According to an interview with the Ventura County Star, Stone Temple Pilots drummer Eric Kretz says the band has started working on a new album, and fans can expect it "very soon."

"We took quite a long hiatus [from the studio] and then we started touring for about nine months straight," said Kretz. "It was just a natural progression to say, 'Let's jump back in and go back in the studio and continue the writing thing.'"

Added Kretz, "The writing process always comes pretty easy, especially having the DeLeo brothers [Robert and Dean] in the band. There is never a shortage of material. It's just a matter of sifting through it and working with everyone's schedule. The only difficult part was Scott [Weiland, vocals] was finishing up a tour for his solo album. Once he completed his commitments, the record just moved along fine. I am really proud of what we came out with in the end."

As far as the future for STP goes, Kretz said that the group is "looking at putting out another record next year or touring some more and trying new ideas of how to present music, especially for downloading."