The Amity Affliction Beat The xx, Presets To ARIA Number One

Brisbane post-hardcore outfit The Amity Affliction have stolen the ARIA Album Chart number one from moody London indie band The xx and hotly-tipped Sydney dance duo The Presets this week.

Although the official ARIA website is yet to update their rankings, the news has been confirmed in The Sunday Telegraph this morning.

Earlier in the week theMusic.com.au revealed that an upset could be on the cards, and on Thursday sources said that The xx had fallen behind the two local challengers, but they enjoyed a strong last couple of days before the Friday cut-off.

In one of the biggest chart shake-ups of the year, The Amity Affliction's Chasing Ghosts, released by UNFD (the management company and label's first number one) and Roadrunner, has taken top spot ahead of a strong-finishing The xx with Coexist. The Presets' Pacifica had to settle for third, ahead of Birdy's Birdy and Matchbox Twenty's North, which was last week's number one.

UNFD co-owner Jaddan Commerford told theMusic.com.au today that "The whole thing is quite overwhelming."

He said, "We've just been doing what we've been doing with this genre and now we are lucky enough to have a large enough scene to support our bands to this level. The Amity Affliction are no exception to this who, after nine years, deserve all the success they are getting. This is a win for heavy music, not only in Australia, but all around the world."

A new look top ten also featured debuts from Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson's second collaborative album Wreck & Ruin, Bob Dylan's new album Tempest and The Script's newie #3.

The top ten is as follows (distributors in italics):
1. The Amity Affliction Chasing Ghosts (Warner)
2. The xx Coexist (Inertia)
3. The Presets Pacifica (Universal)
4. Birdy Birdy (Warner)
5. Matchbox Twenty North (Warner)
6. Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson Wreck & Ruin
7. The Sapphires soundtrack (Sony)
8. Bob Dylan Tempest (Sony)
9. The Script #3 (Sony)
10. Maroon 5 Overexposed (Universal)

As expected, the Singles Chart was far less volatile, with Guy Sebastian and Lupe Fiasco's Battle Scars holding top spot from Birdy's Bon Iver cover Skinny Love, Flo Rida's I Cry, Taylor Swift's We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and Owl City's Good Time.