Stone Temple Pilots

On the release of their first album in 1992, San Diego's Stone Temple Pilots attracted positive critical and popular attention, balanced with a preponderance of comparisons to Pearl Jam and other concurrent grunge acts. This is understandable considering the similarities on songs like "Plush"--emotive lead singer, powerful rhythm section, big crunchy guitars--but by their second album, which debuted on the Billboard charts at number one, STP had distinguished themselves as a creative unit to be reckoned with. A third album, TINY MUSIC..., further strayed from the grunge formula and garnered some of their best reviews. Sadly, lead singer Scott Weiland's heroin addiction, repeated stints in rehab, and arrests greatly curtailed the group's progress. Yet the 2000s produced several reunions amidst Weiland's duties as frontman of the supergroup Velvet Revolver.

• rock
• alternative/indie