Scott Stapp: Scott Weiland’s death was a wake-up call

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Art Of Anarchy's Scott Stapp says replacing the late Scott Weiland in the band served as a reminder of what could happen to him if he didn’t stay sober

Art Of Anarchy
Art Of Anarchy

Scott Stapp has spoken about the impact the death of singer Scott Weiland had on him.

Weiland was found dead on his tour bus in December 2015 after an accidental drugs overdose when he was on the road with his band The Wildabouts.

Like Weiland, Stapp has had well-documented struggles with substance abuse in the past – and when he took over from Weiland in Art Of Anarchy, Stapp says it gave him the “desire and drive to stay sober one day at a time.”

Stapp tells Music Radar: “Scott Weiland’s life affected me outside his involvement with Art Of Anarchy. His life was a reminder to me of where my life was headed if I continued to use alcohol and drugs.

“Having that reminder that he used to sing in this band was almost like him speaking to me from the grave, saying, ‘Brother, you need to stay on the straight and narrow or this is what could happen to you.’

“That’s really impacted me in my desire and drive to stay sober one day at a time.”

Stapp reports he was initially hesitant about joining Art Of Anarchy as he didn’t want to enter an situation where alcohol and drugs were commonplace.

But after meeting with the rest of the band and finding out they operated in a clean environment, both sides moved forward which has resulted in their new album The Madness – out on March 24 via Century Media.

Stapp continues: “Scott Weiland left the band prior to his death. They had a falling out and never toured.

“So the way he affected me was in my approach, knowing that these guys had had a relationship go sour, so I wanted to go out of my way to show these guys I was a humble guy, a team player and to give them a positive influence as well – to revive their faith in what it means to be in a band.”

Last month, Art Of Anarchy released a lyric video for the track No Surrender – a track Stapp revealed was fuelled by his part troubles.

Art Of Anarchy The Madness tracklist

  1. Echo Of A Scream
  2. 1000 Degress
  3. No Surrender
  4. The Madness
  5. Won’t Let You Down
  6. Changed Man
  7. A Light In Me
  8. Somber
  9. Dncing With The Devil
  10. Afterburn

Scott Stapp replaces Scott Weiland in Art Of Anarchy

Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more for Louder. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, The Tragically Hip, Marillion and Rush.