Korn notched its second career No. 1 debut behind sales of 574,000 for the week ended Sunday, according to label estimates. The sales total was the fifth highest of the year.
The band must be thankful this holiday for its devoted fans, who bought enough copies to push Korn ahead of the week's other mega-seller, Dr. Dre's 2001.
The good doc's sophomore effort, out some seven years after his groundbreaking The Chronic, nailed the second slot with 516,000 copies sold. Not bad for a guy who was reluctant to record again.
"I have always been just a producer at heart, but my friends and family kept insisting that I do another project," Dre said before 2001's release.
Another newcomer to the charts, Celine Dion's All the Way...A Decade of Song, locked in the No. 3 position. With sales of 303,000, Dion's new album rivals the debut of her 1997 release, Let's Talk About Love, which sold a career-high 334,000 copies in its first week.
The week's other Top 10 debuts belonged to two radically different rap albums: the lite hip-hop of Will Smith's Willennium entered the charts at No. 5 with 187,000 copies; while the potty-mouth stylings of Wu-Tanger Raekwon bowed at No. 9, as his solo album Immobilarity moved 135,000.
Chart mainstays Santana, Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears all remained in the Top 10. Also hanging tough was Mariah Carey, whose Rainbow fell to seventh place after two straight weeks at No. 2.
While it doesn't look like Mariah's latest will ever go No. 1, she's at least selling better these days than the two artists who previously denied her the perch: Dethroned No. 1 Faith Hill dropped to No. 10; Rage Against the Machine fell to 11.
In other chart action, WCW Mayhem debuted at No. 40 with almost 50,000 copies sold. The compilation features the theme songs of World Championship Wrestling grapplers, as well as music from artists such as Kid Rock, Metallica and the Insane Clown Posse. (The rival WWF Music Vol. 4 debuted at No. 4 two weeks ago with 215,000 copies and is currently in the No. 28 spot with 67,000 copies sold).
Meanwhile, Marilyn Manson's live release, The Last Tour on Earth, thudded in at No. 82 with 26,000 copies sold. The disc was recorded on the Midwest leg of the band's "Rock Is Dead" tour and includes the new track, "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes."
Despite its poor showing, the Manson album scored one for Satan, beating Christian rock superstars the Newsboys, whose Love Liberty Disco took No. 87 with 24,000 copies.
Finally, Ani DiFranco's To the Teeth, released on her own Righteous Babe Records, bowed at 76 with 30,000 copies.