DOD Sells "Much More Slowly" than BNW in the US
Despite mostly favorable reviews, IRON MAIDEN's latest CD, "Dance of Death", appears to be selling much more slowly in the U.S. than its predecessor, 2000's "Brave New World". According to the latest Nielsen SoundScan figures, "Brave New World" has shifted 271,050 copies in the U.S. so far, while its follow-up effort has registered a total sales tally of only 119,851."Dance Of Death" sold 40,308 copies during its first week of release last September to debut at No. 18 on The Billboard 200 chart. That number was in line with the first-week tally of "Brave New World", which moved 37,618 copies in June 2000 to land at No. 39 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Source:Blabbermouth
4 Comments
Maybe some people was dissapointed with the cover art and didnt want to buy it!
The comparison is not fair, as BNW has been on sale since May 2000 and DoD just since September 2003. However, in many other countries DoD has been Maiden fastest selling album. 
Its the U.S they just dont know what metal is these days... they prefer the crap like Blink 182, Sum 41 and all the other crao out there
Speaking as an American: There was more publicity surrounding the release of BNW because of the band's reunion with Bruce. At my local CD store, BNW was prominently displayed at the front of the store when it was released; DoD was not. This undoubtedly contributed to the better sales for BNW.
While the American taste for nu-metal is indeed depressing, the truth is that most nu-metal fans I've talked to know and respect Maiden's older material. The problem is that they just don't hear about new Maiden albums as easily as they hear about new albums by younger bands. The influence of Clear Channel Entertainment (who owns and runs half the rock radio stations in the US) is a huge factor. If Clear Channel doesn't support an artist and play their records on the air, it's almost impossible for a band to have megastar-type success in the US. The level of sales that DoD got is about the best Maiden can get here nowadays, unless Clear Channel ever gets over their fascination with youth/young bands and puts the same energy into promoting older artists.