It’s their first album in five years, but fans still love them and the fact that “Death Magnetic” claimed the first spot on the Billboard album chart comes as proof of Metallica’s everlasting popularity.

Half a decade could not hold the hard rock band down even if they faced competition from Jessica Simpson’s country debut and L.L. Cool J’s “Exit 13,” which Metallica clearly knocked down.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, “Death Magnetic” sold 490,000 copies during the week ended September 14, but what’s even more impressive is that the fresh album had been available only for three days, as it was released worldwide on Friday. Albums are generally out on a Tuesday in the United States and a day earlier overseas, but Metallica defied rules once again and this brought the band nothing but joy.

Metallica’s last studio release, “St. Anger,” opened with 418,000 copies in 2003, but was eventually seen as a critical and commercial failure.

The rock band nonetheless became the first group to see all of its five albums on the first position of The Billboard 200. Before releasing “Death Magnetic,” Metallica was neck and neck with the Beatles, U2 and the Dave Matthews Band, all four of the renowned bands having four No. 1 albums.

Moving on to outer-Metallica matters, last week’s chart leader, Young Jeezy’s “The Recession” slipped to No. 2 with 90,000, followed by Kid Rock’s “Rock N Roll Jesus,” which claimed the third spot with 75,000 sold copies.

Jessica Simpson’s first country album, “Do You Know,” opened at No. 4 with only 65,000 units, while Slipknot’s ex-No. 1, “All Hope Is Gone,” lingered at No. 5 with 52,000 copies. Teen heartthrobs the Jonas Brothers sold 50,000 copies of “A Little Bit Longer” and claimed No. 6, followed by The Game’s “LAX” and Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III.”

L.L. Cool J’s “Exit 13” opened on the ninth position with 44,000 copies and the soundtrack to “Mamma Mia!” slipped three spots to conclude this week’s top 10.