The story has played out. Stone Temple Pilots ruled the rock world, shut down in the early 2000s for outside projects, reunited in 2008 after Scott Weiland's split from Velvet Revolver and once again saw things sour with Weiland eventually being ousted and eventually replaced by Linkin Park's Chester Bennington. As was recently revealed, Weiland and Stone Temple Pilots have moved on with their careers and settled all legal matters.

In a new interview with the OC Register, guitarist Dean DeLeo reflects on the change and offered some very frank talk about Weiland and what led to the band's switch. DeLeo told the paper, "Robert [DeLeo], Eric [Kretz], Scott and I had put 25 years of our lives into it. Just because I had one guy that didn’t really give a [care] anymore, I'm not going to let one guy ruin my dream, my band and my legacy. I worked hard for Stone Temple Pilots and I loved it with a passion. Robert, Eric and I don't take for granted what the music has meant to people."

Though a little harsh, DeLeo does have some kind things to say about Weiland, but they come with a condition. "I just want to be really clear about something," says DeLeo. "We were never, in any way, trying to just replace anyone. In his day, and I'm speaking of Scott, there was no one better … no one. I will take that to my grave. In his day, there was no one better, but my dear Scott left us long ago."

Once the decision was made to move on without Weiland, Bennington was a favorite to step in. DeLeo stated, "We knew Chester was fit for the position in every sense of the word -- physically, mentally, spiritually -- we knew he would bring an elegance and justice to not only to our legacy, but to our future."

As for that future, Stone Temple Pilots have already released the High Rise EP, which spawned the chart-topping single "Out of Time." Meanwhile, with Linkin Park having a break in their schedule, Bennington has been writing and working with STP on new music and will join them on tour this spring. Dates can be found here.

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