Stadium rock giants Linkin Park are heading to the North East later this year on the back of brand new album A Thousand Suns.

The US band has sold more than 50 million records worldwide and won two Grammys since bursting onto the nu-metal scene with debut album Hybrid Theory a decade ago.

And after announcing four UK arena dates earlier this year Linkin Park have now confirmed they will play Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena on Friday November 5.

“It’s safe to say fans can expect fireworks from one of the hottest bands on the planet,” said a spokesman for the band.

November will be the first time in three years that Linkin Park have toured the UK and A Thousand Suns, due for release next month, is tipped to go straight to number one.

Each of the band’s previous two albums have topped the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic with 2007’s Minutes To Midnight also hitting the number one spot in Germany, Japan and Australia.

Having honed their nu-metal sound to appeal to rock audiences the world over, the Californians have become famous for pushing the boundaries musically – famously collaborating with Jay-Z on the Collision Course record.

Last year saw the band team up with renowned composer Hans Zimmer to pen the soundtrack for the film Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen.

And earlier this year Linkin Park released a new song, Not Alone, for the Haiti Earthquake Appeal. Renowned for their charity work the band has supported victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami in the past.

According to the band A Thousand Suns will be another ‘genre-busting’ release and the new album will be based around a concept first conceived by a friend in 2008.

Linkin Park’s latest world tour will kick off in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, on October 7 and heads to the UK the following month.

Originally limited to four dates – in Manchester, Birmingham and London – the British leg of the A Thousand Suns trek has been extended to take in Newcastle due to phenomenal demand for one of the hottest shows in town.

And Linkin Park are the third US stadium band this year to add Tyneside to their touring itinerary after Kiss and 30 Seconds To Mars both announced they would play the Arena weeks after the original tour dates had been released.

Tickets go on sale 9am Friday 20th August priced at £40.00 adv (+ 50p charity donation) subject to booking fee and are available from www.livenation.co.uk