In a race down to the wire, heavy metal outfit Slipknot today claim their third UK Number 1 album with The End So Far.
The nine-piece Iowan rock export fought off tough competition from George Michael to reach the summit, ending the week a nail-biting 340 chart units ahead. The End So Far follows 2001 release Iowa and 2019 LP We Are Not Your Kind to become the group’s third chart-topper to date. The record proves the most downloaded album of the past seven days, too.
A reissue of George Michael’s classic 1996 album Older, including brand-new format availability and Dolby Atmos spatial audio mixes, sees it return to the Top 10 at Number 2 this week. Older peaked at Number 1 upon its original release 26 years ago; being one of the iconic singer’s nine UK chart-toppers to date. The album tops the Official Vinyl Albums Chart, with Older the most purchased record on wax this week.
Rounding off an all-new Top 3 are The Snuts, with their second studio album Burn The Empire (3). The Scottish indie rock quartet, comprising Jack Cochrane, Callum Wilson, Joe McGillveray and Jordan Mackay, previously reached Number 1 with their 2021 debut LP W.L.
Elsewhere, Craig David makes a welcome return with his eighth studio record 22 (7). The album becomes Craig’s sixth Top 10 LP to date, with the Southampton-born singer also boasting two UK Number 1s; 2000 debut Born To Do It and 2016 release Following My Intuition. 22 is also the most-purchased LP in independent record shops this week.
US alt-rockers Yeah Yeah Yeahs score their fourth UK Top 10 album this week with fifth record Cool It Down (10). The trio, made up of Karen O, Nick Zinner and Brian Chase, previously achieved similar success with 2006’s Show Your Bones (7), 2009 album It’s Blitz (9) and 2013 release Mosquito (9).
Just outside the Top 10, and providing her with an 11th UK Top 40 album, is Icelandic pop pioneer Björk’s tenth studio record Fossora (11). The Last Whip II, the latest mixtape from K-Trap, scores the Peckham-born rapper his sixth UK Top 40 project (12). Meanwhile, Bostonian band Pixies celebrate their tenth UK Top 40 album to date with long-awaited eighth studio record Doggerel (13).
Three acts celebrate their first-ever UK Top 40 albums this week. British-American three-piece Gabriels debut with Angels & Queens – Pt 1 (25), Floridian rapper Denzel Curry secures his first with Melt My Eyez See Your Future (30), and South London export Shygirl (born Blane Muise) marks her first appearance with Nymph (34).
And finally, a 30th anniversary reissue of alt-rock duo Shakespears Sister’s classic album Hormonally Yours sees it return to the Top 40 this week (37). The record originally peaked at Number 2 upon its release in 1992.
