He was a mess. A beautiful, high-octane, terrifying mess. When you talk about the Stone Temple Pilots vocalist, your mind usually goes straight to one image: Scott Weiland, shirtless, megaphone in hand, snake-dancing across a stage like he was being electrocuted by the very music he was singing. It’s a polarizing legacy. Critics in the early nineties absolutely loathed him, calling him a Vedder clone or a poseur. They were wrong. History has a funny way of scrubbing away the cynical takes of bored journalists and leaving behind the raw truth of the records.
STP didn't just have a singer. They had a shapeshifter.
The Scott Weiland Era: More Than Just Grunge
Most people group Stone Temple Pilots into the "Big Four" of grunge, even though they were from San Diego, not Seattle. But look at the trajectory of the Stone Temple Pilots vocalist through those first three albums. Core was the heavy, brooding debut that gave us "Sex Type Thing." Then came Purple, where Weiland started finding this weird, melodic, almost Bowie-esque croon. By the time they hit Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, the guy was basically a glam-rock alien.
The range was staggering.
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He could do the gravelly, basement-dwelling baritone that defined the era, but he could also hit these vulnerable, airy notes that felt like they were going to snap. Honestly, that was the magic. You never knew which Scott you were going to get on any given night or any given track. Was it the "Vasoline" growler or the "Big Empty" storyteller?
The band—Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo, and Eric Kretz—were musical juggernauts. They played jazz-inflected rock with complex chord voicings that most grunge bands wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. But they needed a focal point. They needed that lightning rod. Weiland provided it, often at a massive personal cost. His well-documented struggles with addiction weren't just tabloid fodder; they were the friction that both fueled and eventually burned down the band's momentum.
The Problem With Being a Chameleon
Critics like to use the word "authentic" as a weapon. In 1992, Rolling Stone readers voted STP the Best New Band, while the magazine’s critics voted them the Worst New Band. That’s a wild disconnect. The "industry" thought the Stone Temple Pilots vocalist was faking it. They thought he was chasing the coat-tails of Alice in Chains or Pearl Jam.
But if you listen to "Interstate Love Song," you hear something that isn't grunge. It's classic rock. It's alt-country. It's something uniquely Californian. Weiland’s ability to pivot his vocal persona allowed the band to survive the death of grunge while other bands were flickering out. He wasn't just a singer; he was a stylist. He understood that rock and roll is theater. If you aren't putting on a show, why are you even there?
Life After Scott: The Chester Bennington Experiment
When things finally fell apart with Scott for the last time in 2013, the band didn't want to quit. They couldn't. They were musicians in their prime who still had songs to write. So, they did something that nobody expected: they recruited Chester Bennington.
Look, Chester was a legend. His work in Linkin Park changed the world for a lot of kids. And as the Stone Temple Pilots vocalist from 2013 to 2015, he brought a level of professionalism and vocal power that the band hadn't seen in years. He wasn't showing up late. He wasn't falling off stages.
- The High Rise EP was technically proficient.
- "Out of Time" hit number one on the mainstream rock charts.
- The live shows were tight, loud, and energetic.
But something was missing. It felt like a very high-end cover band. Not because Chester wasn't great—he was incredible—but because the DNA of STP was built on Weiland’s specific brand of chaos. You can't replicate the way Scott would lag behind the beat just enough to make you feel uneasy. Chester was a precision instrument; Scott was a live wire.
In 2015, Chester left on good terms to focus on Linkin Park. Shortly after, the rock world lost Scott Weiland. Then, we lost Chester. It was a brutal period for fans. It felt like the position of Stone Temple Pilots vocalist was cursed.
Enter Jeff Gutt: The Impossible Job
How do you follow two of the greatest frontmen in history? You don't try to be them. That’s the approach Jeff Gutt took when he joined in 2017. Gutt, an X Factor alum, had the pipes, sure. But more importantly, he had the grit to take the hits from fans who would never be satisfied.
If you listen to the self-titled 2018 album or 2020’s Perdida, Gutt does something interesting. He doesn't mimic Weiland, but he inhabits the same "vibe." He understands the "DeLeo chord"—that specific, lush, melancholic sound the brothers create. Perdida is an acoustic-heavy, deeply sad record that actually allows Gutt to show he’s a real-deal vocalist, not just a replacement.
He’s been the Stone Temple Pilots vocalist longer than some of the original runs lasted. That says something about his stamina.
The Vocal Evolution: A Technical Breakdown
If you're a singer, you know that Weiland’s technique was actually pretty sophisticated. He used a lot of "vocal fry" in the early days to get that rasp. But he also had a massive "head voice."
- The Megaphone: This wasn't just a prop. It served as a lo-fi filter that allowed him to cut through the heavy distortion of the guitars. It became a signature sonic texture.
- The Slur: Weiland often sang slightly "flat" or "behind," which gave the music a "drunken" swing. It's why "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" feels like it's galloping and stumbling at the same time.
- The Harmonies: The DeLeo brothers are masters of vocal harmony, but Weiland’s ability to layer his own voice in the studio created that wall-of-sound effect you hear on tracks like "Lady Picture Show."
What Most People Get Wrong About the Singer Switch
There is a common narrative that STP "died" when Scott left. That's a bit of a lazy take. If you actually look at the songwriting credits, the DeLeo brothers wrote the lion's share of the music. The Stone Temple Pilots vocalist was the interpreter.
Is the band different now? Absolutely. It’s more stable. It’s more consistent. Is it as dangerous? Probably not. But rock bands are living organisms. They evolve. They age. They survive. To suggest that the band should have stopped is to suggest that the three guys playing the instruments don't matter, and if you've ever tried to play a Dean DeLeo guitar part, you know how untrue that is.
Understanding the Legacy
The story of the Stone Temple Pilots vocalist is ultimately a story about the cost of charisma. Scott Weiland gave everything to those performances until he had nothing left to give. He was a man who lived in the lyrics. When he sang "I'm half the man I used to be," he wasn't just writing a catchy hook for "Creep." He was telling us exactly what was happening.
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How to Appreciate STP Today
If you really want to understand the impact of the different vocalists, do this:
- Listen to "Dead and Bloated" (Live 1993): Experience the raw, unhinged power of Weiland in his physical prime.
- Watch the 2013 "Black Heart" performances: See how Chester Bennington tried to inject a modern, muscular energy into the band’s sound.
- Spin the album Perdida: Give Jeff Gutt a fair shake. It’s a beautiful, mature record that shows the band can still move you without the fireworks.
The band's journey proves that a frontman is a North Star. When the star moves or fades, the ship has to find a new way to navigate. They’ve done that. They are still touring, still recording, and still honoring the songs that defined a decade.
If you are looking to dive deeper into the discography, start with the "Core" 30th Anniversary remasters. They reveal nuances in the vocal takes that were buried in the original 90s radio mixes. You can hear the breath, the strain, and the occasional crack in the voice—the things that make a singer human.
Go back and listen to Purple from start to finish. Don't skip the deep cuts. Notice how the vocals shift from the anthemic "Still Remains" to the lounge-act parody of the hidden track "My Second Album." That versatility is why we are still talking about the Stone Temple Pilots vocalist decades after the "Seattle sound" supposedly died.
For those interested in the technical side of the gear used to capture these iconic vocals, research the Neumann U47 and Shure SM7 microphones. These were staples in the studio for Weiland, providing that intimate yet aggressive proximity effect. Understanding the gear helps demystify how they achieved that "larger than life" radio presence that still holds up against modern production standards.
Check out the band's official documentary materials or the book Not Dead & Not for Sale for Scott’s own perspective on his time in the band. It’s a heavy read, but it provides context that no critic can offer. It reminds us that behind the "vocalist" tag was a person trying to navigate fame while fighting his own shadows.