Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week as well as what’s getting played at metal radio courtesy of radio trade magazine FMQB, whose metal panel consists of about 80 college and commercial stations that have metal shows, as well as SiriusXM, Music Choice, and more.
…unless it’s Susan Boyle, Adam Lambert or Lady GaGa. Moms and people-who-probably-make-me-uncomfortable across the country bought up the former to the tune of 700,000 copies this week and the Scottish viral sensation was Amazon’s most pre-ordered album of all time.
Black Friday/Cyber Monday saw big sales for lots of industries, including the Blu-ray disc format, but music was another bust (with the exception of the aforementioned debuts). Billboard is reporting that big Cyber Monday hopes for digital downloads didn’t go as planned, and marketers re-strategizing for post-Christmas to take advantage of iTunes gift cards and the like.
There were no notable new metal releases to make a splash on the sales charts this week, but we’ve got plenty of numbers from this week’s top metal sellers for you after the jump.
Notable Sales:
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Night Castle 
Only a 4% drop this week as the TSO will likely hold steady through the Christmas season.
Them Crooked Vultures, Them Crooked Vultures
A predictable 65% drop from it’s debut week, which is more or less standard.
Flyleaf, Memento Mori
Flyleaf! I literally have nothing funny or interesting to say about this, and my girlfriend says I’m a regular Jay Leno.
Alice In Chains, Black Gives Way To Blue (Virgin) #102, 10,000 sold
The album passed the 250k mark this week, and a 5% drop means this is holding nice and steady.
Chickenfoot, Chickenfoot (Deluxe Limited Edition with DVD)
HAHA – I just realized Bram wrote no comment about this album last week. Probably because it’s Chickenfoot, and all I have to say is…
Hollywood Undead, Desperate Measures
Two Hollywood Undead albums on the top 200 this week, Measures being one.
Slayer, World Painted Blood
Slayer keeps sinking and likely has one more week left in the top 200, as it saw another 23% week to week drop.
Wolfmother, Cosmic Egg
A 4% increase this week. Maybe people are seeing the cover art and thinking it’s a revival soundtrack to the late ’90s TGIF show Dinosaurs.
Motley Crue, Greatest Hits (Eleven Seven Music) #156, 5,300 sold
We repeat: the Crue have a greatest hits album out? Really?
Hollywood Undead, Swan Songs
And the other Hollywood Undead album.
Five Finger Death Punch, War Is The Answer
Just hangin’ out, FFDP stays on the chart and approaches the 125k mark.
AC/DC, Backtracks 
This is a pretty good package, consisting of rarities, live stuff, and a DVD. The downside? Everything still pretty much sounds like AC/DC.
Dethklok, Dethalbum II
Not nearly as much as the other cartoon band on the chart, Hollywood Undead.
Baroness, Blue Record (Relapse) 1,200 sold
Just XOXO. We love ya, Baroness!
Bring Me The Horizon, Suicide Season
This band has the worst merch ever.
Austrian Death Machine, Double Brutal
I still can’t believe this is a band, and a really popular (relatively speaking) one at that.
Pelican, What We All Come to Need
This is the best selling loud rock instrumental album from a Chicago band this week.
Epica, Design Your Universe
This is the only symphonic metal band on this chart, unless you count Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Shrinebuilder, Shrinebuilder (Neurot) 520 sold
I heard Men Who Stare At Goats was based on this band.
Devin Townsend Project, Addicted
This album is about 5 times as good as Ki, was. And Ki was a pretty solid album.
3 Inches of Blood, Here Waits Thy Doom
Deadly sellers! Deadly selllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaars!
FMQB Most Added
1. Meriwether, Plug In The Snakes Digital Sampler (Self-Released)
2. Blanc Faces, Falling From The Moon
3. Jaded Heart, Perfect Insanity
4. Noriega, Desolo (Viable Records)
5. W.E.T., W.e.t.
FMQB Top Ten Albums
1. Slayer, World Painted Blood
(Columbia/American)
2. Rammstein, Liebe Ist Für Alle Da (Vagrant)
3. Dethklok Dethalbum II
4. Megadeth, Endgame (Roadrunner)
5. Throwdown, Deathless (E1)
6. Baroness, The Blue Album (Relapse)
7. Converge, Axe To Fall (Epitaph)
8. Between the Buried and Me, The Great Misdirect
9. Hatebreed, Hatebreed (E1)
10. Shadows Fall Retribution (Everblack Industries/Ferret)
