Noah Weiland , son of the late Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland , recently disputed the widely reported cause of his father's death.
Weiland was found dead on his tour bus for his solo project, The Wildabouts , in December 2015, at the age of 48. At the time, it was reported that he had died of an overdose. Now, his son has explained that this conclusion was incorrect.
During an appearance on the Painful Lessons , Noah spoke about his belief regarding his father's death, rejecting the common claim of a drug overdose.
He stated that he doesn't trust his former stepmother, but agrees with her on one point. They strongly believe that his father likely died of a heart attack.
Noah Weiland explained [transcription via Alternative Nation ]: “So, everyone tried to give the lame excuse, like, ‘Oh, he overdosed.’ And, to be honest, I’ll be blunt. I don’t particularly like the woman who used to be my stepmother, but I have to say that what she’s probably not lying about is that, and I’d bet more than anything that he had a heart attack.”
"And because all those years of abuse of his body eventually take their toll. Over time, it seems the body can only endure so much. He was about to turn 50, so I think it was basically a heart attack. I mean, I think that makes more sense."
The young man also addressed his father's substance use: “In the last years of his life, he didn't use heroin. He didn't use opiates. He drank, he took Xanax and Suboxone for quite a while, which is obviously a lot,” he said. “And that shouldn't be for anyone's regular consumption, but the point is that I still think he was pushing himself. And he wasn't doing it consistently.”
Scott Weiland's widow also disputes the cause of death.
A January 2016 report from Billboard (via Blabbermouth ) revealed that Scott was dealing with hepatitis C, mental illness, and learning that his parents had cancer in the final months of his life. The article featured interviews with Jamie, his mother Sharon, his Wildabouts bandmates Tommy Black and Nick Maybury, tour manager Aaron Mohler , and others.
Widow Jamie Wachtel Weiland told Billboard that Scott had been experiencing episodes of paranoia and mania caused by bipolar disorder. She explained, “At one point, it got so bad that I had to move because he was unstable.” Eventually, they found a medication that leveled him out, with Jamie adding, “In recent years, he was doing very well.”
Jamie said (via Blabbermouth ): “I feel he doesn’t get the praise, respect and recognition that he absolutely deserves. That’s tragic, but of course, [everyone thinks] he overdosed – which he didn’t (…) I tried to make [that] clear. Because he had drugs in his system, the coroner had to conclude [it was] an overdose.”
In addition to Stone Temple Pilots and Wildabouts, Weiland also fronted Velvet Revolver from 2004 to 2008. He returned to STP in 2008 after a six-year hiatus, but was fired in 2013.
READ ALSO: Scott Weiland's son from Stone Temple Pilots releases unreleased demo track by his father.
