‘Re-Load’ Debuts At No. 1

Heavy metal supergroup Metallica dropped another load on the music industry and consumers alike as the band’s seventh full-length studio album, “Re-Load,” sold 435,000 copies to debut at No. 1 for the week ending Nov. 23, according to SoundScan.

It marks the biggest first-week sales of any rock title released this year and trails only first-week tallies by such rappers as the Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, Wu-Tang Clan and Puff Daddy.

No strangers to the top of the charts, Metallica’s 1996 release, “Load,” blew out 680,000 copies in its first week. Showing incredible staying power, the band has been able to continue its selling ways through a variety of changing musical trends that have occurred throughout its 14-year recording career. Metallica has released a string of hugely successful albums in the past decade, with North American sales beyond 30 million.