Chester Bennington has cut ties with '90s alt-rock group Stone Temple Pilots, Rolling Stone reported. The singer announced his amicable departure from the band and said his reason for leaving is so that he can focus more of his time on his other group, Linkin Park.
"The last few years have been an amazing experience. I got to create and perform with one of the greatest rock bands of our generation, that had so much influence on me growing up," Bennington wrote in a statement posted to Stone Temple Pilot's official website. "With the amount of time STP deserves, in addition to being in Linkin Park, and with the needs of my family, one of them always seems to fall short."
"We have thoroughly enjoyed our time together with Chester not only professionally, but even more so on a personal level," STP members Eric Kretz and Robert and Dean DeLeo wrote in a statement. "Sadly, it was evident that scheduling and time was working against us."
The statement went on to assure fans that STP will continue as a band without Bennington and will look for his replacement. Bennington joined STP just two years ago after the band's original frontman, Scott Weiland, departed the group, according to Rolling Stone.
Weiland leaked information of Bennington's departure during an interview with music site Alternative Nation, but the news was not confirmed until Monday.
"I heard he's not in the band anymore," Weiland told Alternative Nation. "[Chester's] got a band where he gets paid $700,000 a night with, and with STP, the brand is kind of falling apart, which is a shame."
