Tool just returned after 13 years with Fear Inoculum, beating out Lana Del Rey and Lil Tecca for the top spot on the Billboard 200. Billboard reports that the band claimed the biggest week for a rock album in over a year, following Dave Matthews Band’s Come Tomorrow.
The prog-rock band returned to the chart with 270,000 equivalent album units, outselling projections, which predicted they’d pull off 230,000 units. LDR’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! debuted at No. 3 with 104,000 album-equivalent units, and Lil Tecca’s We Love You Tecca landed at No. 4 with 68,000 album-equivalent units.
This is Tool’s third No. 1 following 10,000 Days and Lateralus.
Although Fear Inoculum has a runtime of one hour and 26 minutes, it can’t be boxed in with the trend of overlong albums that generate more streams. It’s true that Tool recently succumbed to the streaming era by uploading their back catalog to streaming platforms for the first time. But the 10-track album includes six songs that exceed 10 minutes–and Switched on Pop previously pointed out that shorter songs tend to maximize streams.
In any case, the majority of Tool’s debut tally is comprised of album sales, reaching up to 248,000. That should come as no surprise as they had to release more deluxe CDs of Fear Inoculum after they initially sold out amid high demand.
“We are excited to announce that due to overwhelming demand for the Fear Inoculum deluxe CD package, a small additional quantity is being made,” reads a post on Tool’s Instagram page. “We are offering a very limited pre-order for this final run of deluxe CD packages, which will be available exclusively via store.toolband.com… Those who pre-order will receive a download of the digital album featuring several bonus tracks. The CD packages should be ready to ship at the end of September.”
The elaborate packaging of the limited-edition CD is similar to that of previous chart-toppers, Taylor Swift’s Lover and BTS‘ Map of the Soul: Persona. The CD came stocked with additional goodies, including a 4-inch HD screen, exclusive video footage, a two-watt speaker, a digital download card, and a 36-page booklet.
Tool unseats Swift, whose Lover is bumped down to No. 2 after earning 178,000 album-equivalent units. The pop star’s latest full-length became her sixth chart-topper after moving 867,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. Boosted by merch bundles and four collectible album sets, she broke several records–including the biggest week for an album since she released reputation in 2017.
Del Rey’s previous release, Lust For Life, topped the chart back in 2017 with 107,000 units.
Read all the lyrics to Fear Inoculum on Genius now.
