Life on the road is hard for musicians, especially ones who are family men. And in a new interview, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington explains that the difficulty of balancing two bands along with his family life ultimately factored into his decision to leave Stone Temple Pilots.

During a chat with New York's Q104.3 FM host Jonathan Clarke, Bennington spoke about his time with Stone Temple Pilots and his continued love for the band and in the process opened up about his decision to leave.

"I've seen Stone Temple Pilots play, like, probably thirty times," beamed Bennington. "[They were] a huge influence on me. They really made music that I absolutely loved, and I still love to this day. And so the chance to go ahead and go out and perform those songs with those guys was really very, very cool. And, honestly, Robert [DeLeo, bass] and Dean [DeLeo, guitar] and Eric [Kretz, drums], those guys are super talented."

The singer says he had so much fun playing with Stone Temple Pilots during his stint with the band and will still play occasional dates with them, but he adds that balancing the two groups and his home life did result in some complications.

"The only reason why I'm not doing it now is because my kids, they would cry every time I'd go on the road with STP," explains the singer. "When I leave on tour with Linkin Park, they're, like, 'Okay, we'll see you when you get back,' and they understand what I'm doing. But when I would leave with STP, they would cry. And I started realizing, I think they thought I was choosing to do that over being at home with them, because I would be done with Linkin Park and coming home. And so, it was just too hard on my family. So I basically was, like, 'You know what? I've gotta stop being selfish here, and when I'm not doing Linkin Park, I've just gotta be home with my babies." See more of the interview in the player above.

Bennington exited Stone Temple Pilots in 2015, having completed the High Rise EP with the band. Not long after Bennington's exit was revealed, Stone Temple Pilots opened things up to find a new vocalist for the band moving forward. They've narrowed down the search at this point and the band is expected to have a new singer fairly soon. Meanwhile, Bennington has returned his focus solely to Linkin Park, with the band's One More Light album expected May 19. The group just released a new single called "Heavy" with special guest vocalist Kiiara.

Stone Temple Pilots Albums Ranked

Linkin Park's Joe Hahn Plays 'Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?'

More From Highway 98.9