As Avenged Sevenfold found out, surprise releasing your album can present a whole new set of issues. Northlane are among the latest heavier band to attempt such a move, having surprise released their new studio album, “Mesmer“, on March 24th. The numbers are now in for their first week, with the effort selling just over half of what the Australian band’s previous release did. During its first week of sales, “Mesmer” shifted 1800 copies in the U.S.. Its predecessor, 2015’s “Node“, moved 3500 copies in the same territory during its first week.
Of course there’s the obvious factors of a lack of traditional promotional campaign, touring, etc. that arise during a surprise release that can hurt the first week sales. “Mesmer” also saw the band take a different direction somewhat as well, which could also account for the lower numbers.
Still, while it may seem a risky move to make, there are some benefits to the unconventional release strategy. One being the shock of an album surfacing allowing it to create buzz and become an event of sorts. There’s also the possibility that an album can have a longer shelf life as fans discover it along the way. As Metal Insider point out, it’s something that hasn’t exactly worked out for Avenged Sevenfold yet though with “The Stage” only sitting around 6,000 more copies sold than “Nightmare” at five months in.
[via Metal Insider]
