Staind Helps Hard Rock Get Rolling Again

The nation’s rock ‘n’ roll commercial resurgence continues this week as Staind, apowerful Massachusetts metal quartet, enters the sales chart at No. 1, after registering the second-highest one-week sales total of the year.

The band’s “Break the Cycle” album sold 717,600 copies, according to SoundScan, which means it should soon match the entire 1.1 million sales of the band’s debut album, “Dysfunction,” released in late 1999.

Staind’s success marks the second consecutive week a hard-rock album has entered the charts at No. 1, diffusing a hip-hop or teen pop domination at the top of the charts in recent years.

Tool’s “Lateralus” debuted at No. 1 last week by selling 555,000 copies. That collection is No. 2 this week with sales of 198,000.

Staind’s sales figure was the highest first-week mark by a hard-rock act since Limp Bizkit’s “Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water” sold 1.05 million copies last October.

Limp Bizkit--whose album has now sold almost 5.5 million copies--rates a big assist for Staind’s success. Bizkit’s Fred Durst is not only credited for discovering the band, but his duet with Staind’s Aaron Lewis on “Outside” is one of the year’s most popular songs on rock radio.

Staind’s “It’s Been Awhile,” from the new Flip/Elektra release, has also played a major role in building anticipation for the new album. The track has been the most-aired song at both modern and mainstream rock stations for weeks.

In reviewing “Break the Cycle” for The Times, Lina Lecaro described the album as “surprisingly exhilarating, considering its dark, angst-filled themes.”

The Dave Matthews Band’s “Everyday” sold 733,000 copies during its first week in stores in February, the high for the year. N’ Sync’s “No Stings Attached” holds the record for the most first-week sales by an album since SoundScan began monitoring U.S. record sales a decade ago. The mark set in March of 2000: 2.4 million.

Other new releases entering the Top 20 this week are Redman’s “Malpractice” at No. 4, Tyrese’s “2000 Watts” at No. 10, Static-X’s “Machine” at No. 11 and Bon Jovi’s “One Wild Night: Live 1985-2001” at No. 20. The “Moulin Rouge” soundtrack moves up two spots to No. 8 in its second week on the charts, but other recent arrivals showed sharp declines.

Weezer’s self-titled album showed a modest fall, slipping from No. 4 to No. 9, but R.E.M.’s “Reveal” fell from No. 6 to No. 24, while Depeche Mode’s “Exciter” fell from No. 8 to No. 27, and Megadeath’s “World Needs a Hero” fell from No. 16 to No. 59.

Other artists claiming spots in the Top 10: Destiny’s Child (No. 3), Missy Elliott (No. 5), Janet Jackson (No. 6) and the hits compilation “Now That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 6” (No. 7).

On the singles sales front, Lil’ Romeo’s “My Baby” is No. 1 for the third week, followed by Lil’ Mo’s “Superwoman” and High’s “What Would You Do?”

The version of “Lady Marmalade” by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya & Pink is a radio smash and would probably be the runaway No. 1 on the singles sales chart, but it is only available on the “Moulin Rouge” soundtrack.