Recently, the list of the Top 10 Best Selling Metal Albums In 2017 was compiled and published, and to nobody's surprise, Metallica took up literally half the spots. Coming in at #1 on the list was Metallica's 2016 album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct, which sold 487,000 units this year at the time the list was created.
Now Billboard reports that between its November 18, 2016 release date and now, Hardwired… To Self-Destruct has officially sold 1 million copies. Well, just over 1,004,000 if you want to get technical.
With another 4,000 copies sold in the latest tracking week, Hardwired… To Self-Destruct surpasses 1 million in total U.S. sales, as its to-date sum rises to a little more than 1,004,000. The former No. 1 set is the band's 12th album to sell at least a million copies since Nielsen Music began tracking sales in 1991. Some of Hardwired's sales were driven by a well-received concert ticket/album bundle sale redemption promotion with the band’s stadium tour.
Billboard also notes that since the inception of Nielsen Soundscan on March 1, 1991, Metallica has sold over 58 million albums. Of that, 16.6 million sales have been its 1991 album Metallica/The Black Album, which even boggles Lars Ulrich's mind.
Of course, Metallica celebrated this monumental achievement a few weeks ago by getting handed some fancy plaques from their label bosses, Metallica.