According to a press release, Velvet Revolver no longer have a lead singer. “This band is all about its fans and its music and Scott Weiland isn’t 100% committed to either,” Slash reportedly said (the group’s split with Weiland was confirmed by Sanctuary management). “Among other things, his increasingly erratic onstage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on.” Last week, Weiland and drummer Matt Sorum engaged in a war of words via the press and blog posts, and yesterday Billboard reported that Weiland will announce a full set of tour dates with his old band, Stone Temple Pilots, on April 7th.

Last week Weiland told a Glasgow crowd that the band was on its last tour. When Sorum blogged about the incident, Weiland responded angrily via Blabbermouth, lambasting his bandmate while boasting of his own record sales (”35 million copies worldwide”) and professionalism “regardless of how many drugs I’ve ingested into my system.” Weiland voluntarily entered rehab in February, which forced the cancellation of some concert dates. Just yesterday Slash was quoted as saying the band will make a third album with or without Weiland, insisting, “We don’t know how or when but the core four guys will continue.”

I always wished the band could have been slightly better than the generic band they turned out to be.

They need to dump Gilby Clarke and Matt Sorum, hire Izzy, resurrect Razzle and maybe hire Pop Todd.

They need to dump Gilby Clarke and Matt Sorum, hire Izzy, resurrect Razzle and maybe hire Josh Todd.

They need to dump Gilby Clarke and Matt Sorum, hire Izzy, resurrect Razzle and maybe hire Josh Todd.

Newsflash: Axl Rose Joins Velvet Revolver!

I'm not sure if this is part of the April Fools stuff, or I missed something, but Gilby Clarke was never in Velvet Revolver....

Josh Todd was a candidate in the beginning, but I doubt he'd come on board now with the recent re-emergence of Buckcherry.

I predict Scott Weiland will be dead before the end of the year after this. I mean hasn't this guy used up his chances with bands by now?

I don't think I ever gave that Velvet Revolver album a listen other than on the radio. Apparently that had quite an effect because I swear I see people wearing their t-shirts and bumper stickers at least once every couple days.

I predict Scott Weiland will be dead before the end of the year after this.

I mean hasn't this guy used up his chances with bands by now

Phil Anselmo former lead vocalist from Pantera as the new lead singer. Or Mike Patton from Faith No More. Or better yet, Both! That'd be a band/train wreck I'd like to see.

Down is an all-star heavy metal side project whose original lineup consisted of members from Pantera (singer Phil Anselmo), Corrosion of Conformity (guitarist Pepper Keenan), and Crowbar (guitarist Kirk Windstein, bassist Todd Strange, and drummer Jimmy Bower). Formed in the mid-'90s when Pantera was on a brief break (between their Far Beyond Driven and The Great Southern Trendkill releases), the quartet's members had been longtime friends and decided to break up their downtime (hence their name). The East/West label issued Down's 1995 debut, NOLA, an abbreviation for New Orleans, LA, from which all its original members hailed. While many assumed that the group would specialize in over-the-top, extreme metal, it contained more elements of classic rock than the member's usual bands (a prime influence of the group being Black Sabbath). After a supporting tour wrapped up, little was heard from the group, as the members returned back to their full-time projects, leading many to assume that Down as a one-off. But this proved not to be the case. Anselmo, Keenan, and Bower reconvened to work on new material in 2001, with Pantera bassist Rex Brown taking Strange's spot in the lineup. March 2002 saw the release of Down's long-awaited sophomore effort, the appropriately titled Down II. A third volume, Down III, followed in 2007.