How many copies of Metallica's The Black Album were sold in its first US week?

Metallica's The Black Album sold 598,000 copies in its first US week.

That opening figure helped the album debut at number one on the Billboard 200, a first for Metallica. The band had already built a strong following through albums such as Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All, but the scale of this release represented a dramatic expansion of its audience.

The album's commercial impact continued long after its opening week. It topped the Billboard 200 for four consecutive weeks and debuted at number one in ten countries. Its accessible songwriting, powerful production, and prominent singles brought Metallica to listeners who may not previously have followed thrash metal.

First-week sales are often confused with total sales. The 598,000-copy figure refers only to the album's initial US sales period, not its later domestic or worldwide total. The album eventually became one of the best-selling releases of the SoundScan era and remained a long-running presence on the Billboard 200.