Metal By Numbers is a weekly coluimn in which we look at the top sellers of the week as well as what’s getting played at Metal Radio courtesy of radio trade magazine FMQB, whose metal panel consists of about 80 college and commercial stations, as well as SiriusXM, Music Choice, and more.

Looking to make a lot of money in 2009? A record label might not be the way to go. Sales figures are down, down, down. On the plus side, if your album comes out and you and 2,499 of your friends buy or download it, you’ll have yourself a top 200 album, which would have been unfathomable in the glory days of CD buying. Indie rock fans are the big buyers this week, with Bon Iver, Animal Collective and Andrew Bird debuting in the top 20, while two Sinatra compilations and a Mariah Carey collection chart. The plus side is that a lot of metal/hard rock albums, while not setting the sales chart on fire, did modestly increase in sales.

On the FMQB front, Lamb of God invades the top slot, while Cannibal Corpse is the most added band.

Notable Debuts:

Cattle Decapitation, Harvest Floor (Metal Blade) 1,700 copies sold
Looks like the vegan metalheads were out in force, giving them the most copies sold of a metal debut for the week.

Underneath the Gun, Forfeit Misfortunes (Ferret), 700 copies sold
BITPOM doesn’t know anything about this band, but they’re on Ferret, so they’re probably good. 700 people thought so, making it one of the biggest metal debuts of the week.

Rose Funeral, Resting Sonata (Metal Blade) 600 copies sold
Another band we’re not 100% familiar with, but a good start.

ACACABB, ABACABB (VIctory) 525 copies sold
Any band named after a Genesis song that’s named after a chord progression is ok by us!

Skindred, Roots Rock Riot (Bieler Bros.) 475 copies sold.
Remember Dub War?

Too Pure to Die, Confess (Trustkill) 460 copies sold
Another new band off to a good start.

Notable Sales:

Nickelback, Dark Horse (Roadrunner) #3, 45,000 copies sold
Yeah, we know, they’re not Metal. But it’s the only place in the top 20 you’ll find distorted guitars, and it is Roadrunner we’re talking about here, people.

Kid Rock, Rock N; Roll Jesus (Atlantic) #27, 15,500 copies sold.
All summer long. And Fall. And Winter. And Spring…

AC/DC, Black Ice (Columbia) #43, 11.500 copies sold
The band has sold a few more copies last week than they did this week. Looks like they can afford the Outback Steakhouse!

Metallica, Death Magnetic (Warner Bros.) #44, 11,450 copies sold
AC/DC is about 350,000 copies closer to being double platinum than Metallica, who have sold about 1.6 million copies so far.

Slipknot, All Hope is Gone (Roadrunner), #76, 7,250 copies sold.
A nice 13% increase for the ‘Knot, maybe because their tour started up?

Guns N’ Roses, Chinese Democracy (Geffen), #75, 7,200 copies sold
A big dropoff for GN’R this week.

Mudvayne, The New Game (Epic) #108, 4,600 copies sold
Should pass 150,000 sold next week.

Five Finger Death Punch, The Way of the Fist (The Firm) #169, 3,000 copies sold
They sold almost the exact same as they did last week.

Kreator, Hordes of Chaos (SPV) #165, 1,250 copies sold.
This week’s #1 metal album at CMJ (FMQB’s counterpart) has another solid week.

Bring Me The Horizon, Suicide Season (Epitaph) 1,200 copies sold
Another band with increased sales this week.

Satyricon, The Age Of Nero (KOCH) 875 copies sold
Satyricon’s 7th album has sold over 2,500 already.

The Answer, Never Too Late (The End) 850 copies sold
A nice 58% increase fort the band, who opened all of AC/DC’s shows.

Saxon, Into the Labyrinth (SPV) 650 copies sold

The Sword, Gods of the Earth (Kemado) 525 copies sold
Another sales increase, thanks to Metallica’s great taste in opening acts.

FMQB Most Added

1. Cannibal Corpse, Eviscaration Plague (Metal Blade)
2. Wino, Punctuated Equilibrium (Southern Lord)
3. Sylosis, Conclusion Of An Age (Nuclear Blast)
4. Edguy, Tinnitus Sanctus (Nuclear Blast)
5. Grimstine, Grimstine (Immy Records)

FMQB Top Ten Albums

1. Lamb of God, “Set To Fail” (Epic)
2. Kreator, Hordes of Chaos (SPV)
3. Sepultura, A-Lex (SPV)
4. Gojira, The Way of All Flesh (Prosthetic)
5. Cradle of Filth, Godspeed On the Devil’s Thunder (Roadrunner)
6. Cynic, Traced In Air (Season of Mist)
7. Mudvayne, The New Game (Epic)
8. Haunted, Versus (Century Media)
9. Six Feet Under, Death Rituals (Metal Blade)
10. Woe Of Tyrants, Kingdom Of Might (Metal Blade)