Skip to main content

Sum 41 and Sabaton go to war! - Weekly Rock Chart Round-Up (26/07/19)

After taking a break for a few weeks, the Weekly Rock Chart Round-Up has finally returned with a bunch of big new releases to talk about! Let's take a look at how rock's biggest names are fairing across the UK charts...

On the albums front, two big names releasing albums in the same week made for a unpredictable race for the top spot of the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart. Pop punk veterans Sum 41 dropped perhaps their heaviest, most overtly metal-influenced album to date with 'Order in Decline', which was preceded by several fairly popular singles yet failed to take the top spot. Forcing Sum 41 to settle for the number 2 position was the pleasure of Swedish power metal outfit Sabaton, whose latest war-obsessed record also managed to debut at an impressive 11 on the main UK Albums Chart. Meanwhile, Sum 41 only just managed to crack the top 30, coming in at 29, significantly lower than 2016's '13 Voices' LP.

I usually focus entirely on albums for the rock chart recap, since the UK Rock Singles Chart is typically dominated by the same bunch of classic tracks. However, this week we have an attention-worthy new entry in the form of the latest Slipknot single 'Solway Firth', which has come in at 17. This may be much lower than the Iowa metal icon's last single, 'Unsainted', which debuted at number 2 and almost ended Bohemian Rhapsody's reign of terror atop the chart, but its still nice to see a new entry for a change.

A trend that I've noticed a few bands jumping on recently is making their previous single the B-side to a new track as a shrewd way to increase streams. Slipknot have done just that by including 'Unsainted' as the B-side to 'Solway Firth' and its worked out pretty well for them already. In its tenth week on the chart, 'Unsainted' has jumped up ten places from 29 to 19, firmly positioning itself as one of the hottest rock tracks of the year. Of course, releasing another single from such an anticipated album is always going to drive people back to the previous track, but the increased streams for 'Unsainted' has undoubtedly been aided significantly by this B-side decision. Expect to see this trend become increasingly common in the near future, as streaming culture continues to alter the way music is released and marketed.

For next week, we can expect the new Thy Art is Murder album to pop up on the Rock & Metal Albums Chart, but I wouldn't bet on the deathcore quintet bothering the main UK chart. It will also be interesting to see whether this new Slipknot track is able to climb the chart, considering that it being bizarrely released on a Monday meant it didn't have a full week to rack up streams before the charts were updated on the Friday. 

Until then, check out my review of the new PVRIS track here and thanks for reading!

- Danny

Follow me on Twitter @realdannymoore

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Kerrang! Awards 2019 Preview - My Picks

Music award shows can often seem like superficial affairs, with industry big wigs congregating to pat each other on the back for winning awards chosen by an elite group of voters. However, the Kerrang! Awards flies in the face of this tradition, with its nominees and winners being determined by fan votes. These awards may not be as globally revered or capture as much mainstream attention as the Grammys or even the Brit Awards, but their status remains high in the rock community, with the fan voting adding an extra air of legitimacy and excitement. The 2019 Kerrang! Awards ceremony is just over a week away, so in anticipation of the biggest awards show in rock , I thought I would share my picks of the nominees. Architects have the most nominations this year (Photo credit: Ryan Johnson) The most interesting category for me this year is Best British Breakthrough , which is genuinely hard to predict. IDLES seem a safe bet, given that they have amassed a very impressive foll

Rammstein knocked off the UK top spot! - Weekly Rock Chart Round-Up (14/06/19)

It may be a little late this week, but I'm back with another edition of the Sound Mouth Weekly Rock Chart Round-Up (or SMWRCR, as all the cool kids are calling it)! For rock fans this week its mainly albums worth talking about, so let's get stuck in... Rammstein 's three week run atop the rock albums top 40 has come to an end, with their latest offering slipping to number 2 in the wake of Pink Floyd 's The Division Bell nabbing the top spot thanks to a 25th anniversary vinyl re-issue. Over on the main UK Top 100 albums chart, Pink Floyd are in at 23 while Rammstein are still holding their own, sitting at 66 in their fourth week on the chart. Gothic metal outfit Motionless in White have also returned to the rock chart, with their new album Disguise coming in at 5 whilst entering the main albums chart at a fairly underwhelming 98. A chart story that may go under the radar this week considers Arctic Monkeys ' modern classic AM , which has now spent an

Yonaka score UK chart debut! - Weekly Rock Chart Round-Up (07/06/19)

Welcome back to the SoundMouth weekly rock chart round-up, where I take a look at how rock's biggest names and brightest prospects are faring across the UK music charts. The big story this week is Yonaka 's debut album Don't Wait 'till Tomorrow, which has broken into the UK Albums Chart at number 38. Considering that this is their debut LP, this is not a bad result, although I did expect it to place slightly higher considering how much their fanbase has been growing recently. Still, the band have several gigs and festivals coming up this summer, including Truck and 2000 Trees , so the Yonaka gospel should continue to spread far and wide and see the album do even better. The real point of contention for me is the Official Charts Company's bizarre decision to not count Don't Wait 'till Tomorrow in the rock album chart. Presumably this is down to the band's embracing of pop and indie sounds in their music. If OCC were a little more open-minded w