Stone Temple Pilots were dismissed as grunge bandwagon-jumpers when Core dropped in 1992, but Scott Weiland's chameleon-like vocal style and the DeLeo brothers' sophisticated songwriting quickly proved the critics wrong. Each album was a deliberate departure from the last.
Weiland was one of rock's most gifted and troubled frontmen. His death in 2015 closed a chapter, though the remaining members continued with new vocalists.
Key Albums
1992Core
'Plush' and 'Creep' launched them, despite accusations of Pearl Jam imitation.
1994Purple
A sonic leap: darker, more psychedelic, and far more confident.
1996Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop
Beatles-influenced pop-rock that showed their true range.
Why They Matter
STP proved that the grunge era produced genuinely versatile bands, not just one-note angst machines.
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