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.

There’s still not a ton of metal or metal-leaning music selling in the first few weeks of the new decade, but at least some new albums are debuting. The real winner this week is indie rock, with Vampire Weekend and Spoon both in the top six. The first rock band to appear is Kings of Leon, all the way down at 32, and unless you count Breaking Benjamin as metal (we don’t really), Them Crooked Vultures are the first band we’re keeping tabs on this week (even though they’re technically not a ‘metal’ band either). At least some new records are coming out that people are buying, like Six Feet Under, whose Graveyard Classics 3 is the top-selling metal debut of the week.

Notable Debuts:

Six Feet Under, Graveyard Classics 3 (Metal Blade) 800 sold
This third set of death metal covers from Cannibal Corpse’s Chris Barnes and friends is good for laugh. We like their take on Anvil’s “Metal On Metal.”

Sigh, Scenes From Hell (The End) 500 sold
This is the best Japanese symphonic carnival metal band you’ll hear this year. Don’t believe us? Ask Metal Sucks.

Pearl, Little Immaculate White Fox (Megaforce) 350 sold
Why would we include an album from Meat Loaf’s daughter on here? Because her boyfriend is Anthrax’s Scott Ian, and with the way things are going, it might be the closest we get to an Anthrax album this year!

Notable Sales:

Them Crooked Vultures, Them Crooked Vultures (DGC/Interscope) #61, 7,000 sold
This will cross 200,000 sold next week.

Alice In Chains, Black Gives Way To Blue (Virgin) #85, 5,700 sold
And this will cross 350,000 sold next week.

Mudvayne, Mudvayne (Epic) #99, 5,200 sold
Without a blacklight, this album is plain white, with no art or track listing. Good thing there’s a sticker on the retail version.

Five Finger Death Punch, War Is The Answer (Prospect Park) #119 4,200 sold
Over a 10% increase from last week. This is one of the few albums that’s up in sales from last week.

Hollywood Undead, Swan Songs (A&M/Octone) #133 3,600 sold
We’d really like some new music to come out so we can stop writing about bands that we don’t care that much about. I’m not naming names or anything, but look where I’m writing this…

Motley Crue, Greatest Hits (Motley Records) #142, 3,400 sold
While “Too Young to Fall In Love” is almost 30 years old, the people buying this might be too young to have another one of their greatest hits albums.

Slipknot, All Hope is Gone (Roadrunner) #144, 3,350 sold
Another band with a modest increase (5%) in sales this week. We saw Clown’s other band last night, and while they were interesting, he probably shouldn’t give up the day job just yet…

Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Night Castle (Atlantic) #166, 2,900 sold
Already up to about 385,000 sold in a little over three months, this one will definitely be gold by next Christmas.

Chickenfoot, Chickenfoot (Redline) #173, 2,700 sold
Chickenfoot is a dumb band name. People say that all of the good names are taken, and now it seems like a lot of the really bad ones are too.

Hollywood Undead, Desparate Measures (A&M/Octone) #185, 2,500 sold
It’s bad enough there’s two Hollywood Undead records in the chart, but just wait until the solo albums and side projects come out.

Attack Attack!, Someday Came Suddenly (Rise) 750 sold
I’m wondering what the demo is that’s really into this band. And also wondering if anyone that bought this album when it came out a year ago is still listening to it.

Bring Me The Horizon, Suicide Season (Epitaph) 600 sold
This is another album that’s been out for over a year and just keeps selling.

Baroness, Blue Record (Relapse) 500 sold
Inching up towards 20,000 sold. There’s still a lot of people that would really get behind this record if they heard it. Let’s call them the ‘Mastodon’ crowd.

Nile, Those Whom the Gods Detest (Nuclear Blast) 450 sold
Karl Sanders and friends are currently on tour, which could be helping them sell some records.

Epica, Design Your Universe (Nuclear Blast) 400 sold
Epica? More like “eh-pica.”

Volbeat, Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood (Megaforce) 400 sold
These guys have a pretty unique sound, which is likely while they’re catching on. Sort of like it the Misfits and Social Distortion had a gang bang with Type O Negative’s Peter Steele.

Austrian Death Machine, Double Brutal (Metal Blade) 350 sold
If the next album is called Triple Brutal, I’m boycotting them and As I Lay Dying.

Pelican, What We All Come To Need (Southern Lord) 300 sold
300 is the sweet spot for instrumental post-rock, apparently.

FMQB Most Added

1t. Rob Zombie, Hellbilly Deluxe 2 (Roadrunner/Loud and Proud) 4o adds
1t. Fozzy, Chasing the Grail (Riot Entertainment) 40 adds
3. A Hero A Fake, Let Oceans Lie (Victory) 39 adds
3t. Free Reign, Tragedy EP (Riot Entertainment) 39 adds
5. Mnemic, Sons of the System (Nuclear Blast) 36 adds

FMQB Top Ten

1. Slayer, World Painted Blood (Sony)
2. Throwdown, Deathless (E1)
3. Fear Factory, “Fear Campaign” and “Powershifter” singles (Candlelight)
4. Shadows Fall, Retribution (Everblack Industries)
5. Nile, Those Whom the Gods Detest (Nuclear Blast)
6. Megadeth, Endgame (Roadrunner)
7. Rammstein, Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da (Vagrant)
8. Metalocalypse: Dethklok, Dethalbum II (Williams Street)
9. Between the Buried and Me, The Great Misdirect (Victory)
10. Mudvayne, Mudvayne (Epic)

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Bram Teitelman