Imagine Dragons could become the first US band to top the UK chart with their debut album since 2006 after Night Visions took an early lead in the midweeks.

The Interscope/Polydor album, which reached No 2 on the Billboard 200 in the US last September, is presently around 3,000 sales ahead of fellow new release Sempiternal by RCA rock band Bring Me The Horizon, according to the Official Charts Company. At the same time Imagine Dragons’ Radioactive rises 32-20 on midweek singles.

A US group has not topped the UK artist albums chart since last September when Mercury act The Killers, who like Imagine Dragons are from Las Vegas, reached No 1 with Battle Born, while Orson were the last band from the States to reach No 1 with their debut album with Bright Idea leading the countdown in June 2006. This does not include Glee Cast whose first album topped the UK chart in February 2010.

Imagine Dragons’ strong showing could deny Bring Me The Horizon a first No 1 with what is their fourth album overall and their debut on RCA since moving from Visible Noise. It is one of four brand new releases inside the Top 10 sellers at this stage of the week with Roadrunner act Killswitch Engage’s sixth album at 7 and US rapper Tayler The Creator’s Wolf at 9.

In all four cases the debuting acts look on course to reach new UK chart peaks. Imagine Dragons obviously will do as Night Visions is their debut, while Bring Me The Horizon’s present highest showing is 13, achieved in 2010 with the Visible Noise album There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let’s Keep It A Secret. Killswitch Engage have to date made it as high as 29, achieved with their self-titled album in 2010, and Tyler’s highest ranking is 21 with the XL-issued Goblin in 2011. His new album is on Columbia, one of five Sony albums in the midweek Top 10.

Besides Bring Me The Horizon and Goblin, Sony’s showing also comprises RCA albums The 20/20 Experience by Justin Timberlake dropping 1-3 with sales down 53%, David Bowie’s The Next Day falling 3-4 as sales decline 26% and Pink’s The Truth About Love sliding 6-8 as sales slip 32%.

The Top 10 at this point of the week is completed by the Virgin albums Our Version Of Events by Emeli Sande dropping 4-6 and Bastille’s Bad Blood up 7-5 plus Atlantic act Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox slipping 5-10.

There are seven brand new albums registering in the midweek Top 40 outside the Top 10, led by Brighton band British Sea Power’s sixth set, the Rough Trade-issued Machineries Of Joy, at 11. An extended new version of Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell, which in its original configuration has sold more than 3 million copies in the UK since 1977, is at 15, while the Sony Legacy Recordings album People Hell & Angels containing previously-unreleased Jimi Hendrix material is at 20. It recently debuted and peaked at 2 in the States.

Other new arrivals include Wiley’s One More Tune/Warner Bros set The Ascent and new sets from Bella Union’s Flaming Lips, New Kids On The Block via their Kobalt-affiliated The Bock Boston Five label and Epitaph’s Alkaline Trio.

Helped by Harry Styles pushing the video online, UK DJ and music producer Duke Dumont looks a certainty to top the UK singles chart on Sunday with the Ministry of Sound-issued Need U (100 Percent) featuring AME. It is currently outselling combined the two tracks immediately below it, Edsel/Demon’s PJ & Duncan revival Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble, which drops 1-2, and RCA act Pink’s Just Give Me A Reason featuring Nate Ruess, dropping 2-3.

Also down a place is Polydor act The Saturdays’ former No 1 What About Us featuring Sean Paul as it falls 3-4, while Bastille’s Virgin single Pompeii holds at 5. RCA act Justin Timberlake is down 4-6 with Mirrors, while Michael Buble’s Reprise/Warner Bros single It’s A Beautiful Day is new at 7 after he performed it on Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway show on ITV1 last weekend. The Republic/Island single Hey Porsche by Nelly improves 9-8 as the Atlantic-issued When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars slides 6-9 and the Macklemore label’s Thrift Shop by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz holds at 10. [MusicWeek]