Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.
This week, the charts are jam packed with thirteen metal and hard rock debuts, four of which made their way into the top 200. However, the top debut comes from Storm Corrosion, the collaboration between Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt and Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson. A project that at one time featured Mike Portnoy, it’s an album many prog fans have been waiting quite a while to hear. You’d think that a project with ties to Opeth and Porcupine Tree might have sold more than 9,400 copies in its first week, but then again, both Akerfeldt and Wilson have made it clear that Storm Corrosion sounds different than either of their other bands. So with that in mind, Storm Corrosion’s top 50 debut is pretty impressive.
Notable Debuts:
Storm Corrosion, Storm Corrosion (Roadrunner) #44, 9,400 sold
Also making this debut impressive is the fact that Akerfeldt and Wilson have not done any touring in support of their collaboration. And considering how Opeth will be kept busy on the road for the foreseeable future, we doubt Storm Corrosion will be playing live shows any time soon.
OFF!, OFF! (Vice) #89, 4,920 sold
This is certainly an impressive top 100 debut for the punk supergroup (featuring members of the Circle Jerks, Earthless, Hot Snakes and others). And chances are their opening stint for Refused this Summer will further help sales out.
Otherwise, True Love Never Dies (Century Media) #110, 3,960 sold
Looks like the hard rock group’s opening stint on Lacuna Coil’s tour last month paid off.
At The Skylines, The Secrets To Life (Roadrunner) #170, 2,530 sold
An impressive first week for the metalcore group’s debut album.
Cattle Decapitation, Monolith of Inhumanity (Metal Blade) #177, 2,420 sold
Congrats to the death grind band on scoring their first top 200 debut.
Sleep, Dopesmoker (Southern Lord) 1,340 sold
Great to see the re-release of the stoner metal legends’ genre-defining album doing so well on the charts.
John 5, God Told Me To (Rocket Science) 990 sold
While God told him to record another instrumental solo album, John 5 told us more about working with Rob Zombie.
Allegaeon, Formshifter (Metal Blade) 970 sold
A strong first week for the melodic death metal group’s sophomore album.
Dee Snider, Dee Does Broadway (Razor & Tie) 910 sold
The Twisted Sister frontman sells more copies of his Broadway covers album than we honestly expected.
Moonspell, Alpha Noir (Napalm) 790 sold
Seems like fans are happy with the Portuguese goth metal group heading in a more aggressive direction sound wise.
Lionheart, Undisputed (Mediaskare) 720 sold
Not to be confused with the NWOBHM band of the same name, or the movie for that matter.
Huntress, Spell Eater (Napalm) 700 sold
A solid first week for the group and their former Playboy model singer.
Trioscapes, Separate Realities (Metal Blade) 530 sold
Between The Buried And Me bassist Dan Briggs’ new project has a decent first week, especially for a jazz instrumental trio.
Notable Sales:
Marilyn Manson, Born Villain (Cooking Vinyl/ Downtown/Hell, Etc.) #29, 12,180 sold
A 68% decrease for any artist in their second week is pretty much the norm, even if you are Marilyn Manson. Seeing how vocal he was about his first week sales, though, we’re curious what Lamb Of God’s Randy Blythe would say about Manson having only sold less than 50,900 copies after two two weeks.
Shinedown, Amaryllis (Atlantic) #38, 10,760 sold
Only four spots down the charts for Shinedown after seven weeks.
Halestorm, The Strange Case Of… (Atlantic) #63, 7,230 sold
Lzzy Hale and co. experience a nice 15% increase in sales after five weeks on the charts.
Five Finger Death Punch, American Capitalist (Prospect Park) #98, 4,510 sold
For the first time that we can recall in the past 31 weeks, FFDP find themselves two spots away from exiting the top 100.
Van Halen, A Different Kind of Truth (Interscope) #103, 4,330 sold
A 13% decrease in sales is enough to kick Van Halen out of the top 100. We’re sure that doesn’t bother the Van Halen brothers that much, though, since they’ve just added more dates to their Summer touring plans.
Korn, The Path of Totality (Roadrunner) #137, 3,310 sold
It’s safe to assume that Korn’s mini-reunion with Brian “Head” Welch played some role in the 29% increase in sales their latest album experienced.
Volbeat, Beyond Hell/Above Heaven (Universal) #175, 2,470 sold
The Danish rockabilly metal continue to see sales increase even after 78 weeks.
Foo Fighters, Wasting Light (RCA) #176, 2,470 sold
In case for some odd reason you still needed proof that the Sound City Studio documentary is actually happening, take a look at this.
Torche, Harmonicraft (Volcom) 670 sold
Another 41% decrease in sales for the sludge rock group in their third week on the charts.
Upon A Burning Body, Red. White. Green. (Sumerian) 500 sold
After five weeks, the Sumerian act have sold roughly 8,240 copies of their latest release. And given that they do a lot of sales on the road, they should continue to be a steady draw on the Mayhem Fest this summer.
Prong, Carved Into Stone (Long Branch) 490 sold
Anyone else surprised that Prong were joined onstage by a member of Cradle Of Filth recently?
God Forbid, Equilibrium (Victory) 460 sold
Guitarist Doc Coyle had a lot to say to us about God Forbid’s latest release and first without his brother Dallas.
Anathema, Weather Systems (The End) 380 sold
Another 40% decrease in sales for the English post-prog rock group in their third week on the charts.
3 Inches Of Blood, Long Live Heavy Metal (Century Media) 360 sold
After seven weeks, the Canadian metal group have sold around 5,880 copies of their latest release.
