SLIPKNOT's long-awaited fifth studio album, ".5: The Gray Chapter", sold around 132,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 1 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on October 21 via Roadrunner.

The is the second No. 1 album for SLIPKNOT, whose fourth full-length effort, 2008's "All Hope Is Gone", topped the Billboard chart after an extraordinary SoundScan recount. The album was initially announced as a No. 2 debut, a mere 13 units behind THE GAME's NO. 1 debut, marking the closest margin in SoundScan history. The chart positions resulted from a reported 238,272 copies of "All Hope Is Gone" its first week in stores, while THE GAME's "LAX" reported 238,285. With such an unprecedented margin, Roadrunner Records and WEA requested an historic recount. SoundScan obliged and chart positions were reversed, with SLIPKNOT claiming No. 1 and a new margin of 1,134 albums. Final recount numbers are 239,516 for "All Hope Is Gone" and 238,382 for "LAX" sold during first week of release.