Album
A Thousand Suns
A Thousand Suns is Linkin Park's fourth studio album, released on 8 September 2010 by Warner Bros. Records. Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin produced it, as they had for Minutes to Midnight (2007), and sessions ran at NRG Recording Studios in Hollywood from 2008 until mid 2010. It is a concept album about human fears such as nuclear warfare, and its title nods to the Bhagavad Gita and Oppenheimer's description of the atomic bomb.
This is the band's most adventurous record, a deliberate step away from what came before, blending electronic textures, hip hop and art rock with their alternative metal roots. Chester Bennington said it ties social issues to the meeting of human ideas and technology. "The Catalyst" gave them a number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs and Rock Songs charts, with "Waiting for the End", "Burning in the Skies" and "Iridescent" following. Critics were mostly warm, though fans were split.
A Thousand Suns on Riffology
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A Thousand Suns: tracklist, credits and charts
15 tracks · 47:56Tracklist
- 1The RequiemBennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda2:01
- 2The Radiance0:58
- 3Burning in the SkiesBennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda4:13
- 4Empty Spaces0:18
- 5When They Come for MeBennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda4:56
- 6Robot BoyLinkin Park4:29
- 7Jornada del MuertoBennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda1:35
- 8Waiting for the EndBennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda3:52
- 9BlackoutBennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda4:39
- 10Wretches and KingsBennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda4:15
- 11Wisdom, Justice, and Love1:39
- 12IridescentBennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda4:57
- 13FalloutBennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda1:23
- 14The CatalystBennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda5:40
- 15The MessengerBennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda3:02
- Produced by
- Rick Rubin, Mike Shinoda
- Recorded at
- NRG Recording (North Hollywood, California)
- Recorded
- November 2008 – June 2010
- Artwork
- Frank Maddocks
- Label
- Warner Bros. Records
- Length
- 47:56
Singles
- “The Catalyst” · 2 August 2010
- “Waiting for the End” · 1 October 2010
- “Burning in the Skies” · 21 March 2011
- “Iridescent” · 28 May 2011
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 2010 | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart · 2010 | 2 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2010 | 1 |
| Austrian Albums · 2010 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2010 | 1 |
| Czech Albums · 2010 | 1 |
| European Albums (Billboard) · 2010 | 1 |
| German Albums · 2010 | 1 |
| Italian Albums · 2010 | 1 |
| Korea Int · 2010 | 1 |
All 37 charts
| New Zealand Albums · 2010 | 1 |
| Portuguese Albums · 2010 | 1 |
| Swiss Albums · 2010 | 1 |
| Swiss Albums (Romandie) · 2010 | 1 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2010 | 1 |
| US Alternative · 2010 | 1 |
| US Hard Rock · 2010 | 1 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2010 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2010 | 2 |
| Danish Albums · 2010 | 2 |
| Greek Albums (IFPI) · 2010 | 2 |
| Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) · 2010 | 2 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2010 | 2 |
| Polish Albums · 2010 | 2 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2010 | 3 |
| Irish Albums · 2010 | 3 |
| Russian Albums (2M) · 2010 | 3 |
| Spanish Albums · 2010 | 3 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2010 | 4 |
| French Albums · 2010 | 4 |
| Korea · 2010 | 4 |
| Norwegian Albums · 2010 | 4 |
| Scottish Albums · 2010 | 4 |
| Swedish Albums · 2010 | 5 |
| Finnish Albums · 2010 | 6 |
| Dutch Albums · 2010 | 7 |
| Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico) · 2010 | 28 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2011 | Platinum |
| Austria | Gold |
| Brazil · 2012 | Gold |
| Canada | Platinum |
| Denmark · 2011 | Gold |
| Finland | Gold |
| France · 2010 | Gold |
| GCC · 2010 | Gold |
| Germany | 3× Gold |
| Ireland · 2010 | Gold |
| Italy · 2021 | Platinum |
| Japan · 2010 | Gold |
| New Zealand · 2023 | Platinum |
| Poland · 2010 | Platinum |
| Russia · 2010 | Platinum |
| Switzerland | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2021 | Platinum |
| United States · 2017 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
90.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
10k
ListenBrainz listeners
164k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
129k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 8 September
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2013
Recharged
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One More Light Live
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2020
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More on Warner Bros. Records
The label →Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park · 2000
Meteora
Linkin Park · 2003
Minutes to Midnight
Linkin Park · 2007
One More Light
Linkin Park · 2017
The Hunting Party
Linkin Park · 2014
Collision Course
Linkin Park · 2004
Reanimation
Linkin Park · 2002
Dizzy Up the Girl
Goo Goo Dolls · 1998
The Hunting Party: Acapellas + Instrumentals
Linkin Park · 2014
Living Things: Acapellas and Instrumentals
Linkin Park · 2012
Recharged
Linkin Park · 2013
One More Light Live
Linkin Park · 2017
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 2010-09-14 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 8 September 2010 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 8 September 2010 | |
| Wikidata | 14 September 2010 | |
| Deezer | 13 September 2010 | |
| US release | 13 September 2010 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 2010 | earliest UK or European date |
28 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Machine Shop Recordings | 093624963332 | other |
| 2010 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624962847 | other |
| 2010 | ZA | Warner Bros. Records | 6001212382339 | other |
| 2010 | MX | Machine Shop Recordings | 09362495885 | other |
| 2010 | CA | Machine Shop Recordings | 093624963332 | other |
| 2010 | AR | Warner Bros. Records | 093624963332 | other |
| 2010 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624958895 | other |
| September 2010 | XE | Machine Shop Recordings | 093624963332 | other |
| September 2010 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 093624963172 | other |
| 8 September 2010 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 093624963325 | original |
| 8 September 2010 | XW | Warner Bros. Records | 093624949312 | original |
| 10 September 2010 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674101306 | other |
| 10 September 2010 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624963332 | other |
| 10 September 2010 | AU | Warner Bros. Records | 9340650006535 | other |
| 10 September 2010 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624963110 | other |
| 10 September 2010 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624963172 | other |
| 10 September 2010 | XW | Warner Bros. Records | deluxe | |
| 13 September 2010 | XW | Warner Bros. Records | 093624948940 | deluxe |
| 13 September 2010 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624948940 | deluxe |
| 14 September 2010 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624962847 | other |
| 14 September 2010 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624963332 | other |
| 14 September 2010 | US | Warner Bros. Records | deluxe | |
| October 2010 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624963189 | other |
| 15 October 2010 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624963189 | other |
| 24 November 2010 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674102433 | other |
| 22 February 2011 | XW | Warner Bros. Records | 093624958994 | other |
| 25 May 2011 | JP | Warner Music | 4943674105885 | other |
| 17 June 2011 | AU | Warner Bros. Records | 9340650009123 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1600x1600
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1600×1600 | native: native 1600x1600 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |