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7 years after his death, what is Scott Weiland's legacy?


in December. 3, 2015, Scott Weiland is found dead on his tour bus, bringing an abrupt and tragic end to his complex career.

The singer rose to stardom in the 1990s as a frontman Stone Temple Pilotswho formed in San Diego and made a name for themselves on the local music scene before signing with Atlantic Records. The band blended dark rock influences with modern grunge sounds, creating a style that was dynamic and appealing to a mainstream audience.

The group quickly became one of the best-selling bands of the 1990s. During this decade, Stone Temple Pilots released four albums - essenceAnd the purpleAnd the A little music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop And the number. 4 - selling a total of more than 17 million copies in the United States alone.

To put it in perspective, over that time period STP sold more albums than those vaunted acts. AerosmithAnd the RadioheadAnd the oasisAnd the Anger against the machineAnd the Weezer And the U2.

Watch the Stone Temple Pilots "Plush" video

With the band's rise, the new millennium brought a steep decline. Although in 2001 Shangri-La Dee Yes Still doing fairly well, achieving gold sales status, it pales in comparison to the band's previous efforts. The group soon fell apart, largely due to Weiland's drug addiction. Its frequent use led to insane behavior, arrests, and infighting with his bandmates.

Cocaine has been a part of the rocker's life since high school, but it was heroin that catapulted him to stardom. "There has always been a conspiracy to me when it comes to heroin," the singer admitted in a 2005 interview. Respected. Most of my musical and artistic heroes were drug-related. Everyone from William Burroughs to Keith Richards And the Gram Parsons To Bird, all the greats of jazz - if you listen to the fluidity of that music, you can hear heroin in that music.

"There was something about it that definitely drew me to it. I wondered why this substance had such a strong pull, had such a power to influence music, art, and living in a way that seemed so beautiful but also so dark and devastating at the same time. Those two elements, beauty and darkness, are what This created temptation for me."

Watch the video for Stone Temple Pilots' "Interstate Love Song"

After STP's breakup — and yet another attempt to come clean up — the singer seemed to have landed back on his feet with Arrival velvet hexagona supergroup that includes Weiland and former members of the Guns not flowers.

“I just thought he was an amazing singer, and he was always on my mind [Velvet Revolver]"," scale down Weiland said in his own Curriculum Vitae.

"He was the only vocalist I knew who had the kind of voice that served what we were going to do: he had John LennonHigh quality, a little off Jim Morrison And almost a touch David Bowie. He was the best singer that came out in a long time, in my opinion.” Although 2004 contraband It was a multi-platinum success for Velvet Revolver, their follow-up, 2007 Libertad, failed to live up to expectations. The group soon disbanded, again due to Weiland's drug use.

Watch Slither's video for Velvet Revolver

From there, the rocker ventured into a largely unsuccessful solo career. With each of these flops - a poorly executed cover album or a disappointing vocal effort - Weiland's glorious heights with Stone Temple Pilots have faded even further in the rearview mirror.

Although the singer rejoined STP in 2010 for a new album and extensive tour, they were unable to ignite the fire that made them popular. Weiland played for him Final show With the band in 2012, he was released for the last time shortly thereafter.

Just over three years later, he died as a result of an accident overdose.

"It was a feeling I hadn't had before," STP guitarist Dean DiLeo admitted. painting The moment he is told of Welland's death. "My heart fell out. It felt like a part of me had fallen out."

"He was very stubborn in his lust for life in the early years," recalls Eric Kretz, STP's drummer. Rolling Stone. "I really hoped he'd come back — and get a second chance."

Wayland's death was sent shock waves through the world of music. Billy Idol She mentions him as a "talented" musician who owns the stage. Aerosmith's Joe Perry Miles Kennedy described him as a "virtuoso instrumentalist", while Miles Kennedy called Weiland "a captivating master player with a knack for writing great melodies".

In the heart eulogy posted on his blog, Billy Corgan He noted that Weiland's phrasing and delivery "propelled his music into a unique and hard-to-define sonic aesthetic". The Pumpkin smash The frontman went on to admit, "If you asked me who I really think are the great voices of our generation, I'd say it's him, flexible [Staley] And the Kurt [Cobain]. "

Watch the Stone Temple Pilots "Crawl" video

Despite these and many other posthumous honors, Wieland's legacy remains obscure. Although Stone Temple Pilots achieved massive commercial success, it is often seen as a second-rate act of the 1990s, behind such venerable works as NirvanaAnd the pearl jam And the Sound Garden.

In fact, it's interesting to compare Weiland's career to that of the band's last, Chris Cornell. Both men saw meteoric rises in the 1990s facing hugely successful teams. Both singers enjoyed second appearances with big bands - Weiland with Velvet Revolver and Cornell with audioslave. Both men have struggled with their solo careers, though Cornell can certainly boast better sales numbers. And both men Die very soon. However, why is Cornell held in the rocky, rarefied air while Weiland is the forgotten front man?

in Vanity Fair In an article published just after Weiland's death, author Maura Johnston noted that STP was often unfairly grouped with the grunge tradition, rather than direct influences such as Bowie and the Beatles. In Johnston's view, Weiland was key to STP's "shapeshifting" between different rock styles: "When he worked, he was utterly magnetic, his wireframe made electrified by the rhythms that underpin it. He was a shrewd observer of the showmanship of his peers, and he sought it out." with the kind of zeal that has often been viewed with suspicion by the inhabitants of alternative states."

Watch Stone Temple Pilots' "Sour Girl" video

Future Rock Legendsa website that specializes in forecasting nominations and deductions for Rock and Roll Hall of Famesuggests that Stone Temple Pilots could be entered as soon as 2021. While that prediction seems like a stretch, given the like-minded but more important acts - Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine and Sonic Youth - have yet to be enshrined, There is no denying the overwhelming commercial success of STP.

Still, it's impossible to remove Weiland's accomplishments from his demons, because any conversation about the late singer inevitably involves his many addictions. In this way, the singer's legacy becomes less about what I was And more about what It could have been.

Scott's widow, Jamie Weiland, admitted, "His body suffered an enormous amount of abuse — and it's no secret. But it didn't." painting. The notion that we're not supposed to "cheer" him up. [because he did drugs]? Damn that. It's a symbol."


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