Nine Inch Nails' "Zero" good for No2 debut

Nine Inch Nails debuted at Number Two on the Billboard album chart on Wednesday (April 25th) by selling 187,000 copies of the band's fifth album, Year Zero, in its first week of release. The group's previous effort, 2005's With Teeth, moved 272,000 copies. Year Zero was bested for the top spot by the new Avril Lavigne record, The Best Damn Thing, which hit Number One on sales of 286,000 copies. Some industry insiders predicted that Nine Inch Nails would also sell north of 200,000 copies.

Frontman Trent Reznor posted a message at the band's web site that read simply, "Thank you to those who actually purchased my latest work. I appreciate the support."

Year Zero is a concept album that takes place in the year 2022, with the U.S. taken over by a religious dictatorship as the world nears environmental and social collapse.

The CD has been the subject of one of the year's most talked-about marketing campaigns, involving intentionally leaked songs, cryptic voicemails and a maze of eerie web sites.

Nine Inch Nails will visit Australia and Japan next month. North American tour plans are still to be announced.