How Losing Chester Bennington And Scott Weiland Affected Stone Temple Pilots, Dean DeLeo Recalls

Stone Temple Pilots’ Dean DeLeo has revealed his feelings about the loss of Chester Bennington and Scott Weiland in a 2019 interview by Music Radar.

Stone Temple Pilots was formed in 1989 with the original line-up featuring Scott Weiland, Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo, and Eric Kretz. Their line-up remained unchanged until 2013 when Weiland was fired from the band. Following Weiland’s departure, Chester Bennington joined STP in May 2013. The musician toured with the band actively and released the EP ‘High Rise’ in 2013. However, he left the band in November 2015 and focused on his career with Linkin Park.

Although the band was a popular figure as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, they were plagued by Weiland’s struggles with drug addiction. As you may know, after being fired from the band in 2013, Weiland started working with his band Wildabouts. Sadly, in December 2015, the musician died of a drug overdose at the age of 48. Two years after Weiland’s death, the band’s former lead singer Chester Bennington also died due to suicide by hanging. Therefore, the tragic losses of the iconic frontmen left the STP fans and the band quite heartbroken.

In a previous interview with Music Radar, STP guitarist Dean DeLeo talked about losing Scott Weiland and Chester Bennington. He stated that no words could describe what they have been through. The guitarist then noted that Scott and Chester had a huge impact on his personal and professional life. Following that, he added that they are always in his heart and his head.

Dean DeLeo told Music Radar that:

“There are no words to describe what we’ve been through as a band. Scott and Chester were two people that were so impactful on my life personally and professionally. To have shared the intimacy of making music together? Those guys are in my heart and in my head daily.

We had a lot left in us. We had to do the catalog justice with someone who could sing beautifully, not emulate, but just sound powerful in themselves. More importantly, we needed to find someone to write with.

It was about simple things like making music and laughing together. A lot of the time with Jeff was spent doing just that, almost for a year before we said, ‘Okay, hey man… would you like to be in the band?’ Jeff is extraordinarily talented. He’s a true singer. And Scott was too, same as Chester.”

After Bennington’s departure, STP continued working with Jeff Gutt. After a long time of thinking about who will be the right person to continue their legacy, they made this decision. In the same interview, DeLeo claimed that Jeff is an extraordinarily talented singer, just like Scott and Chester. More recently, on February 7, 2020, Stone Temple Pilots released their eighth studio album titled ‘Perdida.’