Chester Bennington Leaves Stone Temple Pilots; Statement Released!
It was announced on the official website of US rock band Stone Temple Pilots that frontman Chester Bennington officially parted ways from the group in order for him to focus on his other band Linkin Park, according to a report from Rolling Stone.
The now ex-vocalist Chester Bennington spoke about Stone Temple Pilots and his experience working with them in the band's website.
"The last few years have been an amazing experience," he wrote. "I got to create and perform with one of the greatest rock bands of our generation that had so much influence on me growing up."
"With the amount of time STP deserves, in addition to being in Linkin Park, and with the needs of my family, one of them always seems to fall short.... We decided in due fairness to friends, fans and the legacy of STP that it needs more than time was allowing me," he further added.
Bennington, 39, replaced the original vocalist Scott Weiland in 2013 as the latter was fired from the band. Chester Bennington joined Stone Temple Pilots initially as special guest performer for their live performances, then eventually went on to become their newest member as they released promotional images with him.
Prior to this announcement, Weiland, 48, already revealed the separation during his interview with rock music website Alternative Nation, stating that Bennington is no longer with the band according to an earlier report from Loudwire.
Weiland commented, "(Chester's) got a band where he gets paid $700,000 a night with, and with STP, the brand is kind of falling apart, which is a shame." Bennington is more popularly known to many the lead vocalist of alternative rock band Linkin Park which was formed 1996.
Meanwhile, remaining members Dean and Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz kept things positive for the band on a separate note, saying that the band will still keep making music and even new songs already recorded prior to Bennington's departure. They will continue to stay active musically until they have found the right person to front the band.