It’s been 48 months since one of the greatest frontmen and singers of all time passed away. His gift lives on however and the legacy of his work is only rising. I’m talking of course, about original Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland.
The grunge era great stood out from the rest of the crowd with his unique stage presence. And while he initially started out as a yarler, he quickly defined his own voice as the band moved forward from their excellent debut album ‘Core.’ And his vocal melodies are timeless and memorable. Not to mention how many of them there are. Tracks like ‘Big Empty’ and ‘Hello, It’s Late’ show diversity and sensitivity. And those are just two examples off of the top of my head. But then there’s the heavy and aggressive side to Scott Weiland. Most of the ‘Core’ album is essentially a stoner metal piece. And a hell of an example of one. Also, tracks like ‘Down’ and ‘Dumb Love’ bring the heat. Making STP a boarder line heavy metal band.
And that’s where I think there’s a slight injustice. In the diversity of what Weiland could do. He just doesn’t get talked about enough in the whole scheme of the fallen. Everyone talks about Cobain, Staley and Cornell. And the latter two were truly incredible. But the fact that Weiland doesn’t really get talked about outside of the community really hurts. He was incredible and is just as worthy of wide conversation as the rest of the crew. Not to mention the was the first to go in a nearly 24 month pattern of fallen rockers that includes David Bowie and Lemmy Kilmeister. I mean, Weiland passed and then all of a sudden they just started dropping like flies.
Either way, his legacy lives on through the quality of the work. And it wasn’t just STP that kept him excellent. He also had a storied solo career and his final project, ‘The Wildabouts,’ were pretty damn good. Although they don’t come close to his contributions to Stone Temple Pilots. Raise a glass, and have a drink for the fallen frontman. Rest in Peace Scott Weiland.
