72 Seasons’ Is First Metallica Album in 32 Years To Not Debut At Number One In America

Metallica’s ’72 Seasons’ album is the first album for the band to not debut at number one in America since 1988’s ‘…And Justice For All’.

Metallica was kept from the number one spot by Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing At A Time’.

Every album from 1991 for the band came in a number one expect for this one. They were:

Metallica (1991)
Load (1996)
Reload (1997)
St Anger (2003)
Death Magnetic (2008)
Hardwired … To Self Destruct, 2016)

Comparing a number one today to 2016 or even 1991 is ridiculous anyway. The chart formula is totally different with streaming. Metallica fans are more likely collectors than streamers. In Australia, for example, Metallica sold 1,394 vinyl copies and a further 5,298 CDs. 652 sales were attributed to streaming while a further 1483 were downloads.

As streaming is a long-tail figure, meaning 150 streams equals one sale so multiple streams over months impact the chart while the physical sale is a one-off impact that week, next weeks chart is expected to show a big drop for Metallica while over 90% of Wallen fans stream his music and his chart position will remain high.

Its unlikely the formula will change anytime soon. The streaming formula allows the labels to control the chart with their disposable chart act of choice.

The Metallica figure has been accepted with a general positive reaction from fans. The arbitrary chart position is really as meaningless as the chart itself.

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