Sevendust will release their fifth studio album, Next, on October 11. Their single "Ugly" was released on August 9 and is rising up the Rock charts. The band also recently teamed up with WAAF/Boston and Homes For Our Troops to help build a new home for an Iraqi War veteran who is now confined to a wheelchair. Sevendust then performed a concert that night for the 300+ volunteers who helped build the home. Sevendust will kick off their U.S. tour in January.

Hip-hop star Snoop Dogg is launching is own skateboard company in coalition with Pentagon Distribution. It will be called Snoop Dogg Board Company and will create long and short skateboards, accessories and backpacks. Duane Pacha, President of Pentagon Distribution, said, "Bing Worthington, Jr., Snoop Dogg's brother, came to us with a vision of bridging these two industries together because there is already so much crossover between skateboarding and the Rap/Hip-Hop market."

It looks like Tool has headed back into the studio to record their anticipated follow-up to 2001's Lateralus. According to the blog of guitarist Adam Jones, the band has been recording for weeks and has been visited in the studio by the likes of Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and the Melvins' King Buzzo. In addition to these puzzling pictures there is an even more puzzling journal entry on Tool's official website by their webmaster Blair Blake.

Dashboard Confessional, Keane and The Thrills will join U2's Vertigo Tour for their fall North American dates. Billboard reports that Dasboard will open the first eight dates of the tour, with Keane opening the two Boston shows and the five-night stand in Madison Square Garden. According to fan site U2log.com, The Thrills will be on board for a number of shows as well.

Sunday night's critically-panned MTV Video Music Awards' ratings were down by 22 percent from the previous year. As previously reported, the VMA's were hosted by Sean "Diddy" Combs and awards were handed out to artists such as Green Day, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Missy Elliott and Gorillaz.

Damageplan singer Pat Lachman is working with a new band called Mercy Clinic. It features guitarists Brian Harrah (Professional Murder Music) and Josh Stinson (Drist), bassist Steed Najera (Triple Seven) and drummer Bevan Davies (Danzig). As for moving on after the tragic death of guitarist Dimebag Darrell, Lachman told MTV.com, “I don't think there's really ever a time that it's going to feel appropriate for me. Ultimately, you have to get back on the horse. I'm happy to have walked away with my life after the situation I was thrown into. But what do you do? I'm a musician. I'm going to make music. What Dime would have told me was, 'You make music, motherf---er. Get back on it. Do what you do.’” The music is said to be a lot more melodic and less metallic than Damageplan. "The material's very broad," Lachman explained of Mercy Clinic. "It runs the gamut from heavy to acoustic, surreal to just wacked-out, effects-laden stuff with no drums and different vocal approaches."