Anthrax Speeds to First Hard Rock Albums No. 1
'For All Kings' also marks the band's best sales week, and first Billboard 200 top 10, since 1993.
Anthrax earns its first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hard Rock Albums chart (dated March 19) and highest rank, No. 2, on Top Rock Albums, as For All Kings debuts with 34,000 sold, according to Nielsen Music.
The sum marks the metal act’s best sales week since 1993, when Sound of White Noise launched with 62,000.
Previously, the band peaked as high as No. 4 on Hard Rock Albums, with 2011’s Worship Music and 2013’s EP Anthems, and No. 5 on Top Rock Albums (Worship Music). (While Anthrax formed back in 1981, in New York, Billboard‘s rock-specific album charts didn’t launch until the mid-2000s.)
For All Kings also arrives at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, becoming the group’s second top 10; Sound of White Noise hit No. 7.
The new record has also made inroads at rock radio, with lead single “Breathing Lightning” rising to No. 37 in its second week on Mainstream Rock Songs, led by top support on SiirusXM’s Octane channel (32 plays in the tracking week). When it debuted a week ago, the track marked Anthrax’s first visit to the chart since 2012, when “I’m Alive” which reached No. 29. The band has risen as high as No. 26 on the tally with “Only” in 1993.
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