Even the lyrics, which nonetheless maintain the same kind of bubblegum-angst present in nearly any widely successful "alternative" band, manage to surprise simply by the fact that the band seems to have gained a wider vocabulary, both in terms of individual words and the metaphors used. Put another way, burning "like the fire of a thousand suns" is simply a more enjoyable image than "one step closer to the edge / and I'm about to break," even if both convey generally the same theme within either song. Following the release of A Thousand Suns, Linkin Park has, as it did previously, focused on charity work alongside the writing of the next album a promotional tour. Most recently, the band has played benefit concerts for victims of the earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent nuclear fallout which hit Japan earlier this year, with the first being in Los Angeles alongside the band B'z, a massively popular two-man group from Japan ("B'z, Linkin Park rock fans in Los Angeles to aid disaster-hit Japan" 2011). Following that, the band continued on its promotional tour, beginning its Asian tour by playing in Jakarta, Indonesia, a country it had not been to since the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit in 2004.

Linkin Park's international following can be seen as analogous to its variety of musical influences and origins, and by examining a few of the songs from throughout the band's career, one is able to chart the evolution of the band's sound, from its relatively mundane roots as a Southern California nu metal band to the entirely unique entity that it is today. In fact, the true testament to the band's successful progression can be seen in the fact that it remains difficult to accurately categorize the band according to any normal generic conventions, as it has managed to effectively create its own genre of music over the course of a decade alongside other progressive metal and punk bands such as AFI and Coheed...

In fact, one may view Linkin Park as the mass media and culture friendly version of these strains in contemporary America music, such that one might even be willing to forgive the band's unrelentingly trivial and stereotypical lyrics as necessary for a condition of its success, as unspecified unhappiness with authority and a general desire for "redemption" (or whatever is yearned for in the lyrics of songs like "Somewhere I Belong" or "What I've Done") is far more palatable to Grammy and American Music Award voters (and the radio-listening public) than a glam straight-edge vegan or a space epic about androids and evil gods told across the course of multiple concept albums. Thus, even if one is not especially fond of Linkin Park's work, the fact remains that the band has helped to formulate what will likely be considered one of the defining sounds of the early twenty-first century.
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