Limp Bizkit Sold One Million Copies in First Week With ‘Chocolate Starfish’ Album

Limp Bizkit's third album, Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water, moved over a million copies during its opening week after dropping in October 2000, according to Metal Hammer. The record became the fastest-selling rock album ever and climbed to No. 1 on charts in the United States and the United Kingdom.

"I never thought Limp Bizkit was gonna be as large as it was," said guitarist Wes Borland to Metal Hammer. "Then the record sold a million in the first week. It was just ridiculous."

The band worked with producer Terry Date at LA's Larrabee Studios after a brief period with Rick Rubin. Borland, lead singer Fred Durst, bassist Sam Rivers, drummer John Otto, and DJ Lethal tracked everything in one room.

Five singles came from this release: "Rollin'," "My Generation," "Take A Look Around," "My Way," and "Hot Dog." "Take A Look Around" appeared on the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack alongside Metallica, and "Rollin'" hit No.1 in the UK.

Fame crushed the band members. Borland had to flee from Florida to Los Angeles when fans appeared at his home. "In the space of six years, I went from a nobody, no one knowing who I was and having complete anonymity, to having to move to Los Angeles because I had 20 kids on the doorstep of my house in Florida looking in my windows," he said. "I couldn't go to the grocery store."

Durst told Metal Hammer in 2014 that critics hammered them despite attempts at self-parody. "We started to poke fun at what people thought we were," Durst said. "That's why we made the 'Rollin' video."

The pressure pushed Borland out in October 2001. He returned in 2004, and a 2009 European tour helped resurrect the act. The quintet still performs songs from the album at shows.