Metallica’s ‘Lux Æterna’ Is Already No. 1 on Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart

After only two weeks on the chart, Metallica’s “Lux Æterna” is No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay list dated Dec. 17.

The song climbs to the top after debuting at No. 2 on the Dec. 10 survey, the best start for any song in 16 years.

With its two-week trip to No. 1, “Lux” completes the quickest coronation in eight years. Foo Fighters’ “Something From Nothing” also took two frames in November 2014.

“Lux” and “Something” are the only two songs to need two or fewer weeks to reign in the entirety of the 2000s. Prior to “Something,” the last act to pull off the feat was Metallica with its cover of Bob Seger‘s “Turn the Page,” which hit No. 1 in its second week in November 1998.

Metallica snags its 11th Mainstream Rock Airplay leader and first since “All Within My Hands,” which crowned the ranking for four weeks in September 2020. In between “Hands” and “Lux,” the band reached No. 18 this August with the reserviced 1986 track “Master of Puppets,” following its synch in the fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Metallica’s 11 No. 1s, which kicked off with “Until It Sleeps” in 1996, place the band in a three-way tie for sixth all time on Mainstream Rock Airplay, which began in 1981, alongside Disturbed and Foo Fighters. Shinedown leads all acts with 18 rulers.

Most No. 1s, Mainstream Rock Airplay

Concurrently, “Lux” ranks at No. 2 for a second week on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with 4.5 million audience impressions, according to Luminate. It also lifts 35-34 on Alternative Airplay.

“Lux” leads the multi-metric Hot Hard Rock Songs list for a second week. In addition to its radio airplay, the song scored 2.5 million official U.S. streams and sold 2,000 downloads in the Dec. 2-8 tracking week.

Metallica’s 11th studio album, 72 Seasons, is due April 14, 2023.