The move hardly comes as a surprise, given the very public feud that’s been ongoing between Weiland and Sorum and published reports that Weiland’s old band, Stone Temple Pilots, is making an announcement regarding a major tour April 7 at the Harry Houdini Estate in Los Angeles.

Slash blamed the split on Weiland, saying “This band is all about its fans and its music and Scott Weiland isn’t 100 percent committed to either. Among other things, his increasingly erratic on stage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on.”

Weiland was equally vocal about his feelings in an e-mail sent to MTV News this morning in response to Slash’s comments.

“After reading the comment by Duff, Matt, Dave and the illustrious ‘Guitar Hero,’ Saul Hudson, a.k.a. Slash, 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,” Weiland explained to MTV News.

“In response to Slash’s comment regarding my commitment [to the band], I have to say it is a blatant and tired excuse to cover up the truth. The truth of the matter is that the band had not gotten along on multiple levels for some time. On a musical level, there were moments of joy, inspiration, fun … at times. But let’s not forget the multiple trips to rehab every member of the band had taken (with the exception of one member – no need to mention his name).

“Personally speaking, I choose to look forward to the future and performing with a group of friends I have known my entire life, people who have always had my back. This also speaks to my commitment to my music and my fellow bandmates in [Stone Temple Pilots] and to the fans who I feel 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.”

Weiland finished by warning fans not to be “fooled by veiled trickery,” while wishing Velvet Revolver luck in their search for a replacement and offering a suggestion.

“Good hunting, lads – I think Sebastian Bach would be a fantastic choice.”