STAIND UPS THE ANTE

Apparently, it was everyone’s patriotic duty over the three-day Memorial Day weekend to not only see "Pearl Harbor," but buy the band’s new Flip/Elektra album, "Break The Cycle," also. Consumers responded to the tune of well more than 700k, which should "crush" the 730k total of the year’s previous first-week best-seller, Dave Matthews Band’s "Everyday," when it was released last February.

No sooner do we get a Republican administration, then rock rears its rebellious head again. Last week’s chart was topped by Tool’s "Lateralus," which sold 577.8k in its first week on retail shelves. Apparently, the supply problems which prevented that album from selling even more were solved by WEA in their efforts for the new Staind. This week, the Tool album is running #2, with about a fourth of the total sales for "Break The Cycle."

The other Top 10 debuts will include Def Jam/IDJ rapper Redman's "Malpractice," while new albums from RCA's Tyrese and WB's Static-X also have a good shot, with sales still being tallied.

The new Staind album has been catapulted by a pair of hit Active Rock/Post Modern singles, including "It’s Been Awhile," which is quickly spreading to mainstream Top 40.