2012 in rock music


This article summarizes the events related to rock music for the year of 2012.

Notable events

January

February

March

April

  • Shinedown releases their fourth studio album, Amaryllis. It debuts at number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 106,000 copies. The first week sales are over double the debut of their prior album, 50,000 for The Sound of Madness in 2008, although Amaryllis only goes on to be certified Gold by the RIAA, while The Sound of Madness has been certified double platinum to date.
  • The Used releases their fifth studio album, Vulnerable. It debuts at number 8 on the Billboard 200, selling 32,000 copies.
  • Silversun Pickups release their third studio album, Neck of the Woods. It debuts at number 6 on the Billboard 200, selling 41,000 copies.
  • Jack White releases his first solo album, Blunderbuss. It tops the Billboard 200 chart, selling 138,000 copies. It remains in the chart's top 10 in its second week as well.

May

June

  • Linkin Park releases their fifth studio album, Living Things. It tops the Billboard 200 chart, selling 223,000 copies. It is the highest debuting hard rock album in the US until over a year later when Avenged Sevenfold releases Hail to the King. It is the band's fifth album to top the chart. The album holds on to number 5 in its second week of release, and is eventually certified platinum by the RIAA as well.
  • Linkin Park's single "Burn It Down" tops the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart. While its only on top of the chart for a week, the song goes on to be certified double platinum by the RIAA, indicating two million copies sold.
  • Volbeat's single "Still Counting" tops the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart for two weeks.
  • Neil Young releases his thirty first studio album, Americana, his first collaboration with the Crazy Horse backing band since 2003. It is his highest debuting album since his 1972 release of Harvest Moon.
  • Rush releases their nineteenth and final album prior to breaking up after 40 years of activity. The album debuts at number 2 on the Billboard 200, selling 103,000 copies. It also tops the Canadian Albums Chart.
  • The Smashing Pumpkins release their eighth studio album, Oceania. The album debuts at number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 54,000 copies in its first week, and over 135,000 copies by early 2014.

July

August

  • Shinedown's single "Unity" tops the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart for 4 weeks - the entire month of August. By the end of the month, between it and previous single "Bully", the band spends 16 weeks atop of the chart.
  • Yellowcard releases their eighth studio album, Southern Air. It debuts at number 10 on the Billboard 200, selling 23,000 copies.

September

  • Matchbox Twenty releases their fourth studio album, North, their first studio album in a decade. It tops the Billboard 200 chart, selling 95,000 copies in its opening week. Despite the band's popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, its their first to top the chart, and is eventually certified gold by the RIAA
  • Dave Matthews Band releases their eighth studio album, Away from the World. It tops the Billboard 200 chart, selling 223,000 copies. It is their sixth straight album to top the chart.
  • Five Finger Death Punch's single "Coming Down" tops the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart for two nonconsecutive weeks during the month.
  • Three Days Grace single "Chalk Outline" tops the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart for 13 weeks in a row, in a streak that runs from September to December, the longest period for the entire year.

October

December

Year end

Deaths

Band breakups