METALLICA Sets New Record With Their Fifth N0. 1 Album In The USA – Plus Multiple No. 1 Chart Positions In Europe – And Is Set For 2nd Week At No. 1 In The UK

Death Magnetic, the ninth studio album from multi-platinum hard-rock band Metallica, is the best-selling album in the USA and Europe this week, debuting atop the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart at No. 1, making Metallica the only band in it’s chart history to have five albums debut at No. 1. (1991's Metallica (known as The Black Album), 1996's Load, 1997's ReLoad, and 2003's St. Anger).

Death Magnetic also scored big around the world with No. 1 debuts Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, New Zealand, Norway (who sold more albums in 2 days than a week’s sales of a new U2 album), Poland, Portugal, Sweden (their biggest 1st week sales in 2008), and Turkey (which doesn’t have an official chart but the album was No. 1 on every retail chart). More No. 1 rankings are expected this weekend as remaining charts roll in.
Released by Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Canada and by Universal Music for the rest of the world, on Friday, September 12th, Death Magnetic debuted at No. 1 despite being in stores for only three days, rather than the traditional seven. In addition to its heavy sales at large-chain stores and digital retailers, Death Magnetic also did blockbuster business among independent retailers.

Months before Death Magnetic hit stores, Metallica launched a new website, MISSION: METALLICA, which offered users a unique, ground-breaking look-in on the making of the album with producer Rick Rubin via a treasure trove of exclusive content, including the low-down from the band members themselves about their progress in the studio via fly-on-the-wall video footage, audio of riffs and excerpts of new songs, and exclusive new and never-before-seen archival photos from the studio. In total, Metallica posted 350 minutes of exclusive footage that reached nearly 10 million people across 161 countries. They also streamed Death Magnetic for fan club and Mission Metallica members the day before its release, allowing hardcore fans to hear the album before anyone else and creating a frenzy of positive word-of-mouth among Metallica's fan community. The album also streamed on metallica.com and metclub.com. Fan club and Mission Metallica members also got first crack at purchasing tickets for the band's tour dates fueling even more excitement for the upcoming album.

In addition, Metallica interacted directly with fans who posted clips of themselves performing Metallica songs on YouTube. Drummer Lars Ulrich viewed fan-generated clips and posted a video that personally expressed his appreciation. Ulrich's clip, which was posted on September 4th, has already been viewed 1.2 million times.

Metallica also set a record for having the most radio stations in history sign up for an exclusive FMQB broadcast of "The World Premiere of Death Magnetic." The program, hosted by Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins and featuring all four members of Metallica, was heard on more than 175 stations across the U.S. and Canada.

Reviews have praised Death Magnetic for “ecstatic explosions of frenzied riffs, and insane tempo changes that feel like they’re back in the practice room and daring to push the boundaries of a genre they defined all those years ago.” (NME) whilst Kerrang! wrote that "Metallica once again sound like one of the most exciting bands in the world" and have "managed to harness their talent and instinct into a modern metal album that makes a mockery of the modern competition." The Observer noted that “Death becomes them” whilst Uncut said that “Metallica are back, not with a whimper, but a very loud bang”

The band have played sold out European shows all through the summer culminating in two fan club album launches at 02 Berlin and 02 Arena, London. The London show had the biggest ticket sale in the venue’s history.
Metallica also made two BBC appearances – the first recording a session for Radio 1 at the BBC Radio Theatre and the other appearing on Later With Jools Holland.

Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, Metallica has become one of the most influential and commercially successful rock bands in history, having sold 100 million albums worldwide and playing to millions of fans the world over. They have garnered numerous awards and accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, and multiple MTV Video Music Awards.

Metallica.com
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MISSION: METALLICA