In 2009, The High End Of Low premiered at #4 with roughly 49,000 copies sold.
-In 2007, Eat Me, Drink Me premiered at #8 with roughly 88,000 copies sold.
–In 2003, The Golden Age Of Grotesque topped the charts with roughly 118,000 copies sold.
On the one hand, selling around 10,000 copies less than 2009’s The High End Of Low isn’t that terrible, especially considering how hard it is for anyone to sell half of what they sold two-three years ago. At the same time, though, Born Villain’s first week sales continue to show a downhill trend. Whether it’s a trend relating to the decrease of album sales in general, Manson’s popularity, or both is up for debate.
Notable Debuts:
Marilyn Manson, Born Villain (Cooking Vinyl/ Downtown/Hell, Etc.) #10, 38,140 sold
Performing and recording with Johnny Depp might not equal album sales, but maybe touring with Rob Zombie will at least give sales a boost.
Hurt, The Crux (Carved) #66, 6,110 sold
Congrats to the modern rock group on scoring their first top 100 debut.
Brendon Small, Galaktikon (Self-released) 860 sold
On the one hand, we would have thought Small’s first solo album would’ve sold a little more considering the hype surrounding Metalocalypse’s fourth season. However, this is still a pretty strong first week considering that Small self-released his album via only digital outlets and his website.
Notable Sales:
Shinedown, Amaryllis (Atlantic) #34, 11,460 sold
After six weeks, Shinedown has sold slightly less than 200,000 copies of their latest release.
Halestorm, The Strange Case Of… (Atlantic) #62, 6,250 sold
Apparently the group’s “Love Bites (So Do I)” is the first song by a female fronted group to top Active Rock radio outlets nationwide. Wait, Evanescence was never able to do that?
Van Halen, A Different Kind of Truth (Interscope) #80, 4,990 sold
The Van Halen clan (Clan Halen?) jump eleven spots up the charts thanks to a 15% increase in sales, likely due to Amazon’s $5 sale.
Five Finger Death Punch, American Capitalist (Prospect Park) #86, 4,570 sold
After 30 weeks on the charts, FFDP have sold just over 383,300 copies of their third album. Seeing that they’ll be trespassing America this Summer, this album won’t be leaving the charts any time soon.
Thousand Foot Krutch, The End Is Where We Begin (TFKmusic) #101, 3,950 sold
The Canadian nu metal group get kicked out of the top 100 in their third week thanks to a 33% decrease in sales. Bet they’re hoping that Uproar Festival will help improve sales.
Korn, The Path of Totality (Roadrunner) #151, 2,560 sold
What are the chances that you haven’t seen video of Korn performing with Brian “Head” Welch? Slim, right?
Foo Fighters, Wasting Light (RCA) #139, 2,670 sold
Anyone else excited to hear the song Dave Grohl recorded with Vinny Appice for the Sound City Studio documentary?
Volbeat, Beyond Hell/Above Heaven (Universal) #173, 2,220 sold
A 5% increase in sales is enough to see the Danish rockabilly metal group jump another eleven spots up the charts. And more importantly, this week, they cross the 100,000-sold mark in their 77th week. That’s a pretty amazing stat, and says something about artist development, which is a lost art in this day and age.
Torche, Harmonicraft (Volcom) 1,150 sold
The sludge rock group get kicked out of the top 200 in their second week with a 56% decrease in sales, but have still sold nearly 4,000.
Upon A Burning Body, Red. White. Green. (Sumerian) 860 sold
The Sumerian act experiences yet another 21% decrease in sales after four weeks on the charts.
Prong, Carved Into Stone (Long Branch) 640 sold
A 61% decrease in sales hits Tommy Victor and co. during their second week on the charts.
Anathema, Weather Systems (The End) 630 sold
The English post-prog rock group experiences a 51% decrease in sales during their second week on the charts.
God Forbid, Equilibrium (Victory) 530 sold
God willing the Trespass America Festival will boost sales for the NJ metal group this Summer.
Municipal Waste, The Fatal Feast (Nuclear Blast) 450 sold
After four weeks on the charts, sales for the VA thrash band are looking fatal.
Paradise Lost, Tragic Idol (Century Media) 440 sold
After two weeks on the charts, the English goth metal group appear to be lost on the charts (experiencing a 52% decrease in sales).
3 Inches Of Blood, Long Live Heavy Metal (Century Media) 400 sold
Though still hanging in after six weeks, we’d guess that the Canadian metal group are three inches away from exiting the charts for good.
Ghost, Opus Eponymous (Rise Above) 400 sold
An impressive 10% increase in sales for the Swedish doom rock group, even if their tourmated are having a bit of bad luck.
Jeff Loomis, Plains of Oblivion (Century Media) 340 sold
While the former Nevermore guitarist’s latest release is starting to lose steam, a song he recently recorded with Keith Merrow is making its way around the web.
