The Stone Temple Pilots, by most reports defunct, recently recorded a new song, "All in the Suit That You Wear," for greatest hits collection due November 4th on Atlantic Records.

"It rocks," says frontman Scott Weiland, who insists the band's hiatus has been overplayed in the press. "STP's never broken up . . . we just have made a decision to take time apart and do different things. The DeLeo brothers [Dean and Robert] are doing some producing right now, and Eric [Kretz] just built a studio. We worked for ten years, we made five records, we sold 25 million records around the world, and we felt like we needed a break."

Although Weiland is currently singing in Velvet Revolver with former Guns n' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, he hasn't dismissed the possibility of another STP full-length down the road. "There's always hope," he says. "There's always hope."

The greatest hits set, so far without a confirmed title or release date, will draw from STP's five albums: Core (1992), Purple (1994), Tiny Music -- Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop (1996), No. 4 (1999) and Shangri-La De Da (2001).

In 2000, the band had planned to release a hits compilation called Big Bang Babies but scrapped the record after a management shakeup. Since then, STP have been plagued by more of the controversy and turmoil that has marked their career, the latest episode of which saw Weiland arrested and charged with drug possession last month. He'll face the charges in court on July 11th.

CARRIE BORZILLO-VRENNA
(June 17, 2003)