KORN's 'The Paradigm Shift' Projected To Sell 40K-45K Copies First Week

KORN's 11th studio album, "The Paradigm Shift", is likely to sell between 40,000 and 45,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on October 8 via Prospect Park.

KORN's previous CD, 2011's "The Path Of Totality", sold 55,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The group's 2010 effort, "Korn III - Remember Who You Are", opened with 63,000 units to debut at No. 2.

KORN's untitled album premiered with 123,000 copies back in August 2007 to enter the chart at No. 2. That number was slightly more than half of the 221,000 first-week tally achieved by its predecessor, "See You On The Other Side", which debuted at No. 3 back in December 2005.

"The Paradigm Shift" is the first KORN disc to feature original guitarist Brian "Head" Welch since 2003's "Take A Look In The Mirror" and follows up 2011's dubstep experiment, "The Path Of Totality". Frontman Jonathan Davis told The Pulse Of Radio that Welch's return on guitar was a good balance to Davis' own continued fascination with electronic music. "We wanted to make a record that everybody was happy with, and Head coming back, I think, was great, 'cause me and him butted heads. 'Cause he really is on the rock side and I was on the electronic side, and it was good having the compromise on both sides. It was just good for the creative process, I think."

Welch recently told Rolling Stone that the new album has "the old KORN vibe, but with a new twist . . . The end product is a really good mix of old KORN mixed with some new elements. It's got a fresh new KORN 2013 sound."

Welch left KORN in 2005 after he converted to Christianity and got off drugs. He rejoined them for a handful of live performances last year before officially becoming part of the lineup again in early 2013.

Davis recently revealed that he was dealing with personal issues during the early stages of the new disc, including his son being diagnosed with diabetes and his own struggle to kick an addiction to anti-depression medication.

KORN and ROB ZOMBIE will co-headline the "Night Of The Living Dreads" tour this fall. The 17-date run begins on November 3 in Reno, Nevada and wraps on November 26 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.