Red Hot Chili Peppers are currently leading the pack in the race for this week’s Number One album in the UK.

• READ MORE: Red Hot Chili Peppers: “We feel fresh, like a new band”

On Friday (April 1), the California icons released their 12th studio LP, ‘Unlimited Love’, marking their first full-length project since 2016’s ‘The Getaway’.

The album sees the band reunite with guitarist John Frusciante, who left Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2009. He last appeared on the group’s 2006 Number One album ‘Stadium Arcadium’.

In the midweeks, the Official Charts Company has revealed that ‘Unlimited Love’ is outselling its closest competition – Ed Sheeran‘s ‘=’ – by 8:1. If it holds on until Friday (April 8), it will be RHCP’s fifth UK Number One album, and the band’s first in over a decade – their last being 2011’s ‘I’m With You’.

The only other new act to crack the Top Five is Swedish extreme metal group Meshuggah, whose ninth studio album ‘Immutable’ currently stands at Number Five in the midweek chart. If it maintains its position, it will become the band’s first ever UK Top 10 album, with their previous peak being 2016’s ‘The Violent Sleep of Reason’ (32).

Rounding out the rest of the Top 5 so far are: Michael Buble‘s ‘Higher’ and Arrdee‘s ‘Pier Pressure’.

Elsewhere in the Top 10, Harry Styles’ 2019 album ‘Fine Line’ jumps 22 spots to Number Six following the release of his new single ‘As It Was’, taken from upcoming third studio album ‘Harry’s House’.

The Wanted’s ‘Most Wanted: The Greatest Hits’ sits at Nine following the tragic death of member Tom Parker, who passed away last week at the age of 33. Originally released in 2021, ‘Most Wanted’ peaked at Number Eight to became the group’s fourth UK Top 10 album, succeeding 2010’s ‘The Wanted’ (Four), 2011’s ‘Battleground’ (Five) and 2013 release ‘Word Of Mouth’ (9).

In a four-star review of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ new album, NME‘s Ali Shutler wrote: “There’s a lot to ‘Unlimited Love’, both in scale and ambition. It’s at once familiar – without being boring – and fresh (but never at the expense of the band’s identity).

“On their 12th album, Red Hot Chili Peppers not only get comfortable with their own impressive legacy, but prove there’s plenty more to come.”