ONE-DAY SALES: JEWEL SHINES, METALLICA LOOMS

It would be hard for anyone to top the excitement of a 19-minute “Moby Dick” or a  mind-blowing 25 minutes of “Dazed and Confused,” but as tough an act as Atlantic’s Led Zeppelin are to follow, here come two more releases to add even more drama to an already-impressive Warner Music Group hot streak.

According to early reports from national accounts, Jewel’s 0304 (also on Atlantic) is on track to sell between 130k-140k for the week.

Ordinarily, that would make Jewel next week’s chart-topper, were it not for Elektra’s decision to move up Metallica’s street date by five days to Thursday (6/5). Talk about St. Anger!

Indeed, Lars & Co.’s latest will be hitting the streets with orders for over 1.6 million. There has been, of course, a mad scramble to get product in stores since the label made its intentions clear Monday, but by all accounts, everyone will have sufficient stock by tomorrow. Look for Metallica to have a big four days.

Jewel may have to settle for #2, but on the bright side, this scenario will allow WMG to own both a #1 and a #2 chart debut next week.

Meanwhile, the third-highest charting album should be Aware/Columbia’s Train, whose My Private Nation could do as much as 100k for the week if it trends well in the coming days.