Chester Bennington Confirms Longterm Commitment as Stone Temple Pilots Singer

Stone Temple Pilots recently parted ways with singer Scott Weiland (again), leaving a vacant spot center stage that needed to be filled. In an unexpected twist, Stone Temple Pilots stunned an Irvine, Calif., crowd as Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington took the stage with STP to perform an eight-song set Saturday night at KROQ’s Weenie Roast. The collaboration would be exciting enough simply as a one-off, but as reported in a new interview, it looks like Bennington will act as Stone Temple Pilots’ new full-time singer.

Not only has Bennington performed with Stone Temple Pilots, he’s hit the studio with them, as well. Over the weekend, Stone Temple Pilots released the new track ‘Out of Time,’ which features Bennington on vocals and is available as a free download for a short period of time. What does the future hold for Linkin Pilots? The group addressed their future in a new interview with radio duo Kevin & Bean from KROQ.

“Every band has its own kinda vibe,” says Bennington. “Stone Temple Pilots has this sexier, more classic rock feel to it. Linkin Park is a very modern, very tech-heavy type of band. It was kind of nice. I got to use my voice tonight. I got to sing and show my range a little bit. I still got to through a little scream in here and there but it’s really just so much different. I grew up listening to these guys. When this opportunity came up, it was just like a no-brainer.”

Bennington continues, “We couldn’t really plan a tour until tonight because we couldn’t let people know what was going on. Now the cat’s out of the bag so we’re going to go out and make more music and go play more shows and have some fun.”

STP guitarist Dean DeLeo also addressed the vocal switch, claiming that Bennington was their first choice for the gig. “There was the one and only Chester that could fill that [role].” explains Dean DeLeo.

Stay tuned for further updates on STP with Chester Bennington and be sure to check out the collective’s new song, ‘Out of Time.’

Exclusive: New Song, Interview From Stone Temple Pilots With Chester Bennington

If seeing is believing, the audience at Weenie Roast 2013 definitely left as believers in the power of music[Image Can Not Be Found]. The unbelievable magic of the night was doubly-amplified after all the amazing sets earlier when sonic swamis of alt-stadium rock, Stone Temple Pilots, brought Chester Bennington from Linkin Park out as a featured vocalist.

Constant controversy has surrounded Stone Temple Pilots’ ex-frontman Scott Weiland–complete with conflicting reports on his status with the band.

That’s why when Stone Temple Pilots appeared onstage, the audience’s hands gripped curiously onto their seats and eyes watched the stage with disbelief as Bennington joined the band tonight.

Replacing Weiland’s grunge rock growl with his Bennington’s gracefully gritty tenor, the featured addition of the Linkin Park frontman was delightfully surreal.

Quirky collaborations aren’t rare in the rock music world, but none are as epic as the one-two punch of these veteran hard-rockers.

Want some more evidence of tonight’s awesomeness? Listen below to Stone Temple Pilots’ brand new track “Out Of Time,” featuring Bennington as guest vocalist.

After the group’s surprise set, Kevin & Bean stopped by STP’s secret compound for an exclusive interview.

“Chester Bennington and STP Together for the first time?” inquired Bean. “For the first time but not the last,” offered Bennington.

“So STP Guys, you were thinking,” began Bean, “‘We don’t really have the world’s most reliable singer,’ did you just start going through the Rolodex and it could have just as easily been Snoop Dogg? How did you end up on Chester?”

“There was no guessing that,” explained Dean DeLeo. “There was the one and only Chester that could fill that [role].”

“Every band has its own kinda vibe,” said Bennington. “Stone Temple Pilots has this sexier, more classic rock feel to it. Linkin Park is a very modern, very tech-heavy type of band. It was kind of nice. I got to use my voice tonight. I got to sing and show my range a little bit. I still got to through a little scream in here and there but it’s really just so much different. I grew up listening to these guys. When this opportunity came up, it was just like a no-brainer.”

What’s next for the foursome?

“We’re gonna go out to lunch together because we haven’t been able because we haven’t been able to be seen in public together. So, we’re probably going to go hang out as friends[Image Can Not Be Found],” confessed Bennington.

Dean DeLeo hinted that there might be an album and tour in the near future while Bennington added, “We couldn’t really plan a tour until tonight because we couldn’t let people know what was going on.”

“Now the cat’s out of the bag so we’re going to go out and make more music and go play more shows and have some fun,” added Bennington.

Speaking about Linking Park’s supporting his decision to add another project to his resume, Bennington said, “They’ve always been very cool about guys in the band and going out and doing other things.”

But the question on everyone’s mind was “What does Scott Weiland think of all this. Does the recently fired STP singer know that he was replaced by Bennington? “Probably now,” joked Dean DeLeo. According Dean there has been little or no communication between Weiland and the band; “He changed his numbers years ago and didn’t forward the new ones to us.”

Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington Fronts New Stone Temple Pilots Song ‘Out of Time’

Recently the three remaining members of Stone Temple Pilots raised a few eyebrows when it was revealed they would be performing at the annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit. Given that they split with frontman Scott Weiland earlier in the year, there were plenty of questions about who would sing for the band, but those questions were answered Saturday night (May 18) in Irvine, Calif. as Linkin Park‘s Chester Bennington joined the band onstage at the 2013 KROQ Weenie Roast. The group also took the opportunity to debut a new track called ‘Out of Time.’

Bennington, who also happens to be the MAP Fund honoree for this year’s event, joined the three STP members for a surprise set in the midst of the radio festival, rocking out a number of familiar favorites before closing the set with ‘Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart.’ In addition to the stage performance, Bennington has been in the studio with the band working on the ‘Out of Time’ track. A brief teaser clip of Bennington’s studio session can be seen above, while the song in full can be heard below.

Guitarist Dean DeLeo told the Los Angeles-based radio station, “Chester has a one-of-a-kind voice that we’ve admired for a long time. We know Linkin Park will always be his priority, but we thought it would be cool to try something together. We managed to find the time to record a song and we’re all really happy with the result.”

As for Bennington, he admits this was the fulfillment of a longtime dream. He explained, “I’ve loved STP since I was 13 years old and they’ve had a huge influence on me. When the opportunity came up to do something creative with them, I jumped at the chance. The guys in Linkin Park have been incredibly supportive of me undertaking this project while I’ve continued to work on new music with LP.”

If you like the track, you can get a free download of the song via Radio.com.