As much as everyone has mocked Metallica during the past, what, decade, the band can still move units like nobody's business. Their new Death Magnetic moved roughly 490,000 of them in three days after its release Sept. 12. That's an easy No. 1 on the Billboard charts, the band's fifth consecutive No. 1 debut. Of course, their other top debuts read like a list of Metallica albums to avoid: 1991's Metallica (a.k.a. The Black Album), 1996's Load, 1997's ReLoad, and 2003's St. Anger. With Death Magnetic, Metallica becomes the only band ever to have five consecutive No. 1 debuts, shoving metal up the ass of The Beatles, U2, and The Dave Matthews Band, all of whom have four.
The album didn't just take the top spot here. It also debuted at No. 1 in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and Turkey, according to a press release from Metallica's label, Warner Bros.
The band begins the North American leg of its world tour Oct. 21; see dates here.