Noah Weiland, the son of late Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, has released a new song, “Time Will Tell,” featuring previously unreleased vocals from his father. The release was prompted by an alleged extortion attempt, with Noah detailing the scheme in an Instagram post on Monday, April 22.
Noah shared that he had received a text message containing an older version of the song, accompanied by a demand for $2,000 to prevent its leak. Despite his initial plans to hold onto the track and release it later in his career, Noah felt compelled to release it sooner due to the threat.
“This coward rly thinks I’m about to send them $2k to not leak it,” he wrote. “sooo, I beat em to the punch.. funny enough, I saw ‘TIME WILL TELL’ written on a bathroom wall the day I got that txt, maybe my dad thought it was time?”
According to Noah, “Time Will Tell” was originally a solo track by Scott Weiland, and he had been holding onto the “super unfinished” demo since he was a teenager. While his father’s distinctive vocals are evident in the song, it also incorporates contemporary alt-pop elements, reflecting the style of music Noah has been pursuing in his own career.
“Due to the fact that nobody who ‘represents’ my dad actually cares to give the fans new unheard music, let alone keep his name alive in the first place, my friend Spencer Carr Reed and I decided to turn it into a more modern-sounding song as if he was still alive and just decided to hop on one of my songs,” Noah explained.
Despite the earlier-than-planned release, the creation and release of “Time Will Tell” has provided a sense of catharsis for Noah. He had previously struggled with a strained relationship with his father, but he has come to a new understanding and appreciation for him.
“I’ve always sort of been conditioned by my family and certain people around me to hate my father growing up,” he said. “But after all this time I realized it wasn’t his fault and he would’ve never let me go through all the chaos I’ve had to go through these past years of my life.”
Noah shared screenshots of the threatening text messages with Rolling Stone and stated that he strongly suspects the identity of the alleged blackmailer. He opted to release the song publicly rather than succumb to their demands.
Despite following in his father’s footsteps as a musician, Noah’s path has been marked by challenges. His parents divorced when he was seven, and Scott Weiland was largely absent until his death from an accidental overdose in 2015. Noah spent his adolescence working blue-collar jobs and battling an opioid addiction. He emphasized that he is determined to build his own career and does not rely on any potential inheritance.
“I’m not a trust fund baby or anything like that,” he told Rolling Stone last year. “I always get annoyed when people say that type of stuff. My dad was millions in debt when he died. My mom has always worked a normal job. And truthfully, even if my dad’s estate ever does get out of debt, I don’t even want that money. I want to make a career out of myself as much as possible.”
