METALLICA - METALLICA'S DEATH MAGNETIC ROCKS US ALBUM CHARTS

METALLICA'S DEATH MAGNETIC ROCKS US ALBUM CHARTS

Death Magnetic, the new album from Metallica, has topped the Billboard Hot 200 album charts after less than a week on release.

The metal legends' ninth album has sold a massive 490,000 copies since going on sale on Friday, according to industry monitors Nielsen SoundScan.

While the full Billboard chart is not confirmed until later this week, Death Magnetic will have knocked last week's number one, The Recession by Young Jeezy, from the top spot having shipped almost half a million copies.

Its first week sales are the biggest in the US since the Jonas Brothers topped the charts with A Little Bit Longer, with the boyband trio shifting some 525,000 copies of their new album in seven days.

Death Magnetic's sales have outstripped the 418,000 copies sold by Metallica's last studio album St Anger in 2003.

And the acclaimed new effort - the release of which the band celebrated with a fan club-only launch party at London's O2 Arena this week - has achieved the biggest first week sales for a Metallica album since 1996's Load, which sold 680,000 copies in week one.

Also number one in the UK album chart, the foursome can be seen alongside Kings of Leon - who have the number one single with Sex on Fire - and French first lady Carla Bruni on Later… with Jools Holland this Friday.