A Thousand Suns

The “hybrid theory” Linkin Park introduced back in 2000 has evolved. New sounds like "The Catalyst" have become more majestic, less tied to hip-hop, and exponentially more symphonic. The components that make Linkin Park one of today’s biggest rock bands — the piano-based heartbeat, the chainsaw-guitar roar, the synth and drum machine pyrotechnics, the Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington throat-shredding interplay — are magnified on its latest album, A Thousand Suns, co-produced by Rick Rubin and Mike Shinoda.