The Whatsit

So point one should be that in 2013, simply having Weiland on board is not a guarantee for success. Of course, maybe the self-titled "Stone Temple Pilots" would have been pure suck without Scott on mic giving his best David Bowie impression on "First Kiss On Mars." (Seriously, that was kind of weird.) Maybe Scott was the only thing keeping it on the wavering line of alrightness. We won't really know until the next STP album drops, although given that Scott hasn't really contributed anything truly great to the world of music in over a decade (no, Velvet Revolver was not great) I wouldn't put money on it.

Now let's talk Chester. I don't like Linkin Park. I listened to them briefly when I was in high school and later shrugged it off as a phase I was going through. But as much as I'd love to pour hate on LP and the easy target that it is, this is irrelevant unless Chester's masterplan is to turn Stone Temple Pilots into Linkin Park Mach II, which I find unlikely -- I doubt the DeLeos would let that slip by. So that leaves two questions: What will he contribute vocally, and what will he contribute musically?

Now here's something I never thought I'd say: The lead singer of Linkin Park actually seems like a good vocal match for STP. I know. I'm surprised too. I've listened to the new single "Out Of Time" as well as some bootlegs of Chester singing with STP (he's done it before; they didn't just pick his name out of a hat) and he certainly has some vocal chops. While certainly not a Weiland simulacrum -- Chester's voice is a bit lighter and cleaner, and he doesn't have that full grungy gargle that everyone in the '90s had where every lead singer felt they had to sing like Pearl Jam was stuck in their throat -- it seems like he can pull off a fair amount of what is needed for the position. (Case in point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVi3wlbSn1M) Granted, he can sound like he's trying too hard when digging into a rockier part that was perfectly crafted for Scott's voice. And the recent KROQ performance certainly proved that... painfully. But when he's singing his own parts, as in "Out Of Time," it does work. And if the change in sound bothers you, then fair enough. And Scott did do a number of things in terms of lyrics and melody lines that Chester may not be able to match up to. But it's not an immediate kill point for me, anyway -- not until I hear more studio work, anyway.

So now the question is what STP will lose and gain musically for switching out Smackhead Scott for Crawling-In-My-Skin Chester. This is the most nebulous area and really, the only thing we can do right now is look at the new song, "Out Of Time." It's definitely a rocking number -- if anything, it's leaning toward the Velvet Revolver side of things, which is not a plus for me. But none of the things that typify Linkin Park -- the whininess, the emotional posturing, the hip-hop and electronica elements -- are present here. Even Bennington's shout of "yeeeeeaaaaah" feels more aggressive, as if being in the presence of STP has caused his balls to finally drop. This is not to say Park-ian elements won't pop up in a full-blown album, but as of right now, the DeLeos seem to be forming the solid backbone of the newly-reworked band, which is a good thing. Whether or not the resulting production is worthwhile has yet to be seen.

One thing that could be a very positive influence is that Chester almost certainly won't be as much of a pain to work with as Weiland, if certain reports are to be believed. Whether that lack of tension will have any actual effect on the music is anybody's guess, but it could theoretically lead to more consistency in the frequency and quality of the band's output.

So ultimately, I'm not bothered by this lineup change, and I'm probably just as surprised as you are about that conclusion. Change can be a good thing, and if "Stone Temple Pilots" was any indication, it's just what this band needs. The interplay of Scott and the DeLeos may have been just brilliant in the '90s, but these ain't the '90s. And even at their highest point, Weiland's unpredictably was a toxic force, and it shows in the band's visibly uneven back catalogue.

At the very least, I don't think that Chester Bennington will be the reason for STP's crashing and burning, if they should crash and burn. Despite his past musical history and his astonishingly lame New England prep school name, there is potential here. I won't say I'm overly optimistic, but I certainly don't see this as a terrible thing despite my desire to be all knee-jerk reactionary. As always, I'll continue looking forward to new music by STP, allowing for the fact that I may be disappointed.