Atreyu fail to make Billboard 200 for first time since debut

Atreyu rapidly achieved metalcore stardom following the release of their debut album Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses in 2002. So much so that their sophomore album, 2004's The Curse, sold more than 30,000 copies in its first week and landed at No. 32 on the Billboard 200 chart. The Curse kicked off a string of six consecutive Atreyu albums to debut in the Billboard Top 100, including two (A Death-Grip on Yesterday and Lead Sails Paper Anchor) to crack the Top 10. Unfortunately, the impressive streak came to an end this month as Atreyu's new album, Baptize, not only missed the Top 100, but failed to land on the Billboard 200 entirely. The record sold roughly 3,500 copies (2,700 in pure sales) in its first week of release in the United States, not nearly enough to put them on the aforementioned chart. Notably, Baptize is the first Atreyu album without co-founding vocalist Alex Varkatzas, who was ousted from the band in 2020. Atreyu's previous album and the last to feature Varkatzas, In Our Wake, sold nearly 8,500 copies in its first week and bowed at No. 72 on the Billboard 200. The group's 2015 effort, Long Live, debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200 after selling 15,000 copies in its initial week. To date, Atreyu's most successful sales debut remains 2007's A Death-Grip on Yesterday, which sold almost 70,000 copies during its first week of release, enough to propel the record to a No. 9 showing on the Billboard 200.