U.K. CHARTS: SLIPKNOT DETHRONES SHEERAN

Metal giants Slipknot have ended Ed Sheeran’s reign atop the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart. It’s the first time in four years a metal album has been #1.

Slipknot’s sixth album, We Are Not Your Kind (Roadrunner), registered 22,500 physical sales, 5,000 downloads and 4,300 streaming equivalent album sales for a total of 31,800. They previously hit #1 in 2001 with Iowa.

The last metal album to sit atop the chart was Iron Maiden’s The Book of Souls in September 2015.

Sheeran’s No.6 Collaborations Project (Atlantic) dropped to #2. Feeder’s Tallulah (Believe) debuts at #4, becoming their their ninth Top 10 album; Bon Iver’s I,I (Jagjaguwar) opens at #11. Rick Ross’ Port Of Miami 2 (Epic) docks at #18; it’s his fourth U.K. Top 40 album.

Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello’s “Senorita” (EMI/Syco) extends its reign at #1 on the Official Singles Chart to a fifth total week, besting Sheeran & Khalid’s “Beautiful People” (Atlantic/Columbia) by 6,200 combined sales.

Three singles reach the Top 5 for the first time: “3 Nights” by Columbia’s Dominic Fike at #3, Manchester rapper Aitch’s “Taste (Make It Shake)” (Since 93) and Kygo & Whitney Houston’s “Higher Love” (Columbia/Kygo), which had the week’s biggest number of download sales.

Sam Smith earned his 11th Top 10 single with “How Do You Sleep?” (Capitol) climbing five slots to #7.