The Kills' frontwoman Alison Mosshart has issued a statement regarding tabloid rumors that she and Jack White recently engaged in a fist fight while drinking in a New York bar.

News of which sent chills throughout the music community. Coming on the heels of Noel Gallagher's decesion to split Oasis, the thought that Charlie Watts would leave the Stones just shy of their 50th anniversary seemed almost too much to bear.

Nightwatcher reports: Drummer Lars Ulrich is looking to take a break from Metallica to tour with members of UK rock legends Deep Purple. Ulrich has offered to join David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes and Jon Lord if the trio reteams for a world tour, as they've intimated in the media. more

Shortly after that rumor surfaced Blabbermouth posted this response: Former Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord has commented on rumors of a possible reunion of the Deep Purple Mk III lineup featuring a special guest appearance by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich.

But now there's real reason to get your flannels in a knot: the rumor mill continues to spin that Cornell will be joining his buds for a full-on reunion.
In a recent interview with Kerrang! [via TwentyFourBit], Brent Smith of the band Shinedown dropped hints that he's heard the news, saying, "There's talk of a reuniting of Soundgarden in the States soon. I know actually someone specific who told me that, who is actually specifically in their organization. Kinda told me that they're talking about it." more

Chris Cornell told Rolling Stone that Soundgarden have been talking � not about touring or recording, but about the band's legacy. "The only thing that we have talked about is trying to put together an album of B sides and maybe a box set with some unreleased tracks we have," Cornell says. more

That's fair enough but Cornell then took it one step further: Gibson.com has a new interview with Chris Cornell, here is part of the intro and an excerpt where he discusses his aversion to reuniting with Soundgarden. Here you go: we finally got him on the phone, pulled out our extensive list of queries and got maybe three in before he went on a monologue that lasted nearly 30-minutes, at which point his publicist jumped on the line and said it was time for his next interview. What can we say, the guy is a pro.

Fortunately, Cornell touched on all the things we were dying to ask him about anyway, such as the miracle of Twitter, the backlash against the new album and the general horrors of touring. Sadly, he didn't offer any advice for our ongoing battle with frizzy hair.

Slayer guitarist Kerry King has told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine that he has heard through the grapevine that Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich is plotting a tour that would include Metallica, Megadeth , Slayer and Anthrax. more

Then Blabbermouth) Megadeth's Dave Mustaine was asked during an interview about the rumored "Big Four" tour that would feature Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. Dave being Dave, he had A LOT to say about the rumor: "I don't know... I think anything is possible. But the whole beauty of what we did with the 'Clash Of The Titans' [U.S. tour in 1991] was the three of us [Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax], we really had a common thread that ran through all of us and we were very close in a lot of different areas. Of course, Metallica's success really put them in a kind of unapproachable position where they were just so high in stature, we kind of were all left behind, if you know what I mean. But not saying that in a bad way, because I'm totally satiated with my success right now; I'm very happy with what I've done in my life. Going into what the 'Clash Of The Titans' was, we all had this mutual respect, and we all rotated. And the lineup was always the same � Anthrax played before Megadeth, and Megadeth always played before Slayer. So whoever was headlining, the rotation swapped. Like, if Slayer was headlining, it would be Anthrax, me, then Slayer. If I was headlining, Slayer would open, then Anthrax, then me. Now, I don't know that, because of the stature of Metallica versus [the other three bands], if it would really be a balanced kind of four-way show, you know what I'm saying? . . . [But] I'm not gonna rule anything out.

And as much as I'm trying to tap-dance around in this, it's just gossip and rumors. It would be foolish of me as a businessman to not take that opportunity, and it would be dumb of me as a bandleader to not do that for the guys in my group and for the fans of the band." more

Then Metromix conducted an interview earlier this week with Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo where they discussed the rumor of a possible Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax tour. Here is part of that exchange:

Metromix: There's a rumor going around now about the four classic thrash bands (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax ) touring together. How would you feel about being part of that?

Trujillo: I think it's great. We've had a few different conversations on the subject. I'm friends with (Slayer's) Kerry King and had dinner with him a few months back, and it came up there. I think (Megadeth's) Dave Mustaine is amazing. I've never had a problem with him personally. I think it'd be great if Metallica shared the stage with his band. Metallica's still great friends with (Anthrax's) Scott Ian. There's a lot of history there. I think it'd be great for metal. I don't think all four bands have played together at the same time.

Metromix: So there's truth to the rumor?

Trujillo: There is, but nothing's concrete. It's not a sealed deal. We're working on it. more

Shortly after, Kirk came an rained on the parade: The much-rumored Big Four thrash metal tour is not going to happen, says Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, who told the WKLS Project 9-6-1 Morning Show with El Jefe and Shaffee: "That tour is not gonna happen. I've been hearing that. We've all been hearing it for a while. I get asked regularly. It's a good idea and I can see the significance of playing a tour like that." He says. "There's conflicting schedules, conflicting personalities - a lot of conflicting things. It's not gonna happen."