TOOL TIME!!

Maynard James Keenan and company return to the top spot of the HITS’ album chart this week after almost five years to the day after the chart-topping debut of Lateralus. The new Volcano/ZLG disc bows with 553k in first week sales, just a scant 2,000 less than its predecessor, which went on to sell 2.3 million to date.

J/RMG’s self-titled Pearl Jam album marks an impressive comeback for the pioneering Seattle grunge-rockers, with a #2 debut and 281k sold, dwarfing both their last studio album, ‘02’s Riot Act, which moved 166k and 500k overall, and its ’03 Road Dogs, a collection of B-sides and rarities that scored 89.5k in first-week sales, for a to-date total of 363k.

Veteran G-Unit/Interscope rappers Mobb Deep make their debut for 50 Cent’s label with 108k, good for #3.

Atlantic’s Jewel (#8) and RLG’s Phil Vassar (#10) are the other two Top 10 newcomers, with Walt Disney Records’ High School Musical (#4), Lyric Street’s Rascal Flatts (#5), last week’s #1, Republic/Universal’s Godsmack (#6), UTV’s Now 21 (#7) and Columbia’s Bruce Springsteen (#9).

Other chart debuts include Island/IDJ’s Thursday (#17), Interscope’s Wolfmother (#25), Big Vin Records’ Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between country singer David Allen Coe and ex-Pantera Vinnie Paul (#36) and Capitol’s Poison Best of (#49).

Virgin’s K.T. Tunstall leads the way for the gainers with a whopping 98% increase (#50-27) after the song “Black Horse & a Cherry Tree” was performed on American Idol. Other double-digit rises are registered by Universal’s Chamillionaire (#24, +11%), Geffen’s Mary J. Blige (#36-31, +26%), A&M/Interscope’s Pussycat Dolls (#32, +11%), Island/IDJ’s Johnny Cash compilation (#34, +10%) and Reprise’s Michael Buble (#35, +30%).

Next week, look for WB’s Red Hot Chili Peppers to vie for the #1 spot, with chart debuts from Jive’s Nick Lachey, Columbia’s Jagged Edge, Columbia’s Harry Connick Jr. and Def Soul’s Isley Brothers.