Album Sweep: May 18, 2013 - Part Two...

Now we're up to the second half of this week's "album sweep" sampling the records spending their first week on Billboard magazine's Top 200 Albums. You can check out part one by clicking here, and as before I've included links to buy anything if I can...

Plopping down at #72 is French melodic metalcore band Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! with Pardon My French...

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The former lead singer of the 80s hair-metal band Cinderella, Tom Kiefer, debuts with his first solo album The Way Life Goes at #78. With the band he had two top-10 records, with debut Night Songs reaching #3 in 1986...

Canadian electropop singer Valerie Poxleitner, who records under the moniker LIGHTS, returns at #86 with Siberia Acoustic. The original Siberia from 2011 is so far her highest charting album at #47...

The next entry at #95 by New Brunswick, New Jersey-based ska-rock group Streetlight Manifesto, The Hands That Thieve, is a difficult one. Apparently there's a battle between the band and label Victory Records, with the label refusing to allow pre-ordered records through the bands' website. In return, the band called for a boycott of the Victory Records issues.

Punk pioneer Iggy (Pop) and The Stooges are back at #96 with their first album since the death of guitarist Ron Asheton in 2009, Ready To Die. It beats the highest rank of the band's 1969 debut The Stooges (#106), but comes below the peak of Iggy's biggest solo set, Blah Blah Blah, which went to #75 in 1986...

British indie-folk trio Daughter arrive at #97 with their debut full-length If You Leave. Their music has been heard in American TV shows Suburgatory and Vampies Diaries...

Another musical genre pioneer, heavy metal band Deep Purple, also are back with their 19th studio album Now What?! at #115. Only drummer Ian Paice remains from the band's original lineup from 1968, with lead vocals now by Ian Gillan (who was with the group since a year later - their fourth album). Deep Purple has had three top-10 albums in all its incarnations, with their Made In Japan live album their biggest at #6 in 1973. This is the groups highest rank since Slaves And Masters went to #87 in 1990 (23 years ago!)...

Long Island Hip-hop artist Richard Andrew Thorburn, who performs under the name R.A. The Rugged Man, is back with his second album Legends Never Die at #131. (NSFW)

While the modern rock compilation of "inspired" music from Iron Man 3 came in at #16, the actual score by Brian Tyler arrives at #134...

Newcomer metalcore band Famous Last Words debut at #177 with Two-Faced Charade...

The final entry of the week at #184 is post-grunge act Daylight with Jar...

That's a wrap on the second part of this week's musical journey. Out of these 11 the three I'd pick first are the LIGHTS, Iggy & The Stooges, and R.A. The Rugged Man albums...