I don’t normally pay attention to the album charts. Since the advent of the internet, they’ve been nothing more than a factoid representation of what records are being bought by our parents. Apart from the obvious landslide sellers by people so famous they can't not sell albums – Yeezus, Random Access Memories, The 20/20 Experience - the top spot in the album chart over 2013 has been held primarily by a Pride Of Britain Awards montage conglomerate including Emeli Sande, Bastille, Bublé, and Mumford. Which is why when US heavy metal Avenged Sevenfold's latest effort Hail To The King was announced as the most purchased album in the UK, ahead of new releases from Naughty Boy (95 million plays on his last video alone), Bob Dylan (more than 100 million album sales worldwide) and a Stereophonics Greatest Hits (the sort of cunting shittery that always goes to number one), I was like, shit, I could probably get a blog post out of this.I headed to YouTube, where almost every album is now uploaded in full, to see why they had become the nation’s favourite. Maybe the Sevenfold had left their metal roots behind to do an album of country style covers of Robbie WIlliams classics. Maybe one of them had appeared on a celebrity edition of The Great British Bake Off and won the hearts of middle England. Or maybe, just maybe, Hail To The King, which is the band’s sixth studio album, but first UK number one, really was going to be groundbreaking.On the YouTube album upload I was greeted with a top comment that raised my hopes: “listen to "Waking The Fallen". THAT is drumming. If you can get off to this drumming then you will have to change your underwear at least 5 times every song.” Thanks YouTube user Kevan Norris, I’ve got a dry pair of briefs on standby.With this steedy introduction implanted in my brain, I started to listen. Ever since half of the millennial generation hung up their Converse and left their MySpace to decay in a HTML graveyard, the world has been waiting for a rock record that will soundtrack the lives of the next generation.Alas, Hail To The King isn’t that record. It won’t provide assonance to your first kiss, first fuck in the back of a Peugeot 206 in a back-lane car park, or any other landmark cherry-picking vocational activity that iconic records so often provide the perfect partnership with. But, not all surprising number one records have to be Kid A, or the Marshall Mathers LP. So, then, is Hail To The King even half decent?To the untrained ear, it sounds like the reason that Dungeons and Dragons still exist. It’s certainly not accessible enough for the daytime radio sergeants to be parting with their spare change so easily. So, with no immediate radio singles, either a member of the band has bought several thousand copies himself, or, somewhere out there, Avenged Sevenfold have a bucket load of fans.I’m opting for the latter.The achievement of Hail To The King reaching number one is an interesting statement on the state of music. Tyler, The Creator, with his 2 million Twitter followers, reached number 17 with Wolf. Mac Miller, who has a dedicated 4 million followers, only reached number 56 with his creatively astute effort Watching Movies With The Sound Off. Yet, Avenged Sevenfold have less than a million followers, and have achieved a number one album. No one can deny that both Tyler and Mac have a fierce fan following, with the former probably possessing a multitude of fanboys willing to tattoo 666 over their eyelids for a chance to meet with the “Yonkers” star. But, as with almost every hip-hop release over the past year, fans are unwilling to part with their money. Even good kid, m.A.A.d city didn’t break the top 15.Instead, it provides foundation to the notion that metal fans are vehemently intertwined with their favourite bands. You don’t see fans walking around in hoodies emblazoned with the Mumford & Sons or Disclosure logo. But, in the past, and probably still now, somewhere in the depths of Camden, people are comfortably decking themselves out in KoRn pullovers. It’s not a secret that metal fans are some of the most dedicated.Their fans still buy records. Still buy tickets to shows. And apparently, there’s a lot of them. Its foundation to the premise that, no matter how many hashtags are spewed out, or instagram photos filtered, internet hype still doesn’t translate into any kind of sale fodder.But, still, that doesn’t give reason as to why Avenged Sevenfold have managed to top the charts. They’ve never done it before. And, although I’m proud of them, I’m pretty sure that their fan base hasn’t increased on a healthy curve since their birth, simply because they keep getting better and better as a band. There are only so many copies of Kerrang! and so many drainpiped teens in Milton Keynes to read them. With no radio play, or mainstream exposure, it’s a confusing puzzle as to why Avenged Sevenfold have gained popularity.Instead, it’s as if there’s another game at play. With Ian Watkins presumably being placed behind bars for eternity, and his music potentially tarnished by the charges that he’s facing, have the fans of Lostprophets disowned the band? It’s a stretch, but it’s as if the old Prophets fans have moved into the Sevenfold camp, in the absence, and shame, of their once Wella Shockwaves hero. Unlike rap, or pop, or any other type of music, big metal bands are rare, with newer ones even more lucrative than a Mewtwo Pokemon card. With metal fans seemingly stubborn to like other types of music, perhaps they’ve been left to latch on to another band to change their life.Either way, I’d much prefer Avenged Sevenfold on the top of the chart than merchants of mediocrity Tom Odell or WKD friendly Calvin Harris.Follow Ryan on Twitter @RyanBassilFor more stuff like that:Unlocking the Truth is the Most Brutal Sixth Grade Metal Band EverWe Spoke To Heavy Metal's New Hope, Shitfucker…About NutsacksChuck Eddy, Trolling, and the Best Heavy Metal Albums of All Time.
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