MEGADETH’S ‘THIRTEEN” ESTIMATED FIRST WEEK SALES AND SCOTT WEILAND’S NEW CHRISTMAS ALBUM

rbtaleman November 2, 2011 1 Comment

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS/ex-VELVET REVOLVER singer Scott Weiland recently spoke to SPIN.com about his newly released Christmas album, “The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year”. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

SPIN.com: Do you think this album will surprise your fans? Or will this help change the public’s perception of Scott Weiland?

Weiland: My image now is only a smidgen is who I actually am. Just like Keith Richards or Perry Farrell or even Mick Jagger. Jagger was never a real druggie, but they were thought of as the bad boys. I had a period in my life in the ’90s where I was definitely young, dumb, and full of even more dumb.

SPIN.com: But people still see you as a badass. Don’t you think fans will be surprised that the frontman of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS is now singing gentle Christmas songs?

Weiland: I don’t think so. My solo albums are very avant-garde compared to VELVET REVOLVER or STP. It’s more influenced by bands I like such as GRANDDADDY and the FLAMING LIPS and SIGUR ROS and THE SMITHS. Also, STP played “A Charlie Brown Christmas” song at the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas show a few years back. The backing vocals have this really eerie, multiple layered jazz feel.

SPIN.com: Did anybody try to convince you that “The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” was a bad idea?

Weiland: Not at all. Nope. And I’ll tell you why: Back in 1990, before STP were even signed, [STP bassist/guitarist] Robert DeLeo and I were very broke. Like broke, broke, broke. We had no money to buy presents for our family. So we decided to record a version of “The Christmas Song”, but we didn’t have an orchestra. We had a keyboard with some good string samples and Robert put some toilet paper behind his bass strings to mute it so it sounded like a standup bass. He had a Gibson 175 and he just played the drums on it. I mixed it and we gave it to our parents and grandparents, and to this day they say that it’s the best Christmas present that they have ever received.

Read the entire interview from SPIN.com.

MEGADETH‘s new album, “TH1RT3EN”, is likely to sell between 40,000 and 45,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on November 1 via Roadrunner Records.MEGADETH‘s previous CD, 2009’s “Endgame”, opened with 45,000 units to debut at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart. This was slightly less than the 54,000 first-week tally registered by 2007’s “United Abominations”, which landed at No. 8. 2004’s “The System Has Failed” premiered with 46,000 copies (No. 18) while 2001’s “The World Needs A Hero” moved 61,000 units in its first week (No. 16).

“TH1RT3EN” was recorded at MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine‘s Vic’s Garage studio in San Marcos, California with producer Johnny K (full name: John Karkazis), who has previously worked with DISTURBED, SEVENDUST, MACHINE HEAD and STAIND, among others. The artwork was once again created by artist John Lorenzi, who worked on the last two MEGADETH studio albums, 2007’s “United Abominations” and 2009’s “Endgame”, as well as the band’s 2007 box set, “Warchest”.

“TH1RT3EN” marks the recorded return of bassist David Ellefson who was part of the band’s classic lineup from 1983 to 2002. In a move that delighted the band’s legion of diehards, Ellefson returned to performing live with MEGADETH in early 2010 and has remained a fixture on the stage ever since. This is the first time Ellefson has played on a MEGADETH record since 2002’s “Rude Awakening”.

MEGADETH filmed the “Public Enemy No. 1” video on September 17 in Santa Clarita, California. The clip was shot on a movie set where old Westerns are filmed.

CD track listing:

01. Sudden Death
02. Public Enemy No. 1
03. Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)
04. We The People
05. Guns, Drugs & Money
06. Never Dead
07. New World Order
08. Fast Lane
09. Black Swan
10. Wrecker
11. Millennium Of The Blind
12. Deadly Nightshade
13. 13

Limited-edition picture-disc vinyl track listing:

Side A:

01. Sudden Death
02. Public Enemy No. 1
03. Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)
04. We The People

Side B:

01. Guns, Drugs & Money
02. Never Dead
03. New World Order

Side C:

01. Fast Lane
02. Black Swan
03. Wrecker

Side D:

01. Millennium Of the Blind
02. Deadly Nightshade
03. 13

Published by rbtaleman

Heavy metal (fiend/friend?) Writer, frustrat(or), frustrat(ee), decorated U.S. Navy veteran, Husband(twice), father(three times), grandfather(of seven), FM radio veteran, Concertgoer, music collector, muscle car aficianado. Grown up since five. Child since 45. View all posts by rbtaleman