METALLICA's 'St. Anger' To Ship 'Well Over' A Million Copies

May 29, 2003

METALLICA's "St. Anger" will ship "well over" a million units ahead of its June 10 street date, according to Elektra Entertainment Group Exec. VP/GM Greg Thompson. "This release is a true event, and shows a tremendous amount of evolution and drama," he said in an official statement. "Those lucky enough to have heard it are blown away. It adds up to an exciting time for the quintessential rock band in the world to return to the marketplace with an epic record…I mean an Elektra record."

Elektra Chairman/CEO Sylvia Rhone added: "The members of METALLICA, individually and collectively, rank with the best musicians in the business. After 11 albums and 20 years, the anticipation for their new studio album has exceeded all our expectations. Whether you're talking catalog sales, radio, video or simply word of mouth, the demand has been unprecedented. It's been a textbook marketing plan, and even better, with all of the exposure, we've been able to secure the songs from online piracy...knock on wood. The fan who buys the new METALLICA record will own one of the best albums they've made in their 20-year history."

"St. Anger" marks the group's first studio album since 1997's "Reload". The band's 1999 disc, "S&M", recorded live with a symphony orchestra, has sold 2.5 million in the U.S.

Elektra VP Marketing Dana Brandwein said the band's fan base was targeted first, but the label intends to expand the promotional/marketing campaign from there: "While METALLICA fans are the most important thing to the band, they're just as committed to making new ones."

Added Thompson: "Every testosterone-charged male and a lot of women will be in record stores celebrating St. Anger's Day with 74 minutes of new songs and a [bonus] live DVD that will rock their balls off. Did I really say that?"

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).