Jarred Walker – In Motion Staff Writer
Stone Temple Pilots, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1990s, is back with a new album after selling more than three million albums in their history, according to Billboard.
STP headlined at the Welcome to Rockville festival in 2018 when it took place in Jacksonville. This year, the festival is scheduled to take place just down the street from Daytona State College at the Daytona International Speedway from May 8-10. Tickets are available at welcometorockvillefestival.com. This is subject to change with the coronavirus pandemic across the globe.
On Feb. 7, they released their eighth studio album entitled “Perdida.” This is their second album with lead singer Jeff Gutt. Gutt joined the band in 2017 and is the third singer the band has had in their history. Scott Weiland fronted the band for the majority of its history and success. Chester Bennington, known for fronting band Linkin Park, replaced him as the second vocalist. Both have since passed away. Gutt’s voice has been described as a mix between Weiland and Bennington.
Perdida is comprised of 10 acoustic songs that venture into many different musical genres such as soft rock, folk and alternative rock. The three remaining original members of the band consist of Dean DeLeo on lead guitar, his brother Robert DeLeo on bass guitar and Eric Kretz on drums. Doing an all acoustic album like this has been a dream of theirs for a long time. Along with the main members of the band, this album features a slew of additional personnel playing an array of instruments including the flute, violin, cello and saxophone.
Some notable songs include its only single “Fare Thee Well,” the title track “Perdida” with its memorable guitar riff, “Years,” which features Robert on lead vocals for the first time ever, and the dramatic “Sunburst” which fades the album out to its closure.
From start to finish, this album is very calm, peaceful and relaxing. It proves that STP is very creative artistically and not one dimensional as this album is something completely different than they’ve ever done before. Critics, for the most part, have had very positive things to say and it has received generally favorable reviews. The album is available for purchase and on streaming services worldwide.