METALLICA Is First Band To See Five Albums Bow At No. 1

September 17, 2008

According to Billboard.com, METALLICA is the first group to see five of its albums bow at No. 1 on The Billboard 200. Previously, the act was tied with THE BEATLES, U2 and the DAVE MATTHEWS BAND, with four each. The group's latest LP, "Death Magnetic", which sold nearly half a million copies in the United States in just a three-day sales window, is also METALLICA's fifth consecutive studio album to debut at No. 1 and its seventh release to start with more than 300,000 since 1991, when Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data.

The band's first studio album since 2003 moved 490,000 copies in its abbreviated frame, scheduled off-cycle on a Friday to accommodate a worldwide release date.

METALLICA's last CD, "St. Anger", also had an unusual release date after Elektra Records decided to move up its release to Thursday, June 5, 2003 from Tuesday, June 10, 2003 "to ensure that counterfeit copies of the band's first studio album in six years do not proliferate in the marketplace," the label said at the time.

"St. Anger" sold 363,000 copies in its first full week of release to land at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart. The album shifted 418,000 copies in the U.S. in its first, shortened week on the streets.

METALLICA's "Re-Load" album sold 435,000 units during its first week in 1997, while 1996's "Load" opened at 680,000. 1991's self-titled "black album" debuted with 598,000 and has since gone on to sell more than 15.2 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

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