Stone Temple Pilots surprised 30 fans and a handful of journalists by doing a live set at the band’s rehearsal space on Sunday. With new singer Chester Bennington (Linkin’ Park) at the helm after the sudden and well publicized firing and departure of Scott Weiland earlier this year, people had big expectations on the future of STP. So…. what do you think? Our comments AFTER you watch the video.
Stone Temple Pilots is a great band, and Scott Weiland’s voice was instantly recognizable both with STP and with Velvet Revolver which he also fronted, but we’re pretty unbiased about the band asking him to leave – a band has to do what they have to do to keep going both professionally and personally, and STP did just that. However… Bennington’s voice is just too nasally for us. Too high pitched, lacking the depth that Weiland’s had. It’s not a matter of ‘nobody but Scott can sing STP’ but more like… Bennington isn’t the right fit for this band, for those songs, in our opinion. Would love to hear what you think.
The band recently announced a USA Tour with Bennington fronting the group, dates below.
Stone Temple Pilots 2013 Tour Dates:
09/04 – Bethlehem, PA @ Sands Bethlehem Events Center
09/06 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
09/07 – Atlantic City, NJ @ House of Blues
09/09 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
09/10 – Huntington, NY @ Paramount
09/13 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Downtown Airpark
09/14 – Newkirk, OK @ First Council Casino
09/17 – Sunrise, FL @ BB & T Center (Florida Panthers Event)
09/18 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
09/20 – Columbia, SC @ Township Auditorium
09/21 – Ft Myers, FL @ Shockwave Festival at Jet Blue Park
09/24 – Midland, TX @ La Hacienda Event Center
09/26 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee
09/27 – Las Vegas, NV @ Freemont Street Experience
11/01 – Biloxi, MS @ Hard Rock Live
Chester is a great choice, he has nothing but respect for the band and their music. He doesn’t sound anything like Scott but he never claimed to. Will always love Scott, STP, Chester and LP.