I'm not sure if everyone is familiar with MetalInsider's Metal by Numbers weekly report of the metal and hard rock sales of albums in the U.S but I will post It weekly for everyone. here is the link for the Feb 29th posting.

http://www.metalinsider.net/metal-by-numbers/metal-by-numbers-229-poison-the-charts-with-hipsters#more-32640

It's kind of shocking to see how few albums move...

Tell me I'm not the only one who thought of Brian Posehn when I read the title.

Written by [user id=101272] on 04.03.2012 at 00:15

Tell me I'm not the only one who thought of Brian Posehn when I read the title.

That was the first thing I thought of! lol. Metal by numbers, COOKIE, COOKIE, COOKIE!!

That Goatwhore album deserves a lot more love. Though I'm not much of a Black Metal fan (or Black/Death, if you prefer), 'Blood For The Master' is extremely well-done.

Wow 375 albums sold is in the top 10 metal albums for a whole week? I really find that hard to believe!

Metal by Numbers - Wed, Mar 7, 2012

# 7 Van Halen - A Different Kind Of Truth 25,240 sold
# 62 Veil Of Maya, Eclipse (Sumerian) 7,750 sold
# 66 Korn, The Path of Totality (Roadrunner) 7,560 sold
# 71 Five Finger Death Punch, American Capitalist (Prospect Park) 6,960 sold
# 74 Foo Fighters, Wasting Light (RCA) 6,300 sold
# 109 Eluveitie, Helvetios (Nuclear Blast) 4,240 sold
# 112 Lamb of God, Resolution (Epic) 4,040 sold
# 113 Metallica, Beyond Magnetic EP (Warner Bros.) 4,030 sold
# 119 Chevelle, Hats Off to the Bull (Epic) 3,920 sold
# 120 Corrosion Of Conformity, Corrosion Of Conformity (Candlelight) #120, 3,840 sold
# 179 I The Breather, Truth and Purpose (Sumerian) 2,600 sold
# 182 Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare (Warner Bros.) 2,550 sold
# 184 Disturbed, Lost Children (Reprise) 2,500 sold
# 193 Volbeat, Beyond Hell/Above Heaven (Universal) 2,410 sold

Bubbling under the top 200 album chart:

Napalm Death, Utilitarian (Century Media) 2,180 sold
T.R.A.M., Lingua Franca (Sumerian) 1,480 sold
Goatwhore, Blood for the Master (Metal Blade) 810 sold
Asphyx, Deathhammer (Century Media) 780 sold
Caliban, I Am Nemesis (Century Media) 650 sold
Death, Vivus! (Relapse) 520 sold
Christian Mistress, Possession (Relapse) 520 sold
Like Moths To Flames, When We Don't Exist (Rise) 500 sold
Earth, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II (Southern Lord) 470 sold
Autopsy, All Tomorrow's Funerals (Peaceville) 400 sold
Terrorizer, Hordes of Zombies (Season of Mist) 380 sold

The only thing on that list worth my money is probably... Goatwhore or Asphyx. Wouldn't spend money on anything else.

I'm not surprised the sales are so low, and besides over 3/4 of those albums/bands I don't consider to be "metal"

Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.

Week of March 14, 2012

Only three hard rock or metal debuts made it onto the charts this week. However, not only does Every Time I Die have the top metal debut, but they also had a very impressive first week. The Buffalo metalcore group's sixth album sells over 14,000 copies, enough to debut at #20 and tie with Young Jeezy's latest release.

ETID definitely have a lot to celebrate. Not only did Ex-Lives outsell 2009's New Junk Aesthetic (which premiered at #46 with roughly 12,000 copies sold), but also sold slightly more than 2007's The Big Dirty (which came in at #46). Considering the state of album sales, it's a huge accomplishment for any band to sell as many copies (let alone more) as they did five years ago. So congratulations to Every Time I Die on that and for cracking the top 20.



Notable Debuts:

Every Time I Die, Ex-Lives (Epitaph) #20, 14,020 sold
Not only will their current tour with The Devil Wears Prada help sales out further, but so will their stint on the Warped Tour this Summer.



The Pretty Reckless, Hit Me Like A Man EP (Interscope) #150, 2,900 sold
The Taylor Momsen-fronted group's new EP has a solid first week, especially considering that it only has three new songs on it.



Xandria, Neverworld's End (Napalm) 440 sold
Though this is the German symphonic band's first week on the charts, it also might be its last. Guess it never had a chance.


Notable Sales:

Van Halen, A Different Kind of Truth (Interscope) #22, 14,000 sold
After staying in the top ten for the past five weeks, Van Halen gets kicked out of the top 20 thanks to a 44% decrease in sales.



Five Finger Death Punch, American Capitalist (Prospect Park) #60, 7,130 sold
A 2% increase in sales is enough to bring FFDP back into the top 60 in its 22 week on the charts.



Foo Fighters, Wasting Light (RCA) #90, 4,920 sold
Another 22% decrease in sales finds Dave Grohl and co. 16 spots down the charts.



Korn, The Path of Totality (Roadrunner) #92, 4,640 sold
Don't feel bad for Korn, even though they fell another 26 spots down the charts. They were just added to this year's Revolver Golden Gods Award show.



Metallica, Beyond Magnetic EP (Warner Bros.) #123, 3,500 sold
Not only did Metallica add some heavy bands to Orion Music & More's lineup, but they're also bringing their cars to the festival.



Chevelle, Hats Off to the Bull (Epic) #124, 3,500 sold
Did anyone buy the limited Chevelle St. Patrick Days t-shirt?



Lamb of God, Resolution (Epic) #138, 3,040 sold
While Lamb Of God remains in the top 200, guitarist Mark Morton has premiered two songs his new project with DevilDriver's Dez Fafara.



Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare (Warner Bros.) #189, 2,330 sold
Since its release in the summer of 2010, A7X's fifth album has sold well over 674,000 copies.



Volbeat, Beyond Hell/Above Heaven (Universal) #195, 2,210 sold
Still hasn't really settled in that the Danish rockabilly metal group will be playing Bamboozle.



Disturbed, Lost Children (Reprise) #199, 2,190 sold
After eighteen weeks, Disturbed's b-side album finds itself one spot away from exiting the top 200.



Corrosion Of Conformity, Corrosion Of Conformity (Candlelight) 1,770 sold
The reformed stoner metal group gets kicked out of the top 200 in their second week thanks to a 54% decrease in sales. No worries, though, since they'll be on the road for a while now.



Eluveitie, Helvetios (Nuclear Blast) 1,270 sold
Still the top folk metal release on the charts despite getting knocked out of the top 200 thanks to a 70% decrease in sales.



Napalm Death, Utilitarian (Century Media) 970 sold
A 56% decrease in sales for death metal/ grindcore legends despite getting rave reviews from drag queens.



I The Breather, Truth and Purpose (Sumerian) 640 sold
The Christian metal group may have been kicked out of the top 200 in their second week, but Mayhem Fest should help sales out quite a bit.



Goatwhore, Blood for the Master (Metal Blade) 550 sold
The blackened death metal group experiences another 33% decrease in sales

I'm sure the illegal download trade is hurting album sales.