Stone Temple Pilots returned to the stage Tuesday in Los Angeles with new lead singer Jeff Gutt.
The band also debuted its new single “Meadow.” (Listen to it below.)
STP fired singer Scott Weiland in 2013 and replaced him with Chester Bennington of Linkin Park. Bennington quit in 2015.
Weiland died in 2015 and Bennington died this year.
Gutt has been writing and recording with bandmates Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz for the past year. STP’s still-untitled album is set for release next spring. It will be the group’s seventh studio album since 1992’s Core and first full-length release since 2010.
“It took some time, but we found our guy,” said Dean DeLeo, in a release.
“We wanted someone who would not only do our earlier songs justice, but would also write new songs and carve out a different path forward with us.”
Gutt was reportedly the last of more than 30 singers chosen to audition for STP. Robert DeLeo invited him after hearing him perform in Detroit with Hollywood Vampires.
“Talk about a happy accident,” Robert said. “It was clear right away that Jeff had the range to sing vocally challenging songs like ‘Piece of Pie’ and ‘Interstate Love Song.’ But we soon discovered that he also has a great ear for melody and knew how to write a song.”
Kretz said there was instant chemistry. “Jeff kept coming up with one great melody after another. We ended up finishing 14 songs, which is the most that Stone Temple Pilots has ever recorded for an album,” he recalled.
Gutt said he knows he follows in some big footsteps.
“No one will ever fill Scott’s shoes and I’m not trying to – he’s a legend,” he said. “But these songs deserve to be performed and people want to hear them. I’m just honoured that the guys chose me to help them continue to build this band’s legacy.”