As a trip with the time machine

Somehow they are not indeed go on forever, our old heroes of the 90's alternative rock ...
While some come together at least back to concerts (Rage Against The Machine), the other in spite of the loss of the front man with a new singer new material to publish (Alice in Chaines) or erstwhile role models like Chris Cornell want to escape the timbaland'schen Klangkosmos to again with the old members to rock (Soundgarden), the Stone Temple Pilots are also now back again.
Was at least Scott Weiland never really gone out of the picture (guest appearances on The Crystal Method or singer of supergroup Velvet Revolver), the other members were barely in evidence, apart from the brief engagement DeLeo brothers Dean and Robert in Richard Patrick (Filter) supergroup Army Of Anyone. Drummer Eric Kretz opened in the meantime, his own recording studio.

The first single "Between The Lines" produced vornerein powerful pressure, however, wears off pretty quickly unfortunately.
Nevertheless, the time seems to have somehow remained nearly stationary, even if the self-titled comeback sounds phased bit old-fashioned. However, the biggest difference seems to be the strict avoidance Weilands to get lost in Eddi Vedder (Pearl Jam) -like vocals, which was one of the biggest criticisms of the STP in the '90s. On the contrary, despite many years polytoxicomania his voice sounds powerful and unaffected.
Among the most pleasing tracks undoubtedly include the cool mid-tempo track "Take A Load Off" and the equally relaxed "Hickory dichotomy, both excellent examples of how effortless it sounds this album, because the band does nothing else than a decade ago and the they did indeed damn good, acting a good deal more relaxed and certainly a few years wiser.
Pros are also available for popaffine songs like "Cinnamon" and the utter Avoid greasy half-ballads, even if you have shown in the past that one can even perform something with style ("Sour Girl" - super song).
Unfortunately, however, the disc also features filler like "Dare If You Dare" or the annoying "Bagman" what the dynamics of the album noticeably slows down and at the end ends in the very average "Maver" which circumnavigates the Balladenriff only with much benevolence by a whisker.
Mostly plow the pilots here midtempo terrain, so that for example the more upbeat "Fast As I Can" at the end points can also again, although one might be of the opinion that the song does not belong to the best of the album.

New impulses truly not administer the STP the meanwhile strongly came into the background of alternative rock and thus this comeback disc turns more to old fans, nostalgics and the young rock listeners who want to know what their aunts and uncles in the 90s in small filthy Clubs manes shook.