Rob Zombie has just achieved his first-ever No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart with his new album The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy. According to MRC data, the record sold 26,000 copies in the United States during its first week.
Along with this feat, Zombie has also cracked the coveted top 10 on the Billboard 200. The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy has officially entered the chart at No. 9.
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On the Top Album Sales chart, Zombie has beat out the likes of Nick Jonas, Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift for the top spot. Both Jonas’ new solo album Spaceman and Gomez’ Revelacion EP debuted on the chart in the second and third spots, respectively.
Meanwhile, following Swift’s historic Album Of The Year win at the Grammys, folklore has jumped up to the fourth spot. To date, the album has spent a staggering 34 weeks on the Top Album Sales chart. Rounding out the top five on the chart is Lake Street Dive’s new album Obviously.
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The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy’s arrival at No. 1 follows other major chart placements for Zombie over the years. In fact, all seven of his solo studio albums have reached the top 10 on the Top Album Sales chart. Back in 1998, Hellbilly Deluxe peaked at No. 5 while The Sinister Urge reached No. 8 in 2001.
As well, Educated Horses hit No. 5 in 2006 and Hellbilly Deluxe 2 reached No. 8 in 2010. More recently, Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor peaked at No. 7 in 2013 while The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser landed at No. 5 in 2016.
According to Billboard, 20,000 of The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy units sold were physical albums. Approximately 13,200 CDs, 6,500 vinyl/LPs and 300 cassettes were purchased following the album’s release on March 12. The remaining 6,000 units sold were all digital albums.
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Zombie is also sharing this Top Album Sales chart milestone with his label Nuclear Blast. The No. 1 debut of The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy marks the first-ever for the label. According to Billboard, Nuclear Blast previously reached No. 2 with Slayer’s Repentless on the chart back in October 2015.
As for the Billboard 200 chart, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy has debuted in the ninth spot while Giveon’s new LP When It’s All Said And Done…Take Time has entered the chart at No. 5. These chart ratings mean that Zombie and Giveon are the only artists who had new albums debut in the chart’s top 10 this week.
Swift’s folklore, Dua Lipa’s Grammy-winning LP Future Nostalgia, the Weeknd’s After Hours and late rapper Pop Smoke’s Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon are among the other albums featured on the Billboard 200 this week. Meanwhile, country artist Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album has earned the coveted No. 1 spot on the chart for the 10th week.
Along with these two charts, Zombie’s new album also debuted at No. 1 on both the Independent Albums and Tastemaker Albums charts. According to Billboard, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy sold 6,300 copies at independent and small chain record stores in the United States.
The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy is available to stream below.
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This new album has actually been years in the making. All of the way back in 2017, Zombie confirmed on Instagram that he had started working on what would eventually become The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy.
“Day one of working on the new album,” Zombie said on Instagram. “Godzilla is already bored.”
Then, in 2018, Zombie’s longtime friend and guitarist John 5 praised the upcoming album and said it will be a career-defining release for Zombie.
“This is the best Zombie record that he’s ever done—by far, no comparison,” John 5 told Mitch Lafon on Rock Talks. “It’s definitely his Sgt. Pepper—for sure.”
Finally, in October, Zombie offered the first taste of the album with “The Triumph Of King Freak (A Crypt Of Preservation And Superstition)” which marked his first new single to be released in almost five years. The explosive track’s video features live performances and rare footage of the band performing together.
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The “The Triumph Of King Freak (A Crypt Of Preservation And Superstition)” video is available to stream below.
In January, Zombie returned with a trippy video for “The Eternal Struggles Of The Howling Man.” The psychedelic visual is filled with special effects and footage some fans may recognize from Zombie’s past live performances. As well, the video offers a quick peek into Zombie’s career over the years with clips of him in the studio and rocking out onstage.
Zombie’s wild video for “The Eternal Struggles Of The Howling Man” video can be streamed below.
In celebration of The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy’s release on March 12, Zombie dropped a snowy black-and-white video for “Crow Killer Blues.” The powerful visual shows Zombie walking through an open field as he passionately sings the lyrics to the heavy rock song. Meanwhile, John 5, bassist Piggy D and drummer Ginger Fish can be seen performing throughout the video.
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The intense video for “Crow Killer Blues” can be watched below.
Earlier this month, Zombie revealed to Consequence Of Sound why it took so long for him to put out The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy. As it turns out, the record has been finished for a long time. However, his other projects and touring eventually caused the album to fall on the backburner of his priorities.
Back in 2019, Zombie went on to release his latest horror movie 3 From Hell. Along with writing the film, Zombie also produced and directed the project which stars the late Sid Haig. Haig portrayed Captain Spaulding in House Of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects and 3 From Hell before he passed away at the age of 80 in 2019. It was later revealed that Haig died of cardiorespiratory arrest. Last year, Zombie paid tribute to his dear friend and collaborator in a moving social media post.
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“The record has been completely finished for a long time because what happened was the whole record was completely finished before I made [my latest movie] 3 From Hell,” Zombie told Consequence Of Sound. “I thought, ‘Okay, we’re going to finish this record, and then we’ll go on tour’—because movies take so long to get funded and up and running, but then suddenly I had the funding for 3 From Hell. So I’m like, ‘Okay, I’ll just shelve the album right now.’”
As soon as 3 From Hell got off the ground, however, Zombie hit a few more scheduling roadblocks. In July 2019, he embarked on the Twins of Evil: Hell Never Dies Tour. As a result, Zombie pushed back his album plans even further while he was on the road. Then when the COVID-19 crisis hit last year, his plans changed yet again. Initially, Zombie did not plan to release his new album during the pandemic. However, as time went on, he soon realized now was the perfect time to get new music out to fans.
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“I was like, ‘The tour is just one summer. I don’t want to put out the record. We’re not really there yet. We’ll just, we’ll just hold it,’” Zombie further told Consequence Of Sound. “And then we were all ready to do a tour and release the record and the whole big thing, and then pandemic hit. So I was, like, ‘Oh crap. Well now we can’t do it.’ So we shelved it again, but we had never made an official release date, so no one knew we were shelving it. And then after just being stuck for so long with this pandemic that seems like it’s never going to end, I was like, ‘Let’s put this out.’ People are stuck at home, they’re listening to music. It’s frustrating. I don’t want to sit on this thing for freaking five years. So that’s why we decided to put it out.”
What are your reactions to Rob Zombie’s new album debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart? Let us know in the comments below.