In a brand new interview with Orange County Register, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS guitarist Dean DeLeo spoke about the band’s decision to split with singer Scott Weiland in 2013 and replace him with LINKIN PARK frontman Chester Bennington.

“Robert [DeLeo, bass], Eric [Kretz, drums], Scott and I had put 25 years of our lives into it,” he said. “Just because I had one guy that didn’t really give a shit 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 love it with a passion. Robert, Eric and I don’t take for granted what the music has meant to people.”

He added: “I just want to be really clear about something. 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.”

As for Bennington, DeLeo said: “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.”

Bennington was asked in a recent interview with ArtistDirect.com about the progress of the band’s next full-length album, which is due out this fall. He replied, “We’re really trying to take the musicality to a different level and to bring a lot of energy. We got super funky. This thing is as raw and real as it gets… It’s fun to be a part of that and do it on that level this way. It’s really interesting. I’m having a great time doing it.”

Bennington also said that the band’s new music is “pretty fucking insane, dude. We’re rocking over here.”

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS recently dropped the added “With Chester Bennington” from their name after settling their legal issues with Weiland.

The band began working with Bennington in May 2013 after firing Weiland three months earlier. So far it has released one EP called “High Rise” with Bennington on vocals.
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