LINKIN PARK's CHESTER BENNINGTON: Don't Call KINGS OF CHAOS A 'Supergroup'

Past and present members of LINKIN PARK, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS and GUNS N' ROSES will hit the road together for a string of East Coast dates under the KINGS OF CHAOS moniker, starting on December 17 in Montclair, New Jersey and ending on December 22 in Verona, New York. The mini-tour will be preceded by a three-night stand at the House of Blues in Las Vegas that begins Thursday night (December 1) and continues Friday and Saturday (December 2-3).

The shows will feature former GUNS and VELVET REVOLVER drummer Matt Sorum, LINKIN PARK vocalist Chester Bennington, Robin Zander of CHEAP TRICK, Billy Gibbons of ZZ TOP, BILLY IDOL guitarist Steve Stevens and bassist Robert DeLeo of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS.

But despite the star-studded lineup, Bennington insists KINGS OF CHAOS can't be described as a supergroup.

He tells Vegas Seven: "From my perspective, a supergroup is when members of two successful bands leave their bands and form something new.

"My generational examples of a supergroup would be VELVET REVOLVER and AUDIOSLAVE. With the members of KINGS OF CHAOS, we're all in intact groups, so we have a large catalogue of songs from each of our bands that we can play live."

The lineup at the Vegas gigs will feature guitarist Billy Duffy from THE CULT and SLIPKNOT vocalist Corey Taylor alongside Sorum, Bennington, DeLeo and Stevens.

"We try to give everyone time to shine," Bennington says. "There are songs I'm not familiar with, which makes for a challenge and gives me a competitive boner.

"Being in KINGS OF CHAOS brings me back to my early days in bands when I was doing it for fun. We don't have any originals. So how about we play covers of songs we love?

"I'm just a fan, so when I go out and do, say, a JANE'S ADDICTION song, I want to do a great job and nail it. People don't want to hear the Chester Bennington version. So I sing it the way I heard it growing up."

Sorum, who is the creative force behind the act, said, "KINGS OF CHAOS always delivers a badass lineup, and this tour will not disappoint. Where can you hear some of the most iconic songs in rock history packed into one show, performed by the actual artists who created them? Every night is a celebration of rock and roll."

The drummer has hinted that KINGS OF CHAOS could record original music at some point in the future, but those plans have yet to materialize.

Tour dates:

Dec. 1, 2 & 3 - Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
Dec. 17 - Montclair, NJ @ Wellmont Theatre
Dec. 18 - Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
Dec. 20 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues
Dec. 21 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
Dec. 22 - Verona, NY @ Turning Stone Resort & Casino