A Heavy Metal Band Just Broke a 4-Year Billboard Drought for Rock Music

Hard rock and heavy metal band Ghost just ended a four-year drought on the Billboard 200 chart for rock music. The band’s latest record Skeletá has officially hit no. 1 on the chart, outperforming releases from SZA, Kendrick Lamar, Morgan Wallen, and others that were dominating the chart for weeks.

Sales for the album have been very impressive, too. In the first week of the album’s release, Skeletá moved the equivalent of nearly 86,000 units. The majority of those numbers were driven by traditional record sales, including a whopping 44,000 vinyl records sold. Those sales mark the biggest vinyl sales week for a hard rock record since 1991. It’s also the third-largest week of sales for vinyl in the last few decades for any rock album. The only two records ahead of Skeletá in that regard are The Record by boygenius (2023) and One More Time… by Blink-182 (2023).

Skeletá is the first hard rock album to reach no. 1 on the Billboard 200 since Power Up by AC/DC hit shelves back in 2020. It’s also the first general rock album to top the coveted chart since Moon Music by Coldplay topped it in 2024.

Ghost’s ‘Skeletá’ Could Mark a New Era for Rock Music on the Billboard Charts

Ghost’s achievement on the Billboard charts is a big deal. It has virtually ended the years-long drought we’ve been experiencing in the rock music world. A resurgence in hard rock or possibly a revival movement could be in the works.

Skeletá was released in April and is the sixth studio album from the Swedish rock outfit. The album started making waves ahead of its release with hard-hitting singles like “Lachryma” and “Satanized”.

The new album follows Ghosts’ 2002 record Impera. As with their previous records, the band members include a lead figurehead (Tobias Forge, the only member whose identity is verified) and “A Group Of Nameless Ghouls” on Skeletá. However, Forge’s figurehead character is a new one named Papa V Perpetua.

Ghost kicked off their tour in promotion of the album back on April 15 in Manchester, England. The tour will close in Mexico City on September 24. The tour has not been without controversy, either. The band has decided not to allow phones at the venues for their tour, which famously caused a heavily backed-up crowd at their Birmingham, England show several weeks ago.

Photo by Marc Pfitzenreuter/Redferns

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