Metallica, which kicks off the first leg of a new world tour on October 21, has made history with its ninth studio album, "Death Magnetic," as the only band with five albums debuting at No. 1.

The album was released worldwide September 12, a Friday. It sold close to 490,000 copies, an extraordinary amount for a three day total. Albums are generally released on a Tuesday, and very few top the half million mark in its first week of release.

"Death Magnetic" is Metallica's fifth consecutive studio album to debut at No. 1, following 1991's "Metallica" (known as The Black Album), 1996's "Load," 1997's "ReLoad," and 2003's "St. Anger." The platinum-selling metal rockers break their ties with the Beatles, U2 and Dave Matthews Band, all of whom have four No. 1 album debuts.

"Death Magnetic" also scored big around the world with No. 1 debuts in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey.

Metallica has North American tour dates booked through fall and early winter before finishing up on January 21. Support bands are Down, The Sword, Lamb of God, and Machine Head.