LOS ANGELES - A DAY after he was dumped from Velvet Revolver, troubled rocker Scott Weiland fired a parting shot at his erstwhile bandmates on Wednesday, saying he had already declared the group 'dead in the water.'

The rancorous split came as Weiland, 40, who has struggled with heroin addiction for years and faces a court hearing this week for his latest arrest, prepares to return to his original band, Stone Temple Pilots, for their first tour in seven years.

'I find it humorous that the so-called four 'founding members' of Velvet Revolver, better known to themselves as 'the Project' before I officially named the band, would decide to move on without me after I had already claimed the group dead in the water on March 20 in Glasgow,' the singer said in a statement issued by his publicist.

Slash, a former member of Gun 'N Roses with McKagan and Sorum, was quoted questioning Weiland's commitment to his music and fans.

Weiland responded by calling their statements a 'blatant and tired excuse to cover up the truth ... that the band had not gotten along on multiple levels for some time.'

Of his upcoming reunion with Stone Temple Pilots, Weiland said his fans would 'much rather watch a group of musicians who enjoy being together as opposed to a handful of discontents who at one time used to call themselves a gang.'

Stone Temple Pilots, also known by their acronym, STP, are set to hold a news conference next week to announce details for their first tour since a series of concerts in 2001 to promote their last album of new material, 'Shangri-La Dee Da.' But Weiland also faces further legal complications.

Last month, he pleaded innocent to a charge of driving under the influence of drugs stemming from his arrest on a Los Angeles freeway ramp in November. He is free on US$40,000 (S$55,303) bail and is due in court for a pretrial hearing on Friday.