StoneTemplePilots.comIt came as a bit of a surprise this weekend when former Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland revealed in an interview that he had heard that current frontman Chester Bennington was no longer with the group. Now the band and Bennington have both issued statements confirming their parting of the ways.
Bennington has been splitting time between Stone Temple Pilots and Linkin Park since 2013, but as it turns out, the balance of time between the two acts just wasn’t working out. Bennington says in his statement:
The last few years have been an amazing experience. I got to create and perform with one of the greatest rock bands of our generation, that had so much influence on me growing up. With the amount of time STP deserves, in addition to being in Linkin Park, and with the needs of my family, one of them always seems to fall short. Going in to this, the four of us… Robert, Eric, Dean and myself knew what we were up against. We decided in due fairness to friends, fans and the legacy of STP that it needs more than time was allowing me. And in all fairness to my bandmates in Linkin Park, as well as to myself and to my family, I’m going to focus solely on Linkin Park so I can contribute 100%. It’s been an amazing experience and a dream come true, and I look forward to the future of both STP and Linkin Park.
– Chester
Meanwhile, the remaining members of Stone Temple Pilots issued their own statement, revealing that they have been testing the relationships with other vocalists over the last couple of months. Their comments can be read below:
What an amazing and beautiful few years we’ve all had together. It was our honor to play and see all of you recently on tour. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time together with Chester not only professionally, but even more so on a personal level. Sadly, it was evident that scheduling and time was working against us. Within this, there is a new beginning. There is an abundance of new music written, some of which is already recorded. We have had the fortune of playing with some very talented singers over the last few months and will continue to do so until each of us feels and knows when the right person arrives.
With love,
Robert, Eric & Dean
Coinciding with Weiland’s revelation on the state of STP was a pair of tweets from Highly Suspect vocalist Johnny Stevens revealing he had been approached by Dean DeLeo about his availability. Stevens passed on the opportunity, but as the statement above suggests, the band has tried out others.
During their time together, the Bennington-fronted Stone Temple Pilots released the High Rise EP, which yielded the chart-topping single “Out of Time” as well as the follow-up radio favorite “Black Heart.”
Stay tuned to see how Stone Temple Pilots proceed moving forward and look for Chester Bennington devoting the majority of his musical time to Linkin Park.
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Source: Loudwire.com
