CHESTER BENNINGTON Says The Music On Upcoming STONE TEMPLE PILOTS Album Is 'Pretty Insane'

In a brand new interview with ARTISTdirect.com editor in chief Rick Florino, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS and LINKIN PARK singer Chester Bennington spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for STP's new album, tentatively due this fall.

"We're really trying to take the musicality to a different level and to bring a lot of energy," he said. "We got super funky.

"This thing is as raw and real as it gets. Everything about it is us, the same way it has been since the beginning.

"Everything we're doing is completely the four of us. It's fun to be a part of that and do it on that level this way. It's really interesting. I'm having a great time doing it."

He added: "With LINKIN PARK, things are pretty literal. There's not a whole lot of poetry going on or clever lines that may not have a direct meaning but have some underlying meaning with what's going on. Writing for STP, I get to be a lot more poetic. I get to be a lot more clever with my wording. It makes it a lot of fun, because I get to be more colorful.

"With this new record, the music is pretty fucking insane, dude. We're rocking over here. It's so fucking crazy, and it's so cool.

"With the melodies, I'm getting funky and stepping out of my comfort zone, which is fun. It's definitely something I enjoy doing, because it helps me think differently in terms of how to get a point across.

"In LINKIN PARK, because there are two writers with Mike [Shinoda] and I, we both need to believe in what we're saying to get a point across. As the only writer of lyrics and the only one who has to believe it as we perform it, it allows me to be a little more colorful in my phrasing, which is super fun."

Asked when the moment was that he felt his collaboration with STP came together, Chester said: "I think it felt real the first time we rehearsed. We walked into a big rehearsal space. The guys hadn't played for a while, and I was helping them figure out the structure of the songs and which parts we were playing. These guys were, like, 'He knows the songs better than we do!' When I started going into it and laying down the vocals as we were performing was when these guys looked at each other, like, 'Oh, shit, this is real! It's really happening. STP is happening again.' That was great."

"Touring-wise, there have been a lot of really good moments. All of our shows have been good. I can't remember one night where we felt like we had a bad show. I think that's special.

"On this last tour we did at the end of 2014, there were some moments where we started playing 'Plush', and there was some magic happening. Also, in those moments when we performing some of the shows, it was so easy and effortless that we were like, 'Wow, this is getting really good. It feels like this is our band.' That was great."

According to The Pulse Of Radio, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS have finally been able to drop the added "With Chester Bennington" from their name after settling their legal issues with former singer Scott Weiland. The band began working with Bennington in May 2013 after firing Weiland three months earlier, but an exchange of lawsuits over, among other things, the use of the band name was part of the reason why the "Chester Bennington" clause was tacked on for a while.

Bennington told The Pulse Of Radio that he's recovering but "still pretty sore" from a leg injury he suffered onstage with his main band, LINKIN PARK, which led the band to cancel most of its North American tour.

He plans to be ready for April 8, when STONE TEMPLE PILOTS kicks off a U.S. tour in Seattle.