NEILSTEIN ROSENBERG SOUNDSCAM: FOO FIGHTERS, STILL FANTASTIC
Vince is still away, so, once again, “Neilstein SoundScam” is on me this week.Check out some of the more noteworthy sales stats from the latest Top Hard Music charts, including albums by Foo Fighters, Morbid Angel, Of Mice & Men, and more after the jump!
1 FOO FIGHTERS – WASTING LIGHT
Last week: 29,853
Cume: 476,295
Last week I was impressed that this album actually rose 17% in sales; now in its tenth frame of release, it has risen again, this time by 111%. And the band’s Greatest Hits collection came in at #7, with more than 11k in sales. I guess their new single and video are really paying off. Good for them!
4 OF MICE & MEN – FLOOD
Last week: 15,319 (debut)
I knew that terrible metalcore was still popular, but I had no idea that this particular terrible metalcore band was so big. And people wonder why I have no faith in humanity. Sheesh.
5 DEF LEPPARD – MIRRORBALL
Last week: 12,587
Cume: 32,417
A 37% drop from its initial sales week suggests that this band is largely dependent on a pre-existing fan base, which makes perfect sense, given that they’re now in their third decade of existence. But they have a big summer tour coming up, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see that boost sales, especially given that this is a live album.
8 BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION– BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION 2
Last week: 8,311 (debut)
Nice debut for the classic rock supergroup, although I’m sure they wish they could outsell Def Lep in their second week of release.
9 TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK
Last week: 7,590 (debut)
The good news is, seventy-five hundred more people have now heard Mastodon. The bad news is, seventy-five hundred more people have now heard Black Veil Brides. But it’s amazing to me, in this day and age of illegal downloading, that soundtracks still work, financially if not creatively. Take a big brand, slap it on the cover, throw together some high-selling acts who really have nothing to do with anything (in this instance, Linkin Park for the third time, My Chemical Romance, Paramore, etc.), and watch schmucks buy it. Amazing.
18 AEROSMITH – BIG ONES
Last week: 1,937
Cume: 4,154,528
There are two other Aerosmith mega-hits comps on the charts this week — one at #19 and one at #76 — but this is the only one that wasn’t also on the chart last week. I understand that American Idol has boosted Aerosales, but why did everyone suddenly decide they needed this particular greatest hits collection? Was it just because they already had the others, and there was money burning a hole in their pocket? Did everyone all of a sudden get “Walk On Water” stuck in their head? The mind boggles.
79 MORBID ANGEL – ILLUD DIVINUM INSANUS
Last week: 1,439
Cume: 5,204
I’d like to think that the sixty percent drop from their first frame is due to horrible word of mouth, but I think this is actually pretty standard for a death metal band of this stature.
92 ALESTORM – BACK THROUGH TIME
Last week: 1,224 (debut)
This is the last, and lowest-charting, of the new metal releases. It doesn’t mean much to me ’cause I’m not really an Alestorm fan, but I thought some of you might like to know!
-AR
