Five years ago, the last Rush album, Snakes & Arrows, sold 93,000 copies. That’s why it’s even more impressive that in 2012, their new album has sold over 100,000 copies, matching the #2 peak that they reached back in 1993 with Counterparts. Is rock alive? Did their cameo in I Love You Man help out? Was it their 2010 documentary, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage? Who knows, but it’s awesome to see the prog-rock trio do so well, especially since it’s their first album for new label Roadrunner. Aside from that, Miss May I have a solid week as well.

Rush, Clockwork Angels (Roadrunner) #2, 103,500 sold
We have no beef with Usher, but if it wasn’t for him, Rush would’ve had their first #1 album in America. Fun fast: the military time on the clock of the album cover is 21:12. Get it? Congrats, you’re a geek too!

Miss May I, At Heart (Rise) #30, 12,000 sold
This is much better than the performance of their last album, 2010’s Monument, which debuted at #76.
Turbonegro, Sexual Harassment (Volcom Entertainment) 425 sold
Considering this is only available on iTunes right now,  this is a solid start.
Notable Sales:

Various Artists, Rock of Ages Soundtrack (Water Tower Music/Warner Bros.) #9, 36,400 sold
The soundtrack to the movie rendition of the Broadway has a nice increase in its second week. In other words, it’s doing way better than the film itself.

Slash, Apocalyptic Love (Dik Hayd) #59, 8,000 sold
It’s not as easy to kick Slash out of the top 60 as it is to knock down Axl.

Shinedown, Amaryllis (Atlantic) #82, 5,700 sold
A 10% increase is pretty solid for these mainstream rockers, who will be headlining the Uproar tour this year.

Tenacious D, Rize of the Fenix (Columbia) #111, 4,200 sold
The D have sold about 80,000 copies in five weeks. That’s pretty much nothing for Jack Black, but we’ll be Kyle Gass is psyched.

Five Finger Death Punch, American Capitalist (Prospect Park) #118, 4,000 sold
Well, they’re definitely capitalizing on something…
Fear Factory, The Industrialist (Candlelight) #131, 3,700 sold
The band’s modest 61% second week drop suggests that it’s going to keep continuing to sell throughout the Shockwave Festival.

Van Halen, A Different Kind of Truth (Interscope) #138, 3,500 sold
For some reason, this album took a 73% jump this week. Might as well jump. Go ahead, jump!

Godsmack, Live & Inspired (Universal) #163, 2,900 sold
32,000 copies in five weeks isn’t solid, but they’re doing the best that they can. Now go away.

Volbeat, Beyond Hell/Above Heaven (Universal) #167, 2,900 sold
Anyone going to see them this weekend at the Orion Fest? They sold almost 25% more than they did last week.

Marilyn Manson, Born Villain (Cooking Vinyl/ Downtown/Hell, Etc.) #174, 2,700 sold
It’ll be a while before this one crosses 100,000.

Halestorm, The Strange Case Of… (Atlantic) #179, 2,600 sold
Halestorm is the kind of band that gets out and tours, so expect to keep seeing this one sell.

Foo Fighters, Wasting Light (RCA) #192, 2,400 sold
Hey Foo Fighters, you had a great run, but I think we’re done writing about you in Metal By Numbers. At least you’ve sold 300,000 more copies than Madonna’s latest without showing your nipple.
Kreator, Phantom Antichrist (Nuclear Blast) 1,575 sold
Seems like 30 years into their career, Kreator is in the middle of a full-on renaissance.
Otherwise, True Love Never Dies (Century Media) 875 sold
This Vegas band will probably crack the 10,000 barrier next week.

Melvins Lite, Freak Puke (Ipecac), 800 sold
The guys in Big Business must be kind of pissed about this, but hey, at least they’re keeping Trevor Dunn off the streets.

Six Feet Under, Undead (Metal Blade) 500 sold
The band’s ninth studio album of original material is a bold reimagining of their – oh wait no, it’s just more death metal.

Call Me No One, Last Parade (7Brothers/ILG), 490 sold
OK half of Sevendust, you’re no one. Actually, we wouldn’t go that far, but selling 78% less of your album than you did last week isn’t the most encouraging thing that could have happened.

Kill Devil Hill, Kill Devil Hill (SPV/Steamhammer) 475 sold
A 7% increase suggests that this band has found their comfort zone. Lots of bands would be happy selling an even 500 copies a week, even with their lineage. 

The Agonist, Prisoners (Century Media) 450 sold
The band have sold 2,000 copies in two weeks. Want to know why you should buy it?

Architects, Daybreaker (Century Media) 410 sold
I don’t know enough about this band to say anything except for this comment saying that I can’t say anything about them.

Upon A Burning Body, Red. White. Green. (Sumerian) 390 sold
Having crossed the 10,000 sold mark, these guys will be alternating on the Jager stage at Mayhem. Pretty ironic that Matt Pike was going to be playing the Jager stage…

Candlemass, Psalms for the Dead (Napalm) 350 sold
A 56% drop in the second week isn’t that bad until you consider that they only sold 800 copies the first week.
Torche, Harmonicraft (Volcom) 350 sold
While they probably won’t get a big sales jump from playing Orion this week, if they’re in front of a lot of people that might have never heard them, they’ll almost definitely pick up some new fans.
Cattle Decapitation, Monolith of Inhumanity (Metal Blade) 340 sold
Wonder if there are any former meat eaters that became vegetarians  just because of Cattle Decapitation?