Stone Temple Pilots
Core
Album REVIEW
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Released September 29, 1992, CORE, the debut album from San Diego, California’s own STONE TEMPLE PILOTS (or STP for short) is one of those albums that doesn’t really fit into the “grunge” category, nor does it fit into the traditional “heavy metal” box either. It’s certainly not grunge but is definitely “more metal than Pearl Jam”, and while there may be some subtle similarities here and there, they are as different as apples and apple sauce.
Of the STP discography, CORE is certainly their heaviest and most metal sounding album, offering a refreshing change to the musical landscape of the early 90’s with an alternative brand of metal filled with enough grunt and power to appeal to metal heads while simultaneously providing enough melody & hook to achieve the widespread popularity and mainstream crossover success that would lead to its 8x platinum sales status.
Produced by Brendan O’Brien, a legendary name in the alternative metal scene during the 1990’s, CORE is “the heavier side of the ‘grunge’ thing”. You might say that STP’s CORE was “the next wave of metal that wasn’t Pantera…or thrash”.
In January 1994, Rolling Stone ran a reader poll and a critics poll side by side. The readers voted Stone Temple Pilots the Best New Band of the year. The critics voted them the Worst New Band. Same band. Same album. Same year. That is the Core story in one anecdote — a record that the music press spent two years trying to bury while millions of people made it 8× Platinum.
| Artist | Stone Temple Pilots |
| Album | Core |
| Released | September 29, 1992 |
| Label | Atlantic Records |
| Recorded at | Rumbo Recorders, Los Angeles, CA |
| Recorded in | Three weeks |
| Producer | Brendan O'Brien |
| Engineer | Nick DiDia |
| Chart peak | #3 Billboard 200 (July 3, 1993) |
| Certification | 8× Platinum (US) |
| Singles | "Sex Type Thing," "Plush," "Creep," "Wicked Garden" |
| Grammy | Best Hard Rock Performance — "Plush" (1994) |
| MTV VMA | Best New Artist (1993) |
The Band
Stone Temple Pilots formed in San Diego, California in 1989 — not Seattle, which matters enormously to the whole "fake grunge" debate. The original lineup was vocalist Scott Weiland, drummer Eric Kretz, and brothers Dean DeLeo on guitar and Robert DeLeo on bass. They originally formed under the name Swing, then changed to Mighty Joe Young before discovering a blues musician had already claimed that name. Inspired by the STP Motor Oil stickers they'd seen growing up, they landed on Stone Temple Pilots.
The name change that almost didn't happen: The band were already signed to Atlantic Records and had a debut album nearly finished when their lawyer called to say a bluesman named Mighty Joe Young had prior claim to the name. With the album ready to go, they had to rebrand on the fly. The STP initials had been kicking around as a joke before they finally committed — and the rest is history.
Before the album even had a name, the four band members were in the rehearsal room at least five days a week, with guitarist Dean DeLeo later recalling a sense of genuine creative excitement — "there was such a newness in the air, and with newness comes excitement."
The Recording
Core was recorded at Rumbo Recorders in the San Fernando Valley in a remarkably short time — the entire album was tracked over approximately three weeks with producer Brendan O'Brien. O'Brien had come off working with the Black Crowes and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and would go on to become one of the most important rock producers of the decade, working with Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, AC/DC, Mastodon, and Pantera.
The first song recorded was "Wet My Bed" — an improvisation by Scott Weiland and Robert DeLeo when they were alone in the studio. At the end of the track you can actually hear producer Brendan O'Brien walk into the studio and say "All right, now what?" After that the album flowed quickly from there.
"Creep" was recorded in one take. The band tracked the song live in the studio, sitting in a circle with candles in the room after a dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. When they heard the playback, everyone went very quiet. O'Brien's face said it all. Robert DeLeo has said the music was inspired by Neil Young's "Heart of Gold." The lyrics deal with teenage apathy and a sense of non-belonging.
"Plush" was buried deliberately. Atlantic Records wanted "Plush" as the lead single, but the band refused — they didn't want to be a one-hit wonder. They buried it at track 9 on the album, with Robert DeLeo explaining: "We didn't want to be that band that had a huge hit and then it was like, 'What next?' We wanted to have a career." It became their biggest hit anyway.
"Plush" was inspired by a real murder. The song grew out of a true story about a young woman from San Diego who disappeared and was later found dead. The song won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1994 and is consistently ranked as the band's defining track.
"Sex Type Thing" was inspired by Led Zeppelin. Dean DeLeo told Spin in 1993 that the song reminded him of "In The Light" by Zeppelin — he heard a different version of that riff from outside in his driveway, ran inside, and the opening riff of "Sex Type Thing" came out of it.
Track by Track
The "Fake Grunge" Controversy
This is the heart of the episode. The backlash began immediately after Core's release — critics dismissed STP as grunge poseurs desperately attempting to mimic the Seattle sound, and listeners couldn't read about Stone Temple Pilots without obligatory comparisons to Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam.
The geography angle fed the narrative hard — STP were from Los Angeles, not Seattle. Producer Brendan O'Brien had also mixed Pearl Jam's Ten and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik, which critics used to paint the album as calculated imitation rather than genuine creative expression.
The "Plush" rebuttal: STP pointed out that "Plush" had been written back in 1989 — two years before Pearl Jam had released anything at all. The song that critics said sounded like Pearl Jam was written before most people had heard of Pearl Jam. The band complimented the Seattle bands while arguing that any similarities came from shared influences rather than imitation.
History has been kind. Today, Core is rightfully seen as one of grunge's most vibrant records, one that illustrates the genre's fluid, expansive boundaries. The band's influences were openly classic rock — Weiland cited Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Metallica, and Led Zeppelin as the core touchstones — which makes the "fake Seattle" accusation even weaker in retrospect.
The Tour
Stone Temple Pilots initially toured opening for Megadeth and Rage Against the Machine before graduating to a headlining tour in 1993 when Core went Platinum. That opening slot alongside Megadeth tells you everything about how fluid genre lines were in 1992-93. A band being dismissed as "fake grunge" by critics was simultaneously playing arenas with one of the greatest thrash metal bands of all time. The audience clearly didn't care about the labels.
In November 1993, the band also filmed an MTV Unplugged episode that aired in January 1994 — where they debuted the song "Big Empty," which later appeared on The Crow soundtrack and became the lead single from their follow-up album Purple.
The Legacy
Core stayed on the Billboard chart for more than two years, peaking at #3. It has been certified 8× Platinum — making it Stone Temple Pilots' best-selling album to date. For the 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition in 2017, the album was reissued with the original Mighty Joe Young demos, b-sides, and live material from Castaic Lake, Reading Festival, and the MTV Unplugged session.
Rolling Stone ranked the album at #11 on their list of the 50 Greatest Grunge Albums in 2019. Guitar World put it at #10 on their best guitar albums of 1992 list. And in the same January 1994 issue where the magazine's critics named STP the Worst New Band of the year, the magazine's readers named them the Best. The fans were right.
🤔 Was "Core" unfairly dismissed — or did the "fake grunge" criticism have any merit at the time?
The "Plush was written in 1989" argument is pretty devastating to the copycat case. But in 1992, with O'Brien producing both Pearl Jam and STP, Weiland sounding uncannily like Vedder on certain tracks, and the band coming from California rather than Seattle — was the critical skepticism at least understandable, even if ultimately wrong?
🎸 Core vs Purple — which is the better Stone Temple Pilots album?
Core is rawer, heavier, and historically important as the debut. Purple debuted at #1, produced "Interstate Love Song," and is where critics finally started coming around. Many fans consider Purple the artistic peak. Where do you land?
🎤 Is Scott Weiland one of the most underrated vocalists of the 90s?
Apple Music described him as "chameleonic" — croaking like a blues singer on "Dead & Bloated," howling like a Southern rocker on "Sin," growling like a metal icon on "Naked Sunday." The range is extraordinary. Does the Eddie Vedder comparison that followed him his whole career ultimately do a disservice to how distinct he actually was?
🤘 Is STP a metal band, a grunge band, or something else entirely?
Their influences include Metallica and Led Zeppelin. Their producer also worked with Pearl Jam. Their sound blends hard rock, alternative metal, grunge, and psychedelia. Rolling Stone put them on the 50 Greatest Grunge Albums list. Metal or Not Metal? The Metal Nerdery verdict.
🏆 Is "Plush" or "Creep" the definitive STP song?
Plush won the Grammy. Creep was recorded in one take by candlelight after dinner. Both peaked in the top 2 on the Album Rock chart. Both are still rock radio staples in 2026. Which one better represents who Stone Temple Pilots actually were?
- Recorded in: Three weeks at Rumbo Recorders, Los Angeles
- First song recorded: "Wet My Bed" — an improvisation
- Chart peak: #3 Billboard 200
- US certification: 8× Platinum
- Grammy won: Best Hard Rock Performance — "Plush" (1994)
- MTV VMA won: Best New Artist (1993)
- "Plush" was written in: 1989 — two years before Pearl Jam released anything
- Tour partners: Megadeth and Rage Against the Machine
- Critics called them: Worst New Band of 1994 (Rolling Stone)
- Fans called them: Best New Band of 1994 (Rolling Stone readers)
- 25th Anniversary reissue: September 29, 2017
Related Metal Nerdery Episodes
Understand that “if you’re into naked Sundays you can look at everybody’s wicked garden” and enjoy a nice “piece of pie” in the process. And if you’re still trying to do the math to figure out what a trillionaire is, just remember that “a billion is a thousand million…a trillion is a thousand billion…” and when you have that much cash laying around, “it’s gonna be like Caligula…” when you JOIN US as we eat the apple all the way down to the seeds of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS’ transformative alternative metal debut, CORE.
Show Notes:
(00:01): “We’re stuck in…our lane…we’re not actively searching for it…” / #Psycroptic /
“I did not realize that the #WorldCup is like 40 days…”/ “People are just livid about soccer…in the best way possible…”/ “You’ve gotta watch for the flops…”/ “Have you ever been to a college football game?” / #AtlantaUnited / “We’re not on the soccer map…”/
“The ball is 4 inches outside the box…”/ #markthetime / “They tap their helmet…and they show the ball…”/ “It’s not in the strike zone…it’s in the pooper…I mean, it’s June” …
***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised ***
(05:15): ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST LOCATED IN THE BUNKERPOON CENTER FOR METAL EXCELLENCE!!!*** / #keepitthrashy / “That’s why I’m such a big fan of June…”/ “When they sit in the sun…they cook…”/ #autostart / “I wish you could do that with boners…it’s called porn. And that button is on your phone…” / Dicklifter.com / ***PATREON US AT www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** /
“What if it’s…the world’s first trillionaire?”/ “A billion is a thousand million…a trillion is a thousand billion…”/ “Cars and houses…or whores and drugs?”/ “Oh it’s gonna be like Caligula…”/ #nachosilos / “You could fix the fucking homeless problem!”/ #tacostands / “Clearly you can’t…”/ “What kinda parties do those guys go to?”/ “So it’d be like #TheShining but on the water?”
(11:39): ***VOICEMAIL US AT 980-666-8182!!!*** / #AmericanDave / “He was sucking on chili dogs, dude…”/ “Alright…this is 3 minutes, AND there’s a part 2…”/ #patreonepisode /
“Hard rock and heavy metal, as it ‘twere…”/ “Before we get into anything…hopefully I don’t get picked again…but I’ve got #juryduty coming up…” / / #lovetriangle #perjury / #merchplug / ***GET YOUR MASKS AT metalnerdery.com/merch ***
(18:25): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: STONE TEMPLE PILOTS – CORE / “So let me answer the question before you tell me what you think…”/ #StoneTemplePilots #STP #Core / “STP is more metal than Pearl Jam…” / “The first album sounds nothing else like anything else (after that)…”/ “You hearing something over there?” / “I mean it’s June, so…if you don’t enjoy it, next month is July…”/ “This is definitely…their heaviest…”/ Released September 29, 1992 / “8x platinum, this one…”/ Produced by Brendan O’Brien / “It’s supposed to be Eve with the apple and the tree…”/ “Well, this was way before the heroin…”/ #kickball / “Depicts Eve stealing the apple from the tree…”/
“I AM…”/ “Did you guys ever see them live?”/ “Looks like I’ve seen them twice…”/
“Wednesday May 31, 2000, which was…the day before June.”/ “Doesn’t May have 31 days?”
(27:01): DEAD & BLOATED / “You’re WHAT!? Oh…okay.”/ #metal / “Sounds nothing like Pearl Jam right there…”/ “If you mixed the 2nd album like this, that album would be way heavier…”/ “And we’re back…” / #thehitsingle / SEX TYPE THING / “Doesn’t he say I AM a lot?” / “I hear a bit of Axl Rose in there…”/ “That sounds kinda Nirvana-ish…”/
“I don’t think that title is anywhere in the lyrics…”/ “You wanna talk metal in ’92…this is WAY more metal than the hair (metal) that was called ‘metal’…”/ “Dude, there was so much death metal in ’92, what are you talking about!?”/ “The next wave of metal that wasn’t Pantera…or thrash…” / “It’s the heavier side of the ‘grunge’ thing…”
(32:20): “So, all these bands that are completely different all fit in grunge? That makes no sense…”/ “I noticed that all the non-radio stuff… so much better…all the deep cuts…”/
WICKED GARDEN / “You know what I think the wicked garden is? Of course I do…the lady garden…no, the bush mainly…”/ “I mean, think about it, dude…”/ #markthetime /
“I kinda miss it…I want a little decoration…an area rug or something…”/ NO MEMORY (instrumental) / #STPASMR / “It’s like the old school thrash soft intro…”/ SIN /
“Kinda reminds me of Rage (Against The Machine)…”/ “Wake Up is the (Rage) song I was thinking of…at the end of The Matrix…”
(39:33): “If you’re into naked Sundays you can look at everybody’s wicked garden…I wanna see a wicked garden on a naked Sunday…”/ NAKED SUNDAY / #funky #AchillesLastStand / “Have you ever…? In your house…like just hanging out… ‘I’m gonna be naked all day…?’” / “I gotta get dressed, dude…I’m not an animal…”/ CREEP / “It’s got a very bleak tone to it…”
(45:15): “I think this was the first one on side 2…” / “Save that for July…you don’t wanna be fucking around with that in June…”/ PIECE OF PIE / #perfecttiming #markthetime / “That timing was impeccable…”/ “It was in key, too!”/ “And I feel…when the dogs begin to smell her…”/ “It just sounds like it could be on the album ‘Ten’…maybe the unplugged version…”/
“Do you fear when the dogs begin to smell her?”/ NOTE: It’s actually #TonyAndEzekiel /
PLUSH / #MelBay / “Play the claw chord…”/ “If you’ve got Jay in the band…just let him do that…”/ “This is in London in 1993…watch the chords he plays…”/ “That’s a jazz chord for sure…”/ “People are just walking around like they have no idea…”/ “Look at his fingers…”/
“Who’s that dude look like? The guitar player?”
(54:55): “Okay, that’s what heroin sounds like…”/ NOTE: This was WAY before heroin /
WET MY BED / “It’s June man, knock yourself out…”/ “Mary really fucked that dude up…what if that was an ode to Mary?” / #OdeToHarry / “It’s in my wicked garden…you’ll see it on naked Sunday…I’m gonna wet my bed and have a naked Sunday…”/ CRACKERMAN /
“And I think I think too much…”/ “They could have called that song ‘Honkyman’…”/
WHERE THE RIVER GOES / “It’s got a Zeppelin feel to it…”/ “You know what it kinda reminds me of? DOWN a little bit…”/ (NOTE: think DOWN III: Over The Under)/ “That was fun…that was different, and fun…”/ “The first time I heard this album all the way through…” / “The non-deep cuts? I meant the non-hits…”/ “We’ll all touch cocks…”/ “We only got 2 more weeks of June though…after June, you can’t do it…”/ “It was labeled something that really didn’t exist…”/ THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext #outroreel