Metallica Returns from 5-Year Hiatus Atop Charts
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Extending rock music’s recent reign over the U.S. pop charts, Metallica grabbed the No. 1 spot with the debut of “St. Anger,” its first studio album in more than five years.
On the verge of splintering a few years ago, the veteran heavy metal act’s recent moves to get in touch with its vulnerable side appear to have paid off.
“St. Anger,” produced after fractious band members hired a therapist to help them work better as a team, sold a whopping 418,000 copies during the sales week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
It was the band’s fourth-biggest debut since SoundScan began tracking album sales in 1991.
By comparison, Metallica’s last studio album, “Reload,” entered the charts at No. 1 in 1997 with 435,000 copies sold its first week. That album went on to sell 3.7 million copies in the United States alone.
Metallica’s 1996 title “Load” sold 680,000 copies in its first week, and its self-titled 1991 set (aka “The Black Album”) opened with sales of more than 500,000 units.
Metallica’s return on Elektra Records, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc., also marks the fourth straight week that a rock album has topped the Billboard 200. Led Zeppelin’s three-disc live set “How the West was Won” opened at No. 1 last week, following chart-topping bows from Staind and Marilyn Manson the two previous weeks.
The commercial success of those artists is in keeping with a recent survey by the Recording Industry Association of America, which found that rock was the most popular genre of recorded music in 2002 while consumers over age 45 have emerged as the steadiest record buyers.
“St. Anger,” Metallica’s first album since the departure of bassist Jason Newsted, comes bundled with a bonus DVD featuring the band playing the album tracks in a live setting.
The album’s title cut already is getting strong airplay, opening last week at No. 2 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks tally, the highest entry on that chart since Van Halen’s “Without You” debuted at No. 1 in March 1998.
The album’s debut was especially impressive given that “St. Anger” was released on a Thursday, meaning that it racked up its opening tally in just four days.
But four days was more than enough for Metallica to outshine the release of singer-songwriter Jewel’s latest album, “0304,” which opened at No. 2 with sales of 144,000 copies. Slipping a notch to No. 3, hard-core rapper 50 Cent’s debut smash “Get Rich or Die Tryin”‘ sold another 99,000 copies to boost its 18-week total to 5 million units.
Rounding out the top five were alternative rock band Evanescence with “Fallen,” followed by the soundtrack to the hit street-racing movie sequel “2 Fast 2 Furious.”
Two other albums entered the pop chart in the top 10 — rock band Train’s third release “My Private Nation” at No. 6 and a greatest-hits collection from the country group Lonestar at No. 8.
Meanwhile, “How the West Was Won,” Led Zeppelin’s first chart-topping album since 1979’s “In Through the Out Door,” slipped eight notches to No. 9 with second-week sales of 76,000 copies. Zeppelin was followed at No. 10 by “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson’s debut album, “Thankful.”
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