Two Metallica albums, Ride the Lightning and the band’s self-titled studio effort, return to the same chart together, and the former celebrates 100 weeks as a bestseller. SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 01: Lead singer and guitarist James Hetfield of Metallica performs onstage at Lumen Field on September 01, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images)
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It’s extremely rare to look at the two charts in the United Kingdom that focus on rock music – the Official Rock & Metal Albums and Official Rock & Metal Singles tallies – and not see the name Metallica. Perhaps the most successful act in hard rock history, the band regularly appears, sometimes with just one song, while at other times with multiple collections, and perhaps several fan favorite tunes.
This frame, a sole track by the Grammy-winning outfit holds as a bestseller, but the band has proved far more successful when it comes to the list of the top-selling full-lengths and EPs classified by the Official Charts Company as hard rock, metal or simply rock. The rockers significantly increase their performance from only a few days ago as a pair of bestsellers return together.
Metallica Returns With Two Fan-Favorite Albums
Two blockbusters by Metallica find their way back to the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart this week, and coincidentally, they sit side-by-side. Ride the Lightning reenters the roster at No. 36, and at the same time, the troupe’s self-titled studio effort is back at No. 37. Both of those projects come in beneath Master of Puppets, which this frame slips one peg, sliding from No. 24 to No. 25.
Metallica’s Ride the Lightning Celebrates 100 Weeks
All three of the Metallica albums that settle onto the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart this week rank as the group’s longest-running successes, and the only three that have racked up triple-digit stays somewhere on the list. Ride the Lightning reaches that milestone as it returns, earning its one hundredth turn on the roster. Master of Puppets is now up to 182 stints somewhere on the tally, and the self-titled Metallica beats them all by an enormous margin. Recently, Metallica became a rare 1,000-week charter, and it’s now up to 1,007 frames as a rock bestseller.
Several other collections by Metallica have come close to joining the 100-week club, such as …And Justice for All and Load, which are up to 92 and 81 weeks on the list, respectively, but so far they have yet to reach that special figure.
Metallica Trails Only Pink Floyd
Metallica claims the second-most appearances on the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart this week. Only Pink Floyd beats the hard rockers with an incredible five current wins out of only 40 spaces. That legendary act keeps The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, The Wall, Animals and Live From the Los Angeles Sports Arena on the tally.
The British pop group Pink Floyd, (l to r) Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Syd Barrett and Richard Wright. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
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Five groups land one bestseller behind Metallica and jointly claim the third-most bestsellers. Green Day, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Nirvana and Paramore see two titles take up space on the rock-focused ranking.
Metallica Has Scores 12 No. 1s – and Several No. 2s
Metallica has racked up an even dozen champions on the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart since first appearing on the list more than 30 years ago. That roundup includes both Master of Puppets and Metallica. Ride the Lightning is one of several projects that stopped one space short of ruling. It is matched with both The Unnamed Feeling EP and Lulu, a collaboration with Lou Reed, as sets that topped out at No. 2.