STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland (ex-VELVET REVOLVER) is featured in a new interview with ArtistDirect.com's Rick Florino. An excerpt is available below.

Q: Did the reunion tour function as a real catalyst for the new music?

Weiland: "I actually thought we'd record before the tour [Laughs]. Due to the fact that rock records don't sell the way they used to and there was definitely a market for STP live shows, we toured for quite awhile—a couple years on and off since 2008. We just played the hits. Even when I was in Velvet Revolver, it was my feeling that STP really wasn't ever finished and we never officially broke up. If you look at it like a bookshelf with book ends, there was a book end missing. The story wasn't completely told yet. From the beginning, our whole purpose and desire wasn't to own Maseratis that go 185, it was to create a legacy. Mainly, we're influenced by the greats of the past—THE ROLLING STONES, THE BEATLES and LED ZEPPELIN as well as what was going on in the late '80s and early '90s. That was the last time and, maybe, the only time that there will ever be a real movement in rock 'n' roll shook and woke up the youth. It woke them up in a social way and a political way. If you think about it, it was really Generation X that made President Clinton, 'President Clinton,' when he went on MTV."

Q: Fans have always felt that honesty in your music, and it certainly comes through on the new album!

Weiland: "We're just as dedicated and musically and physically youthful as we were when we first started. We're just as hungry. I think we put on a show at this time that rivals any show we put on in the '90s. We're a four piece band that performs everything live that we write."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Stone Temple Pilots' forthcoming self-titled album is currently streaming online in it's entirety at Billboard.com.

The album, the band's sixth studio release overall and first since Shangri-La Dee Da in 2001 - will be released May 25th on Atlantic.

A deluxe version of the album with expanded artwork and two bonus tracks will be available on street date. Target will be given a CD/DVD version of the set with exclusive interview content, and Walmart will air an exclusive STP performance in stores and on its Soundcheck website.

Stone Temple Pilots tracklisting:

'Between The Lines'

'Take A Load Off'

'Huckleberry Crumble'

'Hickory Dichotomy'

'Dare If You Dare'

'Cinnamon'

'Hazy Daze'

'Bagman'

'Peacoat'

'Fast As I Can'

'First Kiss On Mars'

'Maver'