After releasing their new record on August 28, Metallica has officially surpassed Katy Perry to nab the title of highest-selling new album of the week.
Reporting the news in the latest edition of its print magazine, Billboard revealed Metallica’s S&M2 has beaten out initial frontrunner Katy Perry on its 200 album chart.
With Perry’s Smile having been released on the same day as S&M2, the two albums were in stiff competition, despite being of wildly different genres.
However, S&M2 has debuted at #4 on the overall chart, making it the highest-selling new album of the week, while Smile sits just behind at #5.
Unsurprisingly, Taylor Swift’s Folklore remains at #1 after six consecutive weeks in the top spot, with Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars sitting at #2.
S&M2 serves as a follow up to the band’s 1999 live album S&M, having been recorded in San Francisco over two nights in September 2019.
The news of the album’s success comes after the band’s recent pre-recorded live performance at outdoor theatres across the US and Canada. On August 29, they broadcasted a concert filmed at California’s Gundlach Bundschu winery as part of the Encore Drive-In Nights series.
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Meanwhile, the band were forced to cancel a tour of Australia and New Zealand late last year when frontman James Hetfield was admitted to rehab.
Speaking of the decision in February, Hetfield revealed he was “optimistic” about what the future holds for him.
“I appreciate all the great prayers and support from everyone since I went into rehab last September,” he said, “like the moth into the flame, being human in this career has its huge challenges and can be difficult… your understanding helps the healing.”
Check out ‘No Leaf Clover’ by Metallica:
