Australian Album Chart: Parkway Drive 'Darker Still' Is No 1

Local metalcore act Parkway Drive see their third consecutive No.1 Album in Australia as their seventh studio album “Darker Still” takes out the top of the ARIA Album Charts.

“Darker Still” (Parkway Drive/Resist/Epitaph) becomes the 957th No.1 Album in Australia (1965 to 2022), the 808th for ARIA (1983 to 2022), the 592nd to debut at No.1, the 27th No.1 for 2022 and now the third chart-topping album for both Resist Records and Parkway Drive after their previous two releases also went to No.1 (both for a single week); “Ire” (Oct. 5th, 2015) and “Reverence” (May 14th, 2018), while their new set is also the No.1 selling vinyl album this week and has landed at No.56 in the UK Album Chart.

All seven of Parkway Drive’s albums have now landed within the Top 40, as their first “Killing with a Smile” made it to No.39 in late September of 2005, after which all of their six successive albums have landed within the Top 6 or higher. The Byron Bay act has also now joined the list for ‘Most No.1 Albums (1965 to 2022)’ at No.90 alongside other acts with three No.1 Albums like Prince, You Am I, Arctic Monkeys, Tool, Paul Kelly, The Killers, Lorde, Rufus du Sol and Korn who’ve all had three weeks at No.1 from their three chart-topping albums.

It’s the second time at No.1 for both words within this week’s No.1 album title, with the ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ soundtrack (1 week on Feb. 20th, 2017) the previous ‘Darker’ and “Still the Twelfth Man” (3 weeks from Jan. 10th, 1993) by The Twelfth Man the other ‘Still’. This new No.1 album is now the ninth by an Australian Act for 2022 (Spacey Jane were the last on July 4th) and the 274th by an Aussie Artist overall, while it’s also the 419th No.1 Album by a Group (local or overseas).

Debuting at No.2 is the thirteenth studio album for former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne called “Patient Number 9”, which becomes his highest charted and now second Top 10 Albums in Australia after his last album “Ordinary Man” debuted and peaked at No.4 on March 2nd, 2020, while he has now landed fourteen solo releases within the Top 100 (10 studio, 2 Best of’s and 2 live albums), eleven of which have now made it into the Top 50, while his first entry was with his third album “Bark at the Moon” (HP-94, March 19th, 1984), plus his two compilations albums to chart both peaked in the lower fifty; “The Ozzman Cometh” (HP-62, GH#3, Nov. 16th, 1997) and “Memoirs of a Madman” (HP-51, GH#6, Oct, 27th, 2014).

Luke Combs announced his August 2023 Australian tour this past week, with more shows being added later in the week. This has pulled all of his three studio albums back into the Top 10 this week, with his latest set “Growin’ Up” (HP-2×2, July 4th and 11th, 2022) jumping up nineteen places to land at No.3 (WI10 now 6), while his second set “What You See Ain’t Always What You Get” flies up twenty-seven spots to No.6 (WI10 now 20) and his first release “This One’s for You” leaps twenty-one chart-rungs to land just behind at a re-peak of No.7 (WI10 now 4), making it’s semi-annual pilgrimage to the Top 10, as the June 2017 issued album has almost landed one week per-year during it’s 235 weeks of charting, (chart entry No.94 on June 12th, 2017, 2 overall Top 100 chart weeks during that year; No.8 on June 11th, 2018; No.7 {it’s first peak} on March 25th, 2019; and it’s last was at No.9 on May 25th, 2020). Seven singles from his three albums have also debuted or returned to the singles chart this week too, with his latest single “The Kind of Love We Make” jumping from 57 to a new peak of No.21, while he also lands within the Top 50 with “When it Rains it Pours” (first ever entry at No.36, 2017 issued) and “Beautiful Crazy” (first ever entry at No.49, 2018 issued), while he also charts with “Forever After All” (HP-14, returns at No.51; 2020), “Beer Never Broke My Heart” (HP-44, returns at No.63; 2019), “Hurricane” (newly ▲3xPlatinum, first entry at No.79; 2016) and “She Got the Best of Me” (first entry at No.90; 2018). With the tour eleven months away, expect this to happen again in August of 2023 when the actual tour is happening.

Holding at No.4 for a fourth week is The Weeknd compilation “The Highlights”, while Harry Styles’ “Harry’s House” (No.6 vinyl) drops down two places to No.5, it’s lowest chart position during it’s seventeen weeks within the chart. Also down two spots to land at No.9 is “SOUR” for Olivia Rodrigo, logging it’s 69th week on the chart and also within the Top 10, the current leader within this week’s ten.

The new No.1 Album in England this week is the third best-of set for Robbie Williams called “XXV” (25), which has landed here at No.8 (No.18 vinyl), featuring his 25 years of solo releases, many of which have been re-recorded or reinterpreted. The album becomes his 14th No.1 Solo Album in England this week, making him now their act with the second most No.1 Albums and first Solo Male Artist, as he’s now just ahead of Elvis Presley’s 13 and one behind The Beatles 15 UK No.1 Albums. Robbie’s two previous compilation sets were his “Greatest Hits” (No.1 for 9 weeks from Oct. 25th, 2004) and “In and Out of Consciousness 1990-2010” (HP-3, Oct. 2010), while he’s not the only Williams to debut within the Top 10 this week.

The fourth and final Top 10 debut this week is the second New Zealand No.1 Album for their native artist Marlon Williams called “My Boy”, which lands here at No.10 (No.3 vinyl), also becoming his second Top 10 Album in Australia, as his previous set “Make Way for Love” made it to No.8 here and No.1 in his homeland on February 26th, 2018 (dated 23rd in NZ), while his first chart entry was with his self-titled set which made it to No.31 (May 4th, 2015, No.7 in NZ).

UP:
Billie Eilish started her national tour here this past week, which has helped her two studio albums to leap back into the Top 13 this week, with her tours namesake and her second album “Happier Than Ever” jumping twenty-three spots to No.11, while her debut set “When We all Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go” rises eight spots to No.13. Her long-charting EP “Don’t Smile at Me” is logging it’s fourth accumulated year within the Top 100 (208 weeks) and has climbed 81 to No.55 this week too.

Thanks to a physical release on both CD and Cassette last week, this week the ‘Stranger Things Season 4’ soundtrack returns to the album chart at No.19 (LW-1432 according to ARIA’s website), after which the next album to rise is a three place climb to No.26 for Dua Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia” set.

Lewis Capaldi sees his debut album rise back up eight places to No.43 thanks to his first new material in three years called “Forget Me” debuting at No.24 this week, after which the Morgan Wallen “Dangerous: The Double Album” jumps up nineteen places to No.44, while also returning to the Top 50 are “Teenage Dream” for Katy Perry (52 to No.45) and Green Day’s “Greatest Hits: God’s Favourite Band” (58 to No.50).

DOWN:
Seven of last week’s Top 10 albums leave this week, the ones to survive a small drop are “= (equals)” for Ed Sheeran (HP-1, WI10-42, 8 to No.14) and “Curtain Call 2” for Eminem (HP-2, WI10-4, 9 to No.15), while landing another week within the Top 50 are Megadeth with “The Sick, The Dying and The Dead!” (2 to No.32) and “Mr. Morales & the Big Steppers” by Kendrick Lamar (HP-1, WI10-5, 6 to No.41; No.5 vinyl this week). The three big Top 10 dropouts (which also leave the Top 100 this week too) is YUNGBLUD’s self-titled No.1 entry from last week, “IV” for The Butterfly Effect (LW-5) and “Voyage” for ABBA (LW-10).

Beyoncé’s “Renaissance (Act 1)” falls five places to No.16, while the second Top 20 collection for Eminem and “Curtain Call: The Hits” drops four to No.18, while Maroon 5’s “Singles Collection” dips three to No.20. Leaving the Top 20 for the first time since its return in March of this year is “Fine Line” for Harry Styles, down seven to No.23, followed by a six place drop to No.24 for “AM” for Arctic Monkeys (No.10 vinyl). Further Top 30 drops occur for Daniel Johns with “FutureNever” (13 to No.28) and Foo Fighters “Greatest Hits” (15 to No.29).

All four Taylor Swift Top 50 albums are down this week, with “1989” dipping three to No.30, followed by bigger falls for “folklore” (24 to No.34), “Lover” (30 to No.37) and “Red (TsV)” (41 to No.48). “Rumours” by Fleetwood Mac (No.16 vinyl) falls eight places to No.33, while the INXS “Very Best of” falls back down nine places to No.49. Further Top 100 departures from last week’s Top 50 are for Wombat (No.12), Dear Seattle (No.31) and Emma Memma (No.35).

FURTHER NEW ENTRIES:
* #12 (LP#2) – As Above, So Below by Sampa the Great (Loma Vista/Concord) is the second album and also second No.12 set for the Zambian born and Sydney based hip-hop artist, who saw her debut album “The Return” also debuted and peak at No.12 (Sept. 23rd, 2019) almost three years ago.

* #17 (LP#3) – Different Man by Kane Brown (Sony Music) is the third studio album and entry for Georgia, U.S. country/pop artist who just started his tour of Australia this past week, appearing on ‘The Project’ on Friday night (Sept. 16th). This new set also becomes his highest charted locally, after his first two sets “Kane Brown” (LP#1, HP-60, Dec 2016) and “Experiment” (LP#2, HP-33, Nov. 2018), so this new album could rise next week on the back of his tour starting.

* #36 (LP#16) – The Great Country Songbook Vol.III by Adam Harvey & Beccy Cole (ABC Music) is the third such collection for the local country artist, with his first volume being with Troy Cassar-Daley (HP-2, June 2013) and second volume also with Beccy Cole (HP-6, May 2017). Adam has now had fourteen Top 100 entries (13 studio and 1 Best of), thirteen of which have made it to the Top 50 and six into the Top 10.

HP = Highest Position
LW = Last Week
WI10 – Weeks in Top 10

*ARIA Chart info is based on sales for the week from the 9th to the 15th of September 2022.

Written, Compiled and Researched by Gavin Ryan.

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