Linkin Park strives to stay fresh

But, through inventive song craft, sharp production and unflagging ambition, Linkin Park has sold more than 50 million records, and it is still unloading releases that debut at No. 1 on the Billboard chart and designing elaborate arena tours.

The band’s latest outing, to support its September release, “A Thousand Suns,” launches Jan. 20 in Fort Lauderdale, and three days later, it lands at Philips Arena in Atlanta.

In a conference call with reporters, band co-founder/rapper/keyboardist/rhythm guitarist/singer Mike Shinoda said that the visual look of the tour will coincide thematically with “Suns,” which examines nuclear warfare and expands musically on the band’s electronica interests.

“A lot of themes on the record are taking a central role in the visuals,” he said. “From night to night, the music will be different, and the visuals will be different as well. No two shows will be the same.”

Linkin Park also knows that whether fans are die-hards or newcomers, they’ll want to hear the band’s extensive hit list, so expect “In the End,” “Breaking the Habit,” “Numb” and “What I’ve Done” alongside current cuts “The Catalyst” and “Waiting for the End.”

The sextet of Shinoda, Chester Bennington (lead vocals), David "Phoenix" Farrell (bass), Rob Bourdon (drummer), Brad Delson (guitar) and Joe Hahn (turntables) has always interacted closely with fans, and for this tour, they’re showing their gratitude by providing a souvenir: a free MP3 of the concert.

“We want the fans to be able to take that special event of the concert home with them,” Shinoda said.

Attendees can text a code displayed on the video screens at the venue to later receive a download link to access the concert.

Shinoda said the MP3 could take from a day to a week to arrive, since the shows are being specially mixed for optimum sound.

Additionally, fans should be able to purchase MP3s from concerts other than the one they attended.

Linkin Park is also continuing its charitable actions with its Music for Relief organization, which the band created after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.

Last year, after the earthquake in Haiti, Linkin Park launched the Download to Donate for Haiti program and just reignited it as “v2.0.”

“It’s the one-year anniversary of the earthquake, so it’s the perfect time to talk about it,” Shinoda said, adding that so far, the project has raised $250,000.

For a one-time $10 donation (via www.downloadtodonate.org), participants receive a yearlong subscription to a catalog of songs donated by hundreds of artists, including Alanis Morissette, Lupe Fiasco, Slash, the All-American Rejects and, of course, Linkin Park.

The band also will donate $1 from every concert ticket to Music for Relief.

While Linkin Park -- recently announced as the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" for Feb. 5 -- has expanded its musical instincts over a career of four studio albums, what continues to drive the band is a desire for reinvention.

“I don’t think we think in terms of bridging the gap [between hip-hop and rock] because I think it’s been bridged a million times,” Shinoda said. “One misconception is that when you sit down to write a song, you’re thinking about imitating something else. When we do it, we try to write something that is exciting to us, and is fresh.”

Concert preview

Linkin Park with Pendulum and Does It Offend You, Yeah?

7 p.m. Jan. 23. $46.30-$84.20 (all fees included). Philips Arena, 1 Philips Drive, Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.