PRECIOUS METAL!

Metallica’s Death Magnetic scores its third straight week at the top of the charts as the Warner Bros. album closes in on platinum with sales of 130k.

Hollywood’s Camp Rock alum Demi Lovato debuts at #2 with Don’t Forget, its 91k moving it ahead of Interscope girl group Pussycat Dolls, bowing at #3 as Doll Domination racks up 83k in first-week units.

RCA/RMG Nashville rock revivalists Kings of Leon score their highest-ever first week at #5, with Only by the Night in the 70k range.

J/RMG neo-soul diva Jazmine Sullivan’s Fearless (#6) and Kedar Entertainment/ Fontana R&B crooner Joe’s Joe Thomas New Man (#8) are the week’s other Top 10 newcomers.

Def Jam/IDJ’s Ne-Yo (#4), Atlantic’s Kid Rock (#7), Def Jam/IDJ’s Young Jeezy (#9) and Cash Money/Universal Motown’s Lil Wayne (#10) are the holdovers.

DGC/Interscope critical faves TV on the Radio’s Dear Science leads the group of Top 50 debuts, which also includes Inside Records’ highly touted Jackson Browne album (#19), Downtown’s emo poster boys Cold War Kids (#24), Mercury Nashville’s Randy Rogers Band (#26), Columbia’s David Gilmour live album (#30), WB’s Jenny Lewis (#32), Hollywood’s Plain White T’s (#33), New Line’s Sex and the City Vol. 2 soundtrack (#43) and ESL’s Thievery Corporation (#45).

The Journey album, Revelation, on their own Frontiers label as a Wal-Mart exclusive, continues to be, well, a revelation, re-entering the chart at #48.

Next week, look for the Q4 cannons to start firing, with Atlantic’s T.I., Arista/RMG’s Jennifer Hudson, Star Trak/Interscope’s Robin Thicke, Hear Music/Concord’s James Taylor and BNA’s Kellie Pickler hitting stores today and leading the chart charge for next week.