In an exclusive interview for this week's Kerrang! magazine, Bennington said, "I'm friends with all the guys in Velvet Revolver and have played with all of them before. I'm friends with Scott too. I think the rumour that I was going to join Velvet Revolver started because Slash asked me if I'd come play a show with them in Vegas right around the time that Scott left the band. Timing-wise, it didn't work out for me, though. Maybe people assumed that invitation meant I was joining the band."

The 37-year-old rocker was scheduled to play at the Download Festival, a three-day British music concert that also featured Judas Priest, Incubus and The Offspring.

Blabbermouth has more: Metallica has announced the title of its new album � "Death Magnetic" � by posting the finalized/complete version of the image that originally appeared on the band's official web site on Tuesday (June 10) under the headline "???."

The American Federation of Musicians has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against American Idol Productions and its subsidiary Tick Tock Productions, who they alleged created an unauthorized orchestral soundtrack for the second season of "American Idol Rewind."

Nine Inch Nails have unveiled details on the CD release of The Slip. The album will be released July 22 in North America as an individually numbered limited edition, with a bonus DVD more

Britney Spears will not be charged over an incident last year in which she allegedly ran over the foot of a paparazzo. According to the LAPD, Brit was not at fault and the evidence doesn't prove that Brit left the scene of an accident more

Scars on Broadway, the long-awaited collaboration between guitarist-frontman Daron Malakian and drummer John Dolmayan, both best known for their work in the multi-Platinum-selling, Grammy-winning band System of a Down, will release their self-titled debut on July 29. But you don't wait until then to get a feel for what the band is all about. They've posted the song "They Say" over at iMeem. You can check it out here

The legendary heavy metal heroes Testament have won the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award for Album of the Year for The Formation of Damnation. Testament beat out the other worthy contenders in this category: Atreyu, Bullet For My Valentine, Children Of Bodom and Down. Testament will be on the Metal Masters Tour all summer long with Judas Priest, Heaven and Hell and Motorhead.

Are you ready for the next move in the release date game? Originally due June 24 then July 8, the Game's third album, "LAX," is now set for release July 22 via Geffen. more

Canadian hardcore/punk band F**ked Up has signed a deal with Matador Records for the release of an EP titled "Year Of The Pig." Slated for worldwide release on July 22, the EP is an expanded version of the 12" single released by What's Your Rupture?

Aretha Franklin is set to headline this year's Newport Jazz Festival, scheduled to take place August 9 in Newport, RI. The Queen of Soul will join jazz saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Wayne Shorter, trumpeter Chris Botti and legendary composer Herbie Hancock at the event more

Nada Surf have announced that they will play a handful of dates on the west coast this summer. They're set to kick off the west coast jaunt in Costa Mesa, California on August 28. all the details

Christmas seems to come earlier and earlier every year. Faith Hill's first Christmas album, "Joy to the World," will arrive September 16. The first single from the Warner Bros. release is an original track, "A Baby Changes Everything" more

The Rolling Stones have played down a weekend report that the band planned to ditch long-term record company EMI to join concert promoter Live Nation. more

Idolator has the tale: From an e-mail blast sent by turmoil-filled concert behemoth Live Nation to New York concertgoers: "Live Nation announced today that effective immediately customers purchasing tickets on livenation.com will be afforded the privilege of entering shows prior to those holding tickets purchased other ticketing services."

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour has suggested the original members of the band could get together for another one-off gig in the future. However, the singer and guitarist claimed that a full tour was unlikely. read his comments

Kiss star Gene Simmons has ruled out ever inviting former bandmates Peter Criss and Ace Frehley back onstage with him - because they're not fit enough to cut it live. Criss and Frehley joined Simmons and frontman Paul Stanley in three separate Kiss incarnations, but the bass player insists they won't be back for a third reunion run. more

Sir Paul McCartney has performed in front of tens of thousands of people in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The former Beatle braved thunder, lightning and torrential rain to perform his first concert in the former Soviet republic. Sir Paul sang a range of Beatles classics and solo material during his two-and-a-half hour set.

Hopefully the Doggfather has some pull at the station. Snoop's wife, Shante Taylor Broadus, was arrested at 12:15 AM PT Saturday morning in Fullerton, Ca. for driving under the influence.

Coldplay have shot straight to the top of the UK albums chart - despite their record having been on sale for just three days. The band's fourth album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, has sold 302,000 copies since Thursday. more

Doubtful anyone that visits this site would be interested in this but just in case some undiscerning people happened upon the site: On Tuesday June 24th, join Melissa Reyes of "The Search For The Next Pussycat Doll" fame with Demi Lovato of the Jonas Brothers movie "Camp Rock" at The Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, NY; doors open at 6pm.

MySpace says it will undergo a major site redesign beginning next week, including a new splash page, search functions, profile editor and overall site navigation. The much-heralded MySpace Music service will not go live as part of the June 18 redesign BUT

Towards the end of a rowdy show which saw frontman Ginger bantering with the crowd throughout, the rocker began to complain about the lack of objects being thrown forward, chastizing the crowd by saying, "is that all you've got to throw?"

This is a truly exciting opportunity for anyone who wishes to not only live in the heart of Sin City, but to own a piece of and experience rock royalty lifestyle." The starting bid is $750,000.

Here are some quick reports about both from AP: Pearl Jam wowed the Bonnaroo crowd with a three-hour performance late Saturday, returning the band to the grand stage of a music festival. In the midst of their concert � which went almost an hour longer than scheduled � lead singer Eddie Vedder acknowledged that the band thought they might never again play such a show � and "with good reason." read about that and more about this performance

"Live from Abbey Road" features performances by new and established A-list artists, with each one-hour episode offering three acts and a unique insight into the process of making music as they rehearse, discuss their work, and build towards the final exclusive performance.

Drowning Pool's 'Full Circle' has now scanned over 75,000 units and they currently have over 221,000 fans on MySpace and and have averaged over 3,000 spins per day.

Fans are getting a sample with the release of a new single, "Beating My Heart," which impacted at the Hot AC radio format on June 9th.

The first gig is a short set at the legendary Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ. Later in the evening, the band offers a full show at The Record Collector, as part of The Living Room Concert Series. Details follow below:

Five of the twelve jurors met with reporters immediately after handing down the acquittal. They said that as recently as this morning, the vote was split nine to three for a not guilty verdict, but that fell apart as they voted -- on the hour, every hour -- because the alleged victim hadn't testified and refused to cooperate.

The magic million is within sight of Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III." The Cash Money/Universal album continues to lead Nielsen SoundScan's Building chart, released today (June 13). Based on the new tally, the album could sell a million copies by the time SoundScan closes out its tracking week on Sunday night. more

Leona Lewis is reportedly set to replace Amy Winehouse as the singer of the theme of the new James Bond movie. She is said to be in talks with the movie's producers to sing the theme for the 22nd Bond flick 'Quantum Of Solace'. more

Be Your Own Pet's frontwoman took a bit of a swipe at the Warped Tour and the bands that play it. Here it is: I just associate it with a certain look and a certain style and the kind of kids at school that I thought were-- this is really bad, I'm sure-- the kind of kids that were dumbasses wearing Rancid t-shirts who thought they knew what punk rock was and threw things at people in the cafeteria.