With the muted reaction that Machine Head’s Catharsis received from critics, you’d think that they might have had a Suicide Silence-like disaster on their hands. However, the album sold about 9,000 units in its debut week. That’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it is worth noting that that’s less than half of what their last album, Bloodstone & Diamonds, sold it in it’s first week back in 2014. That’s certainly not the lowest number of records the band have sold in it’s first week, however. In fact, Through the Ashes of Empires didn’t even come out in America. The band had been on an upward trajectory sales-wise until now, however. The Blackening sold 16,000 in it’s first week back in 2007, and Unto the Locustsold 17,000 four years later. While streaming has obviously impacted sales, this has to hurt a bit.
Then again, the news of Machine Head selling less in the states is offset by their chart success in the rest of the world . #3 record in Germany?Achievement unlocked! It’s also #12 in the U.K, their highest showing there yet. It’s Australia’s #10 album as well. It’s not the first time international support has helped out the band. It was the success overseas of Through the Ashes of Empires that led Roadrunner to re-sign the band. And as their ‘An Evening With’ tours have shown, there’s still a huge appetite for the band stateside. Perhaps the sound of the album or Flynn’s outspoken left-leaning songs convinced some fans to sit this album out. And if not, Machine Head doesn’t even need to lean super hard on the U.S. market if they can tour overseas. Flynn hasn’t commented on his U.S. sales yet, but the band trumpeted their international debut, which they have every right to be proud of, on Instagram. Stay tuned for the rest of this week’s chart action in Metal by Numbers.
Black Label Society have shared a video for their latest single, "Name In Blood." The track is the fourth single taken from their forthcoming album, Engines Of Demolition, scheduled to arrive on March 27 via MNRK Heavy. The video was directed by longtime collaborator...
Puscifer officially launched their first-ever comic series, Tales From the Pusciverse. The debut issue centers on the character Bellendia Black. The group recently shared more visual details on the comic series during the visualizer for their latest single,...
German rock/metal trio The Hirsch Effekt have never been especially interested in blunt-force emotionalism. Their music has always behaved more like a conversation you replay later, wondering why it felt heavier after the fact. Their new single, “Die Brücke,” leans...
New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This week counts new music from the likes of Alter Bridge, The Protomen, Zu Beyond The Black and Bullet amongst the many outstanding...
New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. Kicking off 2026, this week’s new music includes albums from the likes of Excavated Graves, Fuath, Wildhunt and Dawnbreaker amongst the...
New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This week sees new muisc from the likes of Peter Criss, Dead Sun and Lychgate amongst the many outstanding works hitting shelves. Don’t...
