POP LP CHART : Metal Bands Taking Top Slots

The album that may break’s George Michael’s lock on No. 1 is Van Halen’s cutely titled “OU812” (read it like a license plate), which entered the Billboard magazine pop album chart at a lofty No. 5. Now half the pop Top 10 is either metal--Van Halen, Poison, Scorpions, Def Leppard--or highly metallic crunch rock, like Guns N’ Roses. Metalmania is even rejuvenating two old bands. Cheap Trick’s “Lap of Luxury” (No. 22) is its biggest hit in years. And Judas Priest’s “Ram It Down” (No. 31) is jumping up the chart--to No. 31 in three weeks. Big Surprise: Prince’s “Lovesexy,” on the chart just a month, is headed in the wrong direction. It dropped to No. 14, after apparently peaking at No. 11.

* Critics keep saying it’s time for Rod Stewart to hang up his rock ‘n’ roll shoes. But Stewart keeps on rockin’, and his new album, “Out of Order,” jumped to No. 40 in three weeks.

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Title (Label) Last Week Weeks Ago on Chart 1. Faith 1 1 31 George Michael (Columbia) 2. Open Up and Say Ahh! 3 3 5 Poison (Capitol) 3. Hysteria 4 7 44 Def Leppard (PolyGram) 4. Dirty Dancing 2 2 40 Sound track (RCA) 5. OU812 -- -- 1 Van Halen (Warner Bros.) * Out of Order 53 83 3 Rod Stewart (Warner Bros.)