Thursday, September 26, 2013

Stone Temple Pilots - High Rise

High rise or high road?  That's the question that has been fumbling around in my head since the vocal takeover of Chester Bennington; hands down one of the biggest names in rock n roll right now (and for the past 10 years).

So for all those who haven't been following the entertainment news recently, Stone Temple Pilots (aka Robert DeLeo, Eric Kretz, and Dean DeLeo) have been in a family feud so to say with former vocalist and STP founder Scott Weiland.  Different POV's on the band's future put a rift between the group and ultimately fired Scott from the position.  A bit of a harsh move but this was not the first time that Scott was removed from a lead vocal spot before (coughSTPcoughVelvetRevolvercough).

"I learned of my supposed 'termination' from Stone Temple Pilots this morning by reading about it in the press. Not sure how I can be 'terminated' from a band that I founded, fronted and co-wrote many of its biggest hits, but that's something for the lawyers to figure out. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing all of my fans on my solo tour which starts this Friday." -Weiland (dated Feb 27th, 2013)



So moving forward, the group pressed on with Scott filing lawsuit after lawsuit with claims that the band cannot use their name without his consent.  Blah, blah, blah...we will see what the courts have to say about all this legal BS.

"The band that played last weekend was not Stone Temple Pilots and it was wrong of them to present themselves as that... They don't have the legal right to call themselves STP because I'm still a member of the band... It's misleading and dishonest to the millions of fans that have followed us for so many years. When I tour on my own, it's never as Stone Temple Pilots. It's as Scott Weiland. The fans deserve to know what they're getting... If my former bandmates want to tour with a new singer, that's their prerogative. I don't give a f**k what they call themselves, but it's not Stone Temple Pilots." -Weiland

So back to the music now, Chester enters the scene from what seems thin air.  The chemistry is instant and full of new, fresh ideas that both Chester and the band seemed to be really enjoying.


1. Out of Time
2. Black Heart
3. Same on the Inside
4. Cry, Cry
5. Tomorrow

"Naturally, I'm not [former STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer] Scott [Weiland], so I'm not gonna think of the same melodies, I'm not gonna think of the same lyrical content and such, so in that sense, naturally, there's gonna be a difference in terms of how I interpret what the band puts together musically. I think that's one of the reasons why we're so eager to get the [new STONE TEMPLE PILOTS] EP out, because we want people to hear the new direction and feel the vibe of the new music. Because there's definitely a vibe in that EP that is fresh and it's new but it still feels very STP." -Benningnton



So why an EP?  If the chemistry is good and the songs are really coming along nice, why only do 5 songs instead of pushing for an entire full length?  Well, it seems Chester even got quotes stating there is no major label to pick them up right now, as you can read below:

"We don't have a label. Everything we're doing is on our own, so we're just taking it one track at a time. We would love to sit down and hammer out a record, but the reality is we're gonna make music, we're gonna make a lot of it, and we're gonna be in a position to release a single at a time, go out and really give people music the way they want to get it." -Bennington

So the latest release from the group would be their 8 minute EPK for their upcoming "High Rise" release, which is scheduled for October 8th, 2013 via 13Star Records (whoever that is).  I am personally soooo excited to hear this EP and (hopefully) the tour to follow.  Negativity is going to surround this debacle for quite some time but in the end it is what it is.  STP loves Chester and Chester loves STP.  They make good music together and Chester is an equally entertaining front man.  GET OVER IT!



"I'm very proud to have had the honor to have worked with Scott [Weiland] in the past – really, at a time when there was no one better, in my opinion. I'm really, really excited about what we carved out, and I'm just as honored and just as proud of what we're embarking upon right now." -Dean DeLeo

Now all we need is a good ol North American tour with a stop in Toronto.  Who's with me?!


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