Scott Weiland, Former Stone Temple Pilots Frontman, Dies at 48

Scott Weiland, the former singer of iconic grunge band Stone Temple Pilots and supergroup Velvet Revolver, passed away in his sleep Thursday night. Weiland was discovered on his tour bus shortly after 9 p.m. while in Bloomington, Minn., on tour with his band Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts, according to TMZ.

Despite hailing from San Diego, a place that is culturally different from Seattle in every way imaginable, Stone Temple Pilots became a fixture within the grunge scene with the release of Core in the early 90s. STP stood out from the crowd primarily due to Weiland’s captivating, and at times haunting, vocals on songs like “Plush,” “Creep,” and “Wicked Garden.” Anyone who ever saw the band’s raucous live performances remembers the sight of a shirtless Weiland slithering on stage like a snake, his charisma was such that it was impossible to look away.

Rolling Stone reports that the news broke late last night when Ink Master judge Dave Navarro tweeted about it. In the tweet, which has since been deleted, Navarro said “Just learned our friend Scott Weiland has died. So gutted, I am thinking of his family tonight.”

Authorities have not released a cause of death as of yet. Throughout his career Weiland had a very public battle with drug addiction, a subject he opened up about extensively in his 2011 memoir Not Dead & Not For Sale. Despite his demons Weiland managed to have a very prolific career recording four solo albums, including a one-of-a-kind Christmas album, in addition to his work with STP and Velevet Revolver. He was 48-years-old.