NEILSTEIN SOUNDSCAM: MEGADETH FINALLY BEATS METALLICA

That sound you hear is the echo of corks popping off the champagne bottles at Dave Mustaine’s house; for the first time ever (?), a Megadeth record outsold a Metallica record in its debut week. It’s not a proper Metallica album, and what it is is a steaming pile of turds, but it’s still gotta feel like something of a victory for Mustaine. And that it comes in the form of the #1 Hard Music album in the U.S. has gotta feel absolutely great, too.

Elsewhere, Steel Panther had a great debut week while Krisiun, Sick of it All and Vallenfyre also made the Top 100 on the Current Hard Music charts.

1 MEGADETH – TH1RT3EN
Last week: 41,977 (debut)

Seriously, Mustaine’s gotta be so pumped on this! 

4 REED*LOU & METALLICA – LULU
Last week: 13,320 (debut)

Lowest debut of Metallica’s career? I know it’s not a proper Metallica album, but they’ve still gotta be bummed. Even so, I doubt this really means much… I’m sure the next Metallica album will sell boatloads.

5 STEEL PANTHER – BALLS OUT
Last week: 11,816 (debut)

Nearly 3x the debut number of their last record, Feel the Steel. This band definitely gained momentum after the first album was released, proving that it’s not always just about first-week sales but taking the longview and building a brand long-term.

67 KRISIUN – GREAT EXECUTION
Last week: 610 (debut)

I wish this kick-ass band would do better in the U.S. They probably fare much better in their home country of Brazil.

73 SICK OF IT ALL – NON-STOP
Last week: 576 (debut)

98 VALLENFYRE – FRAGILE KING A
Last week: 362

-VN