Sharing a title with its 2010 predecessor, the most recent of back-to-back eponymously titled Stone Temple Pilots records is as much a spirited new beginning as its predecessor was a final definitive end. The reenergized DeLeo brothers (guitarist Dean DeLeo and bassist Robert DeLeo) triumphantly return along with drummer Eric Kretz and newly acquired lead singer Jeff Gutt with a powerfully compelling re-boot for a band on their third frontman in four years. Putting the tragic and untimely deaths of original lead singer Scott Weiland and his subsequent replacement Chester Bennington of Linkin Park behind them (neither were active members at the time of their deaths, Weiland had been fired and Bennington had quit) Stone Temple Pilots have bravely soldiered on in the face of adversity. Often eclipsed by the sheer flamboyance and perpetual controversy surrounding Weiland during his tenure with the group, the three remaining original band members step out of the shadows and shine here, particularly Dean DeLeo, proving himself to be one of the finest most intuitive lead guitarists of his generation. With the benefit of 30 years’ experience at the core of STP behind them this power trio proves once and for all their adept musicianship and skill as songwriters has been at the heart of what’s been great about Stone Temple Pilots all along. Only their 7th album in 26 years, the most recent Stone Temple Pilots record manages to succeed where The Doors (another power trio of note with a similarly troublesome lead singer) failed, to successfully produce an album of worth and integrity in the shadow of absence cast by a legendary lost presence forever attached to their legacy. An unprecedented success!
Rating: 8/10
Star Rating: 3/5
2018 Song Of The Day Club Album Review 12/52