Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.

This past week, a 23 year-old album sold about 2,500 copies. That album, Metallica’s fifth and self-titled album (known to most as the Black Album) also happened to cross the 16 million sold barrier. It’s the only album of the SoundScan era, which also started in 1991 to achieve that. The album is continuing to sell about 2,500/week, and has been on the Billboard charts for 307 weeks and counting, making it the third-longest charting album of all time (behind Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and Carole King’s Tapestry). Whether you love Metallica or view this album as the point where they started to go downhill, this is quite an achievement, unlikely to be matched by any current artist, especially with the decline in physical sales. Speaking of that, Miss Fortune was the only hard rock/metal album that debuted this week.. However, there were a lot of albums that came out this past Tuesday we’ll be checking the numbers for next week, so you can head over to Chris Colgan’s list of releases if you want to keep track.

Notable Debuts:

Miss Fortune, A Spark To Believe (Sumerian) 1,400 sold

Our only debut this week come courtesy of this post-hardcore band

 

Notable Sales:

Mushroomhead, The Righteous & The Butterfly (Megaforce) #72, 3,650 sold

A 66% drop

 

Avenged Sevenfold, Hail To The King (Warner Bros.) #82, 3,300 sold

A very small 1% boost.

 

The Pretty Reckless, Going To Hell (Razor & Tie) #83, 3,275 sold

This sold roughly the same amount as last week.

 

Down, Down IV Part II (Down) #92, 3,025 sold

A drop of 70% brings this one…down.

 

Chevelle, La Gargola (Epic) #94, 3,000 sold

Over 85,000 sold

 

Five Finger Death Punch, The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 2 (Prospect Park) #95, 2,975 sold

Just under 255,000 sold in total.

 

Black Stone Cherry, Magic Mountain (Roadrunner) #103, 3,725 sold

This falls off the mountain with a 29% drop.

 

Black Label Society, Catacombs of the Black Vatican (eOne) #126, 2,325 sold

Over 50,000 sold in total.

 

Volbeat, Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies (Universal/Republic) #139, 1,950 sold

Nearly 60 weeks on and this is still hanging in there.

 

Pop Evil, Onyx (Entertainment One) #152, 1,950 sold

Tour magic brings this up 19%.

 

Devin Townsend, Casualties of Cool (HevyDevy) #153, 1,950 sold

In addition to the 15 tracks on this album, the deluxe edition has another 13 tracks. How one manages to write so much music we have no clue.

 

Five Finger Death Punch, The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 1 (Prospect Park) #164, 1,850 sold

Still selling…

 

Of Mice & Men, Restoring Force (Rise) #183, 1,750 sold

Restoring sales with a 7% boost.

 

Rodrigo y Gabriela, 9 Dead Alive (ATO Records) #200, 1,600 sold

A 43% drop as this one keeps stayin’ alive.

 

Agalloch, The Serpent & The Sphere (Profound Lore) 820 sold

This is constricted with a 56% drop.

 

Gemini Syndrome, Lux (Warner Bros.) 590 sold

A boost of 47% this week restores the 47% drop from last week.

 

Butcher Babies, Goliath (Century Media) 570 sold

Okay, a 76% boost is more like Goliath-like.

 

Prong, Ruining Lives (SPV) 520 sold

A 57% second week drop.

 

Triptykon, Melana Chasmata (Century Media) 420 sold

A drop of 17%.

 

Kyng, Burn The Serum (Razor & Tie) 400 sold

These guys will be on tour with Black Label Society again, this time alongside Wovenwar.

 

The Last Vegas, Sweet Salvation (Culvert) 370 sold

This came out earlier in  the month, but has sold enough to make an appearance on the charts.

 

Structures, Life Through a Window (Sumerian) 330 sold

After a 79% drop, this could use some restructuring.

 

Deafheaven, Sunbather (Deathwish) 310 sold

Think that pink album covers will start catching on in the metal scene?

 

Devour the Day,  Time & Pressure (Fat Lady) 310 sold

This didn’t devour much sales with a 21% drop.

 

Glass Cloud, Perfect War Forever (Equal Vision) 280 sold

Looks like the  tour magic is wearing off a bit with a 23% drop.

 

Insomnium, Shadows of the Dying Sun (Century Media) 270 sold

The sun might not shine on this much longer with a 30% drop.

 

Crobot, Crobot (Wind-Up) 270 sold

A 36% drop in week two.