Call them nu metal, call them rap rock, call them hugely successful. Last year marked the 10th anniversary of Linkin Park’s debut album, “Hybrid Theory,” and Billboard magazine in conjunction with number-crunching auditor Soundscan named the So-Cal rockers the No. 1-selling alternative rock band of the past decade. Even in these times of music biz austerity, Linkin Park is an old-school, multiplatinum, mega unit-shifting band with more than 50 million in worldwide record sales.
Linkin Park’s fourth studio album “A Thousand Suns” shot to the top of Billboard’s Top 200 album chart upon release last fall, making it the band’s third consecutive record to do so. But the dark, moody sounds of “Suns,” which was co-produced by Rick Rubin and co-lead vocalist Mike Shinoda, reveals the band in a somber and mature mood.
“We’re changing,” Shinoda says during a call just before the U.S. tour launched in Florida. “We’re listening to different music. We’re playing different instruments, interested in talking about different things, so all of that stuff gets mixed into the pot and, at the end of the day, the music is built partially upon all of that stuff. But, yeah, I think we’re changing as people.”
Linkin Park
with Pendulum and Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Tuesday, Feb. 1, 7 p.m.
TD Garden
100 Legends Way, Boston
MBTA: Orange Line to North Station
$45-$70, all ages,
800-745-3000
www.ticketmaster.com
Other hot tickets
Savion Glover
Saturday, 8 p.m.
Boston opera House
539 Washington St., Boston
www.worldmusic.org
Savion Glover doesn’t need some snappy remark from us to boost his mad tap skills, but we will declare him, hopefully without controversy, the premiere dreadlocked tap dancer in America today. This performance, “SoLo iN TiME,” finds Glover (who as far as we can tell is not related to Donald in the column next door) and his crew hybridizing tap and flamenco.
Donald Glover
Friday, 10 p.m.
The Wilbur Theatre
246 Tremont St., Boston
www.thewilburtheatre.com
We’ve been watching this rising comedian since he was part of the online sketch troupe Derrick, from whom he often stole the show. His landing a role on NBC’s “Community,” and now this stand-up tour, prove that not all Internet success stories are flashes in the pan, but we still can’t get over his performance in the Derrick sketch “Jerry” — YouTube it! –Matthew Dinaro/Metro
