LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 01: Singer Ivan Moody of Five Finger Death Punch performs as the band kicks off its fall 2019 tour at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on November 1, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
During Five Finger Death Punch’s October 14 show in Denver, CO, frontman Ivan Moody made an announcement that shocked the audience. He told the crowd that he plans to do one more Five Finger Death Punch record and then he’s going to retire from heavy metal. He didn’t mention if he was going to create music in another genre, but the main gist of his speech was that he is retiring to spend more time with his kids. His kids were on stage with him as he made the announcement.
“I wanted to tell you this. And nobody else in the world knows, Denver, so this is where it’s going to start. And what you do with it is up to you,” he told the audience. “The last fifteen years of my, life I have toured the world. I have seen every country, every city on this planet at least twice. That’s a fact. And through that time, as many of you parents know, I have missed a lot of time with my kiddos. So I made them a deal today, and I’m going to stick to it. After this year, I am going to make one more Five Finger Death Punch album and then I am retiring from heavy metal.”
He continued, “But I wanted to start that here and tell all of you, from day one when I decided to be a singer playing places like … the Bluebird Theater, the Ogden, and we were supposed to play Red Rocks, we’ll have to do that one more time. Can I play Red Rocks one more time? I owe you everything, Colorado, Five Finger Death Punch and every knucklehead on this planet, thank you.”
'Metallica' & The 9 Other Best-Selling Albums During the SoundScan Era
Metallica released their self-titled fifth studio album on August 12, 1991. Affectionately known as “The Black Album,” the LP became a game-changer for the band. It also had a massive impact on the music industry at large thanks to the game-changing technology then known as SoundScan, which premiered on March 1, 1991.
Per a feature piece from Billboard, “SoundScan, which is now known as MRC Data, measured album sales as they happened — stores scanned bar codes at the checkout register — and over the next few months [after its launch] it upended the conventional music business wisdom about what sold, as well as when and how. It revealed the popularity of several genres — alternative rock, country, hip-hop, harder metal — that had been seen as commercially marginal compared to bread-and-butter pop-rock bands.”
Basically, SoundScan provided real-time data of what was actually selling at record stores and other retailers, and it has provided proof of Metallica’s popularity.
Of course, not everyone is a fan of “The Black Album.” Metallica appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!in September 2021 and read 1-star Amazon reviews of the LP. Fortunately, they were good sports about the whole thing. Then again, when you make Metallica money, it takes more than a bizarre review to truly ruin your day.
So, which was the best 1-star review of “The Black Album”? One review that stood out read, “I bought this when it came out. I was horrified when I listened to it. I threw it off a bridge and watched a truck smash it.”
That being said, just how popular are the metal icons? “The Black Album” is the biggest-selling record in the United States since the launch of SoundScan.
Metallica, however, has some very unique company on the list of the biggest-selling albums of the SoundScan era. Scroll through the gallery below to see which titles join them in the top ten.
10. Creed – ‘Human Clay’
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Creed's 'Human Clay' has sold 11,690,000 copies. It was the band's second studio album and was released on September 28, 1999. The album features the hits "Higher" and "With Arms Wide Open." It topped the 'Billboard' 200 album chart for two weeks.
9. Santana – ‘Supernatural’
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11,850,000 copies sold.
8. Adele – ’21’
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12,100,000 copies sold.
7. Whitney Houston – ‘The Bodyguard’ Soundtrack
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12,140,000 copies sold.
6. Backstreet Boys – ‘Millennium’
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12,300,000 copies sold.
5. Bob Marley and the Wailers – ‘Legend’
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12,300,000 copies sold.
4. The Beatles – ‘1’
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13,000,000 copies sold.
3. Alanis Morissette ‘Jagged Little Pill’
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'Jagged Little Pill' sold 15,200,000 copies. The third studio album by Alanis Morissette, it rocketed the Canadian singer-songwriter to superstardom. 'Jagged Little Pill' features a number of hit singles, including "You Oughta Know," "Ironic" and "Hand in My Pocket." 'Jagged Little Pill' won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.
2. Shania Twain – ‘Come on Over’
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15,730,000 copies sold.
1. Metallica – ‘Metallica’
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'Metallica' has sold 17,300,000 copies. Also known as "The Black Album," the LP features some of Metallica's biggest hits, including "Enter Sandman," "Nothing Else Matters," "The Unforgiven," "Sad But True" and "Wherever I May Roam." The album was Metallica's first to top the 'Billboard' 200 album chart. While it was massively successful, 'Metallica' only won one Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
Brian has been working in pop culture and media for about three decades: he’s worked at MTV, VH1, SiriusXM, CBS and Loudwire. Besides working as a writer and an editor-in-chief, he’s also appeared on air as a pundit, guested on radio shows and hosted podcasts. Over the years, he’s interviewed the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, the members of U2, Beyonce, Pink, Usher, Stevie Nicks, Lorde… and is grateful to have had the chance to interview Joe Strummer of the Clash and Tom Petty.
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