AVENGED IS THEIRS!

Veteran Warner Bros. Huntington Beach metalcore act Avenged Sevenfold looks like a real contender for the top spot next week with the release their fifth album, Nightmare, the first since the death of their longtime drummer, James “The Rev” Sullivan, last December.

The Rev wrote several of the songs and his vocals remain on the album. Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy finished up the disc on drums, and will join the group on tour, where they are part of the CAA/Live Nation Uproar Festival with Disturbed, which starts Aug. 17 in Minneapolis, sponsored by Rockstar Energy Drink.

Dedicated to The Rev’s memory, Nightmare is on target for the band’s best-ever first-week with a total of between 160-175k. Its only challenger for the top spot is the resilient Eminem, whose Shady/Aftermath/Interscope album Recovery enters its sixth week in the Top 50 after five straight weeks at #1 (at least on that other chart).

The only other debuts of note include Strange Music’s indie rappers Tech N9ne (17-20k) and Kedar Entertainment’s veteran R&B star Dru Hill (12-15k).

The market was up 1% vs. last week, down 15% vs. same week last year and still down 12% year to date. And you thought pigeon droppings on your head meant good luck.