JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
A heavy metal band hits No. 1 on the Billboard charts, and it only took several decades to get there. Stephen Thompson of NPR Music has the story.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: The rugged, raging metal band Megadeth formed in 1983, and first cracked the Billboard albums chart three years later with "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?"
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PEACE SELLS")
MEGADETH: (Singing) Peace sells, but who's buying? Peace sells, but who's buying?
THOMPSON: "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" was the first of 23 Megadeth records to ultimately crack the Billboard 200. But until this week, the band had only ever climbed as high as No. 2 with "Countdown To Extinction" back in 1992. Now, though, the band's new self-titled album has just become the first ever Megadeth record to hit No. 1. It debuts in the top spot thanks in large part to robust sales on good old-fashioned vinyl and CD.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TIPPING POINT")
MEGADETH: (Singing) You won't defy me. You won't deny me. I'm at my tipping point.
THOMPSON: It's been a long road for Megadeth, whose members have said their new album will be their last. The time it took for a Megadeth album to hit No. 1 since the band's first appearance on the albums chart? Just a little more than 39 years. That's not an all-time record. James Taylor, Black Sabbath and David Bowie all took longer to finally get a No. 1 album. But today, they and Megadeth can all call themselves chart-toppers forevermore.
Over on the Hot 100 singles chart, there's another non-Megadeth debut at No. 1 - "Aperture," the new single from a forthcoming album by Harry Styles.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "APERTURE")
HARRY STYLES: (Singing) Aperture lets the light in. We belong together. It finally appears it's only love.
THOMPSON: Next week, the charts are likely to be shaken up by the recent Grammy Awards. But for this week, for both Harry Styles and Megadeth, hitting No. 1 is their business, and business is good.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "KILLING IS MY BUSINESS... AND BUSINESS IS GOOD!")
MEGADETH: (Singing) Don't you know that killing is my business, oh, and business is good? Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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