We're not exactly stunned to be reporting this story, but perspective is a helpful thing to bear in mind when assessing the success – or lack thereof – of the recently released collaboration between Velvet Underground main man Lou Reed and metal maulers Metallica.

The ad hoc quintet's wildly experimental and much-hyped Lulu album, which went on sale November 1 amid scathing (and often quite humourous) reviews, sold roughly 13,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 36 on the Billboard 200 chart.

From Reed's perspective, that's likely a roaring success compared to past efforts. From Metallica's point of view, however, it's the absolute pits. As Blabbermouth notes, the 2008 studio album Death Magnetic sold 490,000 copies in just a three-day sales window after it came out on a Friday, with sales tracked through the following Sunday.

Similarly, the band's much-maligned St. Anger from 2003 still moved 418,000 copies in its initial week of release, which was also shortened to four days, while Re-Load sold 435,000 units during its first week in 1997; 1996's Load opened at 680,000; and 1991's self-titled "black album" debuted with 598,000 and has since gone on to sell more than 15.7 million copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

So 13,000 copies sold Stateside? That's still about 12,500 units more that I might have thought a concept album based on two early 20th century plays by German author Frank Wedekind would shift but hey, who can tell with these crazy kids today?

Only two songs on the album are under five minutes in length, while two are more than 11 minutes long and the closing cut, "Junior Dad," clocks in at 19 minutes. The concept is Reed's and he handles the vocals and spoken word in the foreground while Metallica shreds in the background.

Both Metallica and Reed have downplayed the derisive reviews that the album (made by "Two Giants of Music," description theirs) has gotten, with Reed saying that Metallica fans are "threatening to shoot me." Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich defended the project, saying, "It's not for everyone, but I think it's a fantastic record."

By the looks of it, Ulrich will have lots of copies lying around to gift-wrap for friends and family this holiday season.