 Black Ice made history by debuting at number one on album charts of 29 countries , and is Columbia Records ' biggest debut album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Billboard in March 1991 . Black Ice was the second best @-@ selling album worldwide in 2008 , behind Coldplay 's Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends . As of December 2008 , it had shipped 6 million copies worldwide , and earned sales certifications in 24 countries , with multi @-@ platinum status in eight , platinum in twelve more , and gold in the four remaining . 
