MUMBAI: Drummer Phil Rudd of the Australian rock band AC/DC, who has been charged with making death threats and possession of drugs, will be tried next year in New Zealand, media reported Tuesday.

The 60-year-old musician, who was excused from being present at the hearing on the trial date, pleaded "not guilty" through his lawyer to the charges of threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis, according to the New Zealand Herald newspaper.

Judge Tom Ingram of the Tauranga district court said that the matter would probably be heard by a single judge in 2015, after a review of the case in February.

Last month, owing to lack of evidence against Rudd, the police dropped charges of attempting to arrange for the murder of two people.

In February, a New Zealand court absolved Rudd of the charge of having lied in a report about his drug consumption habits in order to renew his helicopter pilot licence.

Rudd, the only Australian-born member of AC/DC, moved to New Zealand in 1983 after leaving the band, to which he later returned in 1994.

This month, AC/DC is set to release its new album "Rock or Bust".

In August, Rudd launched his first solo album, "Head Job".