There’s only one reason for ditching the Australian leg of the Velvet Revolver tour that could be more rock than the band itself – lead singer Scott Weiland is undergoing treatment in rehab (again).

Weiland, of Stone Temple Pilots, is frontman for new rock supergroup Velvet Revolver with former Guns ‘N’Roses band members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, as well as Wasted Youth’s Dave Kushner. Impressed? Well the fans must be. They’ve stuck with the turbulent band member’s relapsing and typical rock antics for the last year and a half.

Velvet Revolver’s first album, ‘Contraband’, debuted in 2003 despite setbacks along the way with Weiland’s multiple court appearances for drug charges and subsequent sentence to rehab. In the end the spirit of rock was brought back to the mainstream and Velvet Revolver to the attention of the mass public with the release of 'Contraband', featuring singles “Set Me Free” and a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Money” that appeared in feature films The Hulk and The Italian Job.

Accused by critics of being a singles driven album, the singles only achieved a top ten position within the US rock charts with “Slither” and “Fall to Pieces” where they held the number one position for up to 11 weeks. However, 'Contraband' managed to reach number one on the Billboard Top 100 and Canadian Album Chart and number two on the ARIA Charts.  

Perhaps one of the most noted mainstream appearances was the band’s single “Come On, Come In” which was the lead single on the Fantastic Four film soundtrack in 2005, though it never appeared on either of Velvet Revolver’s albums.

Their next album, ‘Libertad’, came out in 2007 and linked itself with the new media market, further bringing hard-rock to a new-school era. In June 2007, Velvet Revolver performed in a concert that was streamed live via MSN Music. Two days later, four songs off the album were available in full stream audio on the internet ten days before retail sale on BestBuy's website. Then singles "Slither", "She Builds Quick Machines" and "Messages" appeared in the downloadable Velvet Revolver pack in the videogame Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Velvet Revolver brings the look-and-feel of their 80s-rock parent bands to a pop-music market that may have long forgotten hard-rock. Blending their individual sounds to a sometimes criticised mismatch of lyrics and lyricals, the band does remind a new era what it meant to rock and how to rock in the 2000s.