Heavy Metal Billboard Charts Update

While the Billboard Charts aren't always a friend of metal, a number of artists have landed in the top 200 list for album sales this week. Check it out in order from highest to lowest charting position!



Band: Megadeth
Album: Endgame
Albums Sold: 45,000
Charting Position: No. 9

My take on the album: While Endgame is the highest charting album, I definitely have given more attention to the new Shadows Fall and Ace Frehley albums.

That being said, Endgame is a kickass metal album, that blends influences from the '80s and '90s Deth sound. Only a few of the songs really land in your head ("44 Minutes" especially), but the guitar playing is spot on.



Band: Ace Frehley
Album: Anomaly
Albums Sold: 17,000
Charting Position: No. 27

My take on the album: "Anomaly" flat-out ROCKS!

Ace Frehley has really gotten his act together and his vocals are better than ever. The album makes you remember what true rock 'n' roll sounds like, having a classic sound that most rockers are unable to touch in the more recent years.

This should have made the Top 10 and is likely to be one of the best releases this year.



Band: Shadows Fall
Album: Retribution
Albums Sold: 13,000
Charting Position: No. 35

My take on the album: "Retribution" is the best album the band has put out since "The Art of Balance".

They finally nailed mixing the heavier growling stuff with the melodic clean vocals. Too bad it took them two uninteresting albums ("Fallout From the War" and "Threads of Life") to get there.

This band really deserves to be on top of the game in the current metal scene. The album is better than Lamb of God's "Wrath", however that album sold much better.

Lets hope word gets out about how good this album is!



Band: The Black Dahlia Murder
Album: Deflorate
Albums Sold: 12,000
Charting Position: No. 43

My take on the album: "Deflorate" is probably the best album of The Black Dahlia Murder's career.

A band like this can get stale quickly, but with the new album it's The Black Dahlia Murder's brutal energy put into each song that forces you to headbang.

Congrats to this band! The members tour heavily and deserve to be here.



Band: Kittie
Album: In The Black
Albums Sold: 3,400
Charting Position: No. 132

My take on the album: Say what you will about Kittie, but the all-female group has proven the test of time, despite what all of us guessed.

I haven't had time to listen to this album, but from what I've read, it is a vast improvement over previous work, even if it does take on a sort of "Lamb of God knock-off" sound.

Ace Frehley's Anomaly Streaming on VH1's The Leak

Click HERE to warp into "Outer Space". Look for my take on Anomaly September 15.

Ace is Back from "Outer Space"!

Check out the new song "Outer Space" available for streaming now!

It's awesome old school rock 'n' roll in 2009 with some modern production of course. I am now 100% sold on this album (as if I needed to be). Ace's vocals sound better than ever due to some studio touch up, which is fine by me.

"Anomaly" will be available everywhere on September 15.

Update: Now you can also listen to the song below.

In September We Go Broke

List of Albums Coming Out in September (if all goes to schedule):

September 1: Megadeth- "Endgame"
September 8: 3 Inches of Blood and Dethklok albums
September 15: Ace Frehley- "Anomaly", Shadows Fall- "Retribution" and Black Dahlia Murder- "Deflorate"
September 22: Vader- "Necropolis"
September 29: Alice In Chains- "Black Gives Way to Blue"

Also scheduled for release in September: New Kiss Album

Ace Frehley's Anomaly

Can a sober Space Ace release a good album in 2009?

Back in the 70’s Ace Frehley posters could be found on the walls of budding guitar players worldwide. Fast-forward to 2009 and much of today’s youth probably A) does not know much about Frehley or B) doesn’t care (it has been 20 years since his last full-length solo album!!!).

Well Ace, The Metal Show cares and is rooting for you to put out one of the best albums of your career. OK, so that might be a tough thing to do, but at least something that is not too cliché and cheesy in today’s world.

Frehley did say he was looking towards his first solo album outside of Kiss (1978’s Ace Frehley) for inspiration. If he can write a song that even comes close to Snow Blind I will be satisfied.

For those of you who don’t follow the lives of Kiss members as extensively as your host Randy, Frehley’s new album is titled Anomaly and is supposedly coming out this Spring. He designed a new promotional site and the album cover which you can check out below.

Both give off a little bit of a cheesy old-school rocker feel, but at the same time the album cover has grown on me and is a simple retro 90’s looking Web site really that terrible?

Here’s to Frehley releasing an album that is fun, energetic and rockin’ in 2009, even if he isn’t trashed out of his mind.