Avenged Sevenfold’s “Hail to the King,” its first studio album in three years and first with new permanent drummer Arin Ilejay, is pacing for a number one debut on the Billboard 200.
According to the publication, the hard rock/metal act is pacing to move 175,000 opening week copies of the new album. If the projection holds, it would mark the band’s best sales week to date, topping the 163,000 debut figure for 2010’s “Nightmare.”
That album, too, debuted atop the Billboard 200.
In addition to giving A7X a career high mark and a number one debut, the expected total would mark the top debut frame for a rock band since Mumford & Sons moved 600,000 copies of “Babel” last year.
Other debuts projected to make a splash on next week’s chart: Big Sean’s “Hall of Fame” (estimated total – 75,000 | predecessor “Finally Famous” moved 87,000) and Juicy J’s “Stay Trippy” (estimated total – 65,000 | predecessor “Hustle Till I Die moved 5,800).