OMG, GUYS!!!! THE BIG GUITARS ARE BACK!!! EEEEEEEE!!!

I thought this fucking day would never come.

I thought the days of the Weezer sound I fell in love with back in the day were over for good. I never thought we'd ever get to hear Rivers Cuomo singing his dorky lyrics and insanely hooky melodies in front of a wall of big, roaring guitars ever again. I was sure that the Weezer sound that made them my favorite band for years and years was dead.

And I had good fuckin' reason to think that. After all, the guitars didn't just take a back seat on Pacific Daydream and The Back Album. Rivers and Co. took the big guitars out to the middle of nowhere, beat them within an inch of their lives and then locked them in the trunk. Kinda like that scene in Goodfellas only Joe Peschi ooooh-weeee-ooh looks like Buddy Holly.

Even on the covers album they released, The Teal Album, the guitars sounded restrained and never really got a chance to fly like they may have wanted to.

And I was all sorts of heartbroken about it.

You see, a major reason why I fell in love with this band in the first place is because they played big, loud guitars but had infectious melodies you can't help but sing along with. I spent countless hours tooling around the countryside with the radio blasting, singing along to Pinkerton, Green, and Blue. I learned Weezer song after Weezer song on guitar, solos and all. (To be fair, Weezer guitar solos usually aren't all that difficult.) I knew all their songs by heart.

Then Pacific Daydream happened. Then Black followed and I was done.

Until I saw a curious email in my inbox. It said something about "Van Weezer" or something like that. I thought maybe this was some sort of cover band or special side project. There was a YouTube link so I clicked it.

First came the Van Halen-esque tapping lick. That followed by a chugging, 80s metal-style riff. My ears pricked up. This was beyond unexpected. This was something I'd not heard in far too long: a Weezer tune that actually rocked. Hard.

Between the chugging guitars and Rivers' superpower of crafting hooky melodies that melt their way into your brain, I was hooked immediately. This is the best new Weezer tune I've heard, maybe since Hash Pipe or Dope Nose.

The new record, titled Van Weezer, drops next May. I can't wait to hear more. It's been too damn long since I've been able to say that about new Weezer, and I can't articulate how happy I am that I'm this excited for the stuff from the Weez!