Neilstein Soundscam: Within the Ruins are Threatening Suffocation’s Run
As a reminder, if you’re after pure sales figures from Soundscan they’re available at Metal Insider this week and every week. Get into it.
That said, let’s look at this weeks Neilstein Metal Power Rankings.
1. ↔ Suffocation / Peak: 1 / Last Week: 1 / Weeks On: 5
I see no reason not to keep Suffocation atop the chart for the second week in a row. Pinnacle of Bedlam sold 3,175 records in its first week out and 1,275 last week (those numbers don’t suggest anyone’s local mall is being stampeded by Suffocation fans, but keep in mind how brutal this band is compared to the majority of the music the general populace listens to). 15,939 people are “talking about this” on Facebook — down from 19,769 people last week but still up from 14,503 the week before — suggesting the buzz is still there beyond release week. The video for “As Grace Descends” gained 7k+ views in the past week as it nears 100,000.
2. Within the Ruins / Peak: 2 / Last Week: n/a / Weeks On: 1
New album Elite sold 3,750 copies first week. I’m not sure anyone except their label’s employees saw this coming — that’s twice as many as their last album’s first week — and I honestly did not know this band was so popular. In any case it seems like they deserve it; like Axl, I dug the band’s first single “Feeding Frenzy” more than I expected to. That lyric video (linked) has racked up nearly 100,000 plays since it debuted on February 4th, and the official video for that tune has notched over 65,000 plays since premiering earlier this week. 9,000 are “talking about this” on Facebook out of 90,000 total FB fans (10%). The online buzz is definitely there for Within the Ruins right now, and it’s translating into “real life” too.
3. ↓ Meshuggah / Peak: 2 / Last Week: 2 / Weeks On: 5
Meshuggah finally wrapped up their U.S. tour, but 11,000 are still talking about them on Facebook (down just a little from 13,525 last week). Don’t expect to hear anything from Meshuggah on any fronts in the near future, though.
4. ↑ Kvelertak / Peak: 4 / Last Week: 6 / Weeks On: 5
They released a new song through NPR called “Spring Fra Livet,” and although Axl didn’t much like it everyone else seems to disagree. 1,887 are talking about them on Facebook out of 56k fans, which is not a good percentage, but their video for “Bruane Brenn” continues to gain steam with 109k views to date (up from 86,000 last week). I expect the FB buzz will rise when they hit the road with Black Tusk and Cancer Bats in April.
5. ↓ Coheed and Cambria / Peak: 1 / Last Week: 4 / Weeks On: 4
Another big bump in social media: 18k talking about the band on Facebook, up from just 9k last week but down from 44k the week before. Not sure what to attribute that spike to other than their current tour with Between the Buried and Me. 3,000 units of their latest album The Afterman: Descension shifted last week, no small number.
6. KEN Mode / Peak: 6 / Last Week: n/a / Weeks On: 1
People are buzzing about this band and their new album Entrench, which is streaming in full right at Pitchfork but doesn’t come out until next week. 1,144 out of 12,383 are talking about them on Facebook (<10%), which is decent, but I’m not sure whether fans of bands like this really use Facebook all that much. They’re heading down to SXSW right now to play a slew of shows (including ours!) and I predict they’ll be one of the most buzzed about metal bands at the fest.
7. ↓ Puscifer / Peak: 3 / Last Week: 3 / Weeks On: 2
Their new Donkey Punch the Night EP sold exactly 8,000 units first week and 2,200 last week, which is solid. But the number of people “talking about this” on Facebook dropped in half down to 6,700 this week and their video for “Bohemian Rhapsody” only garned 16,000 new views out of 140,000 total, suggesting that the song and video’s viral success was responsible for the band’s social media blip.
8. Clutch / Peak: 8 / Last Week: n/a Weeks On: 1
Earth Rocker comes out next week and the band’s already got 9k talking about them on Facebook out of 187k fans. The album’s been getting great reviews, they landed the cover of Decibel Magazine and they just announced a massive tour with The Sword. Also: people love this band! And why wouldn’t you?
9. ↓ Hatebreed / Peak: 1 / Last Week: 5 / Weeks On: 5
21,000 talking about them on Facebook (up from 12k last week) so they must be doing something right despite their new album’s sales slowing down and the fact that they’re not touring right now. Expect their April tour with Job For A Cowboy, This is Hell and more to give them a solid buzz injection.
10. Byzantine / Peak: 10 / Last Week: n/a / Weeks On: 1
Only 340 sold first week. I wonder if that number includes downloads and CDs they sent out via their Kickstarter campaign? Also, what ever happened to Gravedancer Records, the new label that was supposed to be putting this album out? (the album is listed on Soundscan as “Self-released”). In any case, the band’s only got 3,337 Facebook likes, which I attribute to being broken up the past five years, and only 522 “talking about this,” which although it’s 15% of the total is still weak. This band deserves so, so, so much more, but I gather they don’t care all that much anyway; by their own admission, they’re just doing it for the love of the music at this point. But holy fuck you guys, this album is SO GOOD! Listen to it in full here.
