TORONTO - It's coming to the end of a long day of promotion for the unincarcerated three-quarters of Stone Temple Pilots, and after a numbing succession of questions about their imprisoned singer Scott Weiland, the talk happily drifts into chatter about the music of their childhood.

Bassist Robert DeLeo and his guitarist brother Dean, along with drummer Eric Kretz, are formally here to talk about their new album, "No. 4" (in stores Oct. 26), but somehow, the conversation has turned to their passion for Rush, their vivid memories of poring over gatefold sleeves by the Electric Light Orchestra and Black Sabbath, and their disappointment that the modern music scene doesn't stand up to that kind of scrutiny, doesn't earn that kind of devotion.

"Musically speaking, I am sometimes let down," says Robert DeLeo.

"Through the nine years of our career, I haven't been asked a lot of musically challenging questions. I was thinking, if I was to ask questions, from what I grew up on, from what we grew up on, the questions would be more musical: The way I delved into those records, I studied those records."

Happily, there's some evidence that over the course of four albums, STP has managed to inspire a similar intensity among its most devoted fans.

Dean DeLeo says a band associate recently told him about an elaborate theory making the internet rounds, that the group's four album covers are secretly related to the elements.

Here's the fanatical interpretation of Stone Temple Pilots' four LPs: 1992's "Core" cover (a ghostly woman emerging from a desertscape) represents earth, 1994's "Purple" (cherubs frolicking in heaven) symbolizes sky, 1996's "Tiny Music" (an Esther Williams-like figure rising from a croc-infested pool) stands for water, and the cover of "No.4," which features a bold-but-simple star, means fire.

Utter nonsense, of course. But the boys in STP love it, anyway.

"I am flattered. I am completely flattered," says Dean DeLeo.

"That's how completely enamoured I was with music, with the records I grew up with. I studied them, man."

Seeing the three of them trading memories of the rock music they grew up on betrays a passion that answers the central question surrounding this most ill-fated of bands: How do they manage to keep going?

How do they continue to want to make music together when their lyricist, singer and frontman has -- because of his notorious battles with substance abuse -- sapped career momentum, most recently scuttling tour plans for "No.4" until at least early in the new year because of his incarceration in L.A. for parole violation.

The obvious answer is, they keep going because they love music. But they've had to struggle to deal with the lousy hand they have been dealt.

"It is disheartening, for sure," says Dean DeLeo.

"There was that stage, man, where we went through it: 'Do we just kill (Weiland) and put him out of his misery, or what?'

"It's not just about us. STP is an enterprise. When we hit the road, we run at expenses of about $40,000 per day. We employ 50-some people who have lives and families ... It would be nice to talk about some concrete tour dates right now."

He pauses for a moment before continuing.

I don't know how to say this, but...I wish (Weiland) was here," he says.

"I wish he was here, man. I wish we were at The Rivoli about to do a surprise show, talking there, as opposed to talking in this hotel."

The major adjustment for STP has been to learn that, despite their love for music, there's more to life than music. Once they got used to that idea, accepting the unexpected has been a lot easier, says Robert DeLeo.

"We all did a lot of maturing. Everyone has their own issues to deal with. I keep saying it all over and over again: We went through a period where we relied on the music and career or lack of career to dictate whether we were happy as people. That was kind of a big mistake, but it is something that we all do, as people," he says.

Adds his brother: "We have come to a very good understanding of how this band works. Nothing surprises us."

Apart from a bizarre statement issued from behind the walls at the Los Angeles County jail, Scott Weiland has understandably been the silent partner here. In that statement, released late last month, Weiland free-associated on the meaning of freedom and seemed to be sneering at the public, suggesting that we're the ones incarcerated in a prison of consumerism, while his mind is free to write and create.

More sobering is the portrait of Life With Weiland hinted at in some of the lyrics on "No. 4." While the record is sonically a successful merger between the deft melodicism of "Tiny Music" and the heavier sound of "Core," the lyrics often sound desperate and claustrophobic.

"I was Superman, but looks are deceiving/The rollercoaster ride's a lonely one/I'd pay a ransom note to stop it from steaming," he sings on "Sour Girl." Again on "Glide," he advises to "hold on for the ride," and there are images of drowning on both "Sex and Violence" and "No Way Out."

"Son of a bitch/I know what the itch is like/You won't get enough/Try to get rid of it/But you won't, you can't/You won't get enough," Weiland sings on "MC5."

Things get even more explicit on "I Got You": "My mind begins to wander to the spoon ... The fix begins to twist my troubled mind."

Strangely enough, the group's predicament has had the unexpected impact of forging an odd kind of bond with their most ardent fans. Suddenly, instead of being idols, they're underdogs, with fans cheering them on, hoping they'll make it through the latest tribulations. And that just amplifies the sense of disappointment the band-members feel.

"We're trying to say we are okay with (our situation)," says Robert DeLeo.

"The thing that really hurts is it doesn't leave much promise to people we call fans. It doesn't give them a definite answer on things. That is what is disheartening. We're okay. But it's just letting down other people."

Adds Dean DeLeo: "I think STP is responsible for writing some very touching songs. I'm not saying that in any sort of elitist way. There's dozens and dozens of artists who say things in different ways, and I know we are not pioneering anything. But music is extremely powerful. It touches people. People can relate to it on a personal basis. I'm honored people embrace us and bring us into their homes and let our songs be a soundtrack to their life. It's why I wanted to do this."

His brother agrees: "No matter what happens, wanting to contribute and feeling like we have contributed is for the song. Songs are everything."

Once media interviews are over, the group will edit together footage shot at Las Vegas' House Of Blues the night before Weiland went into custody, likely for broadcast on the big music networks. The same footage will also provide the backbone for a video for the first single, "Down." Beyond that, with touring unlikely until February or March at the earliest and the summer more likely, they'll just hope people will respond to the music.

"This is going to be interesting, to see what happens with this record. We are really approaching this record in a way that hasn't been approached in two decades," reckons Dean DeLeo.

"We don't have a singer. We don't have much stuff to hand over to MTV. We can't make any appearances. We're releasing a record the way they released records in the '70s.

"We don't have all these avenues that the '80s and '90s gave us, where music has become so obtainable, and the mystique of the band has gone away.I am anxious to see what will happen. All we have right now is radio and the music.

"And really, the music is going to pave the way on this."

Just like it used to be in the old days, back when Stone Temple Pilots forged their love of music -- poring over gatefold sleeves, studying lyrics and dreaming about one day being in a rock band.