Veteran performers boost rock sales

Rock is enjoying a resurgence at the top of the album charts, thanks to some much-anticipated veteran acts.

System of a Down debuted at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard chart, selling some 453,000 copies of “Mezmerize,” its first album in three years.

That marks the fifth week in a row that a rock act debuted at the top: The Dave Matthews Band, Nine Inch Nails and Bruce Springsteen earlier this month, and Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty in the last week in April.

Along with the continued success of strong 2004 sellers like Green Day and U2, rock has had a stronger presence atop the charts this year, reversing a trend that saw hip-hop, R&B or pop acts dominate most of the top positions.

It also comes at a time when rock has been losing its audience on radio, as more stations drop the format in favor of urban music.

Billboard’s Geoff Mayfield, director of charts at the music trade magazine, says the success shows that rock music isn’t as endangered as some have made it out to be.

“It’s just a reminder that anytime you read the ‘rock is dead’ obituary, that was a premature story,” he said. “Each of those music genres gets to take turns – sometimes you’re hot, sometimes you’re not.”

It may also be a case of absence making the heart grow fonder. The performers who have debuted at the top of the charts of late have also not put out albums for at least two or three years, which may help account for the strong sales.

Veteran producer Rick Rubin, who produced System of a Down’s “Mezmerize” and the new release by Audioslave, “Out of Exile” (a strong contender to top next week’s sales chart), says there’s no new trend – just better music.

Rubin said low sales by rockers over the past year, especially among younger acts, “really has more to do with the quality of the music than anything else.”

“These are the real quality acts,” he said of the recent chart-toppers. “These are real artists who are trying to make great albums.”