Robert Trujillo & Metallica Mates Make Band History on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart with “Too Far Gone?”

It’s a special first for Robert Trujillo and his band mates.

For the first time, Metallica has notched three No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart from a single album.

MetallicaToo Far Gone?” rises to the top of the November 4-dated ranking, marking the third leader on the list from 72 Seasons, Metallica’s 11th studio album, released in April. “Lux Æterna” led for 11 weeks beginning last December and the title track spent two weeks on top in July.

“Too Far Gone?” is Metallica’s 13th Mainstream Rock Airplay No. 1 overall, slotting the band into a three-way tie with Foo Fighters and Van Halen for the fourth-most rulers in the chart’s 42-year history. Shinedown leads all acts with 18 No. 1s.

Most No. 1s, Mainstream Rock Airplay
18, Shinedown
17, Three Days Grace
14, Five Finger Death Punch
13, Foo Fighters
13, Metallica
13, Van Halen
12, Disturbed
12, Godsmack
10, Tom Petty (solo and with the Heartbreakers)
10, Volbeat

Prior to 72 Seasons, Metallica had scored two Mainstream Rock Airplay No. 1s apiece from three albums: 1996’s Load (“Until It Sleeps” and “Hero of the Day”), 2008’s Death Magnetic (“The Day That Never Comes” and “Cyanide”) and 2016’s Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (“Hardwired” and “Atlas, Rise!”)

Concurrently, “Too Far Gone?” places at No. 7 on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay survey, after reaching at No. 6, with 3.1 million audience impressions October 20-26, according to Luminate.

On the most recently published multi-metric Hot Hard Rock Songs chart (October 28), “Too Far Gone?” ranked at No. 12. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 201,000 official U.S. streams October 13-19.

72 Seasons bowed at No. 1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart dated April 29 and has earned 324,000 equivalent album units to date.

Robert Trujillo & His Metallica Mates Tops Charts with Biggest Week for a Rock Album This Decade with “72 Seasons”

Robert Trujillo is celebrating a banner week…

The 58-year-old half-Mexican American bassist and his Metallica band mates’ latest album 72 Seasons has debuted atop multiple Billboard charts dated April 29, including the Top Rock & Alternative Albums survey.

MetallicaIn its first tracking week (April 14-20), Seasons 72 earned 146,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate. Of that sum, 134,000 units were via album sales.

It’s Metallica’s fifth No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, which began in 2006.

The rockers first ruled with Death Magnetic in 2008 and then with 2016’s Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (the band’s last proper LP prior to Seasons 72) and 2020’s S&M2 with the San Francisco Symphony, along with a first week at No. 1 in 2021 for 1991’s Metallica upon its 30th anniversary.

The new set’s 146,000-unit start marks the best single-week sum on Top Rock & Alternative Albums this decade. It’s the biggest since Tool’s Fear Inoculum soared in with 270,000 units on the Sept. 14, 2019, ranking.

Seasons 72 is also Metallica’s fifth No. 1 on both Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums.

The set bows at No. 1 on Top Album Sales with its 134,000-unit sales count, becoming Metallica’s eighth leader dating to 1991’s self-titled album. On Vinyl Albums, it’s likewise No. 1 thanks to 43,000 first-week vinyl copies sold, marking the group’s sixth champ, tying the band with The Beatles and Jack White for the second-most, after Taylor Swift with nine.

On the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard 200Seasons 72 debuts at No. 2, behind Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which earned 166,000 units. The band adds its 12th top 10 on the chart, a run that began with …And Justice for All in 1988.

Concurrently, multiple songs from Seasons 72  reach Billboard song charts, with the entire album’s track list infusing Hot Hard Rock Songs. It’s led by the title track and current radio single, which leaps 12-2 thanks to 2.7 million radio audience impressions, 2.4 million official U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads sold. “Shadows Follow” is next at No. 6 (1.8 million streams).

Twelve songs at once on Hot Hard Rock Songs is the most since the chart’s 2020 inception, surpassing Deftones‘ 10 songs on the Oct. 10, 2020, ranking.

“72 Seasons” jumps 8-6 on the latest Mainstream Rock Airplay survey. It’s Metallica’s 26th top 10, placing the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers in a tie with Van Halen for the sixth-most since the chart began in 1981. Preceding single “Lux Æterna” reigned for 11 weeks beginning in December, while fellow teaser song “Screaming Suicide” (not promoted to radio) spent one week on the tally at No. 40 in February.

Robert Trujillo & His Metallica Mates Debut at No. 1 on U.K. Albums Chart with “72 Seasons”

Robert Trujillo is celebrating a season of success across the pond…

The 58-year-old half-Mexican American musician/bassist and his Metallica mates have surged to No. 1 on the U.K. album chart with 72 Seasons, the fourth chart-topper for the heavy metal band.

MetallicaDebuting at the summit of the Official U.K. Albums Chart, 72 Seasons is the band’s first U.K. No. 1 in 15 years, and their ninth top 10.

Previously, James Hetfield and Co. led the weekly survey with 1991’s Metallica (aka The Black Album), 1996’s Load, and 2008’s Death Magnetic.

According to the Official Charts Company, 72 Seasons has outsold the rest of the top 5 combined, and it’s the market-leader on vinyl. 72 Seasons led at the midweek stage, and finished its first chart week at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Fans in the U.K. can feel the noise when Metallica’s M72 World Tour 2023/4 stops by Download Festival at Donington Park, with performances on June 8 and June 10.

Robert Trujillo & His Metallica Band Mates Earn Third No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums Chart as “S&M2” Debuts at No. 1

Robert Trujillo’s hit albums keep on coming…

The 55-year-old half-Mexican American bassist and his Metallica band mates have scored their third No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Rock Albums chart, as S&M2 debuts at the top of the ranking list dated September 12.

Metallica

Recorded live on September 6 and 8, 2019, with the San Francisco Symphony, the set arrives with 56,000 equivalent album units earned in the tracking week ending September 3, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Of that sum, 53,000 units are via album sales.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-enshrined band now boasts three Top Rock Albums No. 1s since the chart began in 2006. Death Magnetic ruled for five weeks in 2008 and Hardwired… to Self-Destruct reigned for six in 2016-17.

The new set also debuts atop the Hard Rock Albums chart, where it’s Metallica’s third leader and the San Francisco Symphony‘s first. On Classical Albums, the LP likewise launches at No. 1, as Metallica earns its first leader; the orchestra also leads for the first time, as it ups its count to 11 top 10s.

On the all-genre Billboard 200, S&M2 bows at No. 4, marking Metallica’s 11th top 10. S&M2‘s predecessor, S&M, debuted and peaked at No. 2 in November 1999.

Metallica now becomes the first group, and the third act overall, with at least one new Billboard 200 top 10 in each of the last five decades. The band banked one top 10 in the ’80s (…And Justice for All, No. 6 in 1988); five in the ’90s (its No. 1 self-titled set in 1991; Load, No. 1 in 1996; Reload, No. 1 in 1997; Garage Inc., No. 2 in 1998; and S&M, No. 2 in 1999); two in the ’00s (St. Anger, No. 1 in 2003; and Death Magnetic, No. 1 in 2008); two in the ’10s (Metallica: Through the Never, No. 9 in 2013; and Hardwired… To Self-Destruct, No. 1 in 2016); and now one in the ’20s, with S&M2.

S&M2 debuted at No. 1 on Australia’s ARIA Albums Chart, Metallica’s seventh No. 1 album Down Under.

Robert Trujillo & His Metallica Band Mates Notch 7th No. 1 Album on Australia’s ARIA Albums Chart with “S&M2”

Robert Trujillo’s celebrating a smash Down Under

The 55-year-old half-Mexican American bassist and his Metallica band mates have come out swinging on Australia’s albums chart as S&M2 debuts at No. 1.

Metallica

More than 20 years after Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony led the ARIA Albums Chart with the first installment, S&M, the unlikely partnership yields another leader.

The live compilation, recorded last September at San Francisco’s Chase Center, gives Metallica their seventh No. 1 album in Australia following Metallica (August 1991), Load (June 1996), S&M (November 1999), St. Anger (June 2003), Death Magnetic (September 2008), Hardwired…To Self-Destruct (2016).

Robert Trujillo & Metallica’s “Halo on Fire” Charts on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs Chart

Robert Trujillo is still on fire

The 54-year-old Mexican American musician, songwriter and bassist and his Metallica band mates have charted their sixth song from their album Hardwired… to Self-Destruct on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart.

Robert Trujillo

On the December 15-dated ranking, “Halo on Fire” debuts at No. 29.

The first five songs from the album all reached the top five, with two topping the tally. In order of their chart runs: “Hardwired” (No. 1, one week, October 2016), “Moth Into Flame” (No. 5, November 2016),“Atlas, Rise!” (No. 1, two weeks, February 2017), “Now That We’re Dead” (No. 2, July 2017) and “Spit Out the Bone” (No. 4, March 2018).

“Halo on Fire” extends the lifetime of Hardwired on Mainstream Rock Songsto over two years and three months, as lead single “Hardwired” debuted on Sept. 3, 2016.

Hardwired is the first set to produce at least six Mainstream Rock Songs entries in over a decade, since Nickelback‘s All the Right Reasons also yielded six, stretching from the seven-week No. 1 “Photograph” (beginning in October 2005) to “If Everyone Cared” (No. 37 peak, March 2007).

Metallica is no stranger to maximizing album airplay. Hardwired‘s predecessor, 2008’s Death Magnetic, generated five entries on Mainstream Rock Songs, including a pair of No. 1s in “The Day That Never Comes” (for nine weeks) and “Cyanide” (two).

Hardwired debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 dated December 10, 2016, with 291,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week, according to Nielsen Music.

Trujillo & His Metallica Bandmates Notch Ninth No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs Chart

Robert Trujillo is feeling the Rise

The 52-year-old Mexican American musician and his Metallica bandmates have notched their ninth No. 1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart, as “Atlas, Rise!,” the third single from Hardwired… To Self-Destruct, rises 2-1 on the list dated February 18.

Robert Trujillo

The song is Metallica’s second No. 1 from the album, following “Hardwired” (October 8, 2016). The band also scored two chart-toppers apiece from two prior LPs: The group’s last studio set, 2008’s Death Magnetic (“The Day That Never Comes,” “Cyanide“), and 1996’s Load (“Until It Sleeps,” “Hero of the Day“).

With its ninth overall Mainstream Rock Songs No. 1, Metallica is in a tie for fifth place among all acts for the most leaders since the chart launched in 1981. The new No. 1 ties the quartet with Aerosmith, while Van Halen leads with 13 toppers.

Most No. 1s on Mainstream Rock Songs

13, Van Halen (between 1982 and 1998)
12, Three Days Grace (2004-15)
10, Tom Petty/The Heartbreakers (1981-94)
10, Shinedown (2005-16)
9, Aerosmith (1989-2001)
9, Metallica (1996-2017)
8, Linkin Park (2003-14)
8, Nickelback (2001-14)

Notably, Metallica’s span of No. 1s extends to a chart-record 20 years, eight months and 12 days, narrowly passing the span of Red Hot Chili Peppers (three days shy of 20 years, eight months, between 1995 and 2016).

All three singles from Hardwired have made the Mainstream Rock Songs chart. In between leaders “Hardwired” and “Atlas,” “Moth Into Flame” reached No. 5 in November; between Nov. 19 and Jan. 14, all three songs charted simultaneously. The set opened as Metallica’s sixth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (Dec. 10).

“Atlas” concurrently reaches a new peak (14-12) on the genre-encompassing Rock Airplay chart (5.2 million audience impressions, up 7 percent, according to Nielsen Music). The rank is Metallica’s best on the survey, which began in 2009; “Hardwired” previously led with a No. 13 peak.

Trujillo’s Metallica Releases Garage Demo of “Lords of Summer”

Robert Trujillo is one of the lords of summer…

Following footage of a new song surfacing earlier this week from a performance in Colombia, the 49-year-old Mexican American musician and his Metallica bandmates have released a garage demo of the track, “Lords of Summer,” on the band’s YouTube page, according to Rolling Stone.

 

Metallica last released new material in 2008, when Death Magnetic, the band’s ninth album, was released, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

The new eight-minute song, an epic in the vein of DeatRobert Trujilloh Magnetic — all its songs clocked at above five minutes — features a mid-tempo lurch of guitars and drums before launching into a riff reminiscent of its earlier thrash metal days, as well as of Death Magnetic opener “That Was Just Your Life.”

“Go trade your darkness for the sun / Soon the lords of summer shall return,” frontman James Hetfield sings before guitarist Kirk Hammett contributes a characteristically shredding solo.

Hammett told Billboard last January that the band was about to convene to record a new album, which would be its 10th since its debut in the early ’80s.

That album doesn’t currently have any sort of timeframe for its release, nor is “Lords of Summer” ensured a spot on that album; drummer Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone in a recent interview that the song could very well not make the final cut.

Death Magnetic sold 490,000 copies upon its initial release in 2008. Since, the band recorded a record with Lou Reed, titled “Lulu,” in 2011 and dropped a live concert film, Through the Never, last year.