Ever looked at the Weezer discography on Spotify and wondered why there's a weird-looking religious-tract-style cover nestled between Hurley and Everything Will Be Alright in the End? That is Weezer Death to False Metal, and honestly, it is one of the most misunderstood pieces of the band's history. It’s not exactly a studio album. It’s not exactly a B-side collection. It’s this strange, hybrid creature that Rivers Cuomo basically willed into existence to clear out his mental closet.
Released on November 2, 2010, the record landed during a chaotic era for the band. They had just moved to Epitaph for Hurley, but they still owed Geffen Records one more release. Instead of just dumping a lazy "Greatest Hits" or a collection of dusty demos, the band went back into the studio. They took unfinished tracks dating back to 1993 and gave them the full professional treatment.
What Is Weezer Death to False Metal?
Is it the ninth studio album? Rivers says yes. Most fans say no. The reality is somewhere in the middle.
The title itself is a total deep cut from Rivers’ childhood. He and his brother used to say "Death to False Metal" back when they were obsessed with Slayer and Metallica. It was a joke about musical integrity. Fast forward to 2010, and it became the name of a project that gathered "orphaned" songs from the Make Believe, Red Album, and even the post-Pinkerton hiatus era.
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What makes this different from something like Alone is the production. These aren't just lo-fi basement tapes. Rivers and producer Shawn Everett took the basic tracks of ten unreleased songs and brought the whole band in to overdub new parts. They wanted it to sound like a modern, cohesive record.
The Songs You Actually Need to Hear
You’ve got to start with "Turning Up the Radio." It’s actually a bizarre experiment. Rivers did a YouTube project called "Let’s Write a Sawng" where he collaborated with fans on the lyrics and melody. It has 17 co-writers. 17! It sounds like classic power-pop, but the backstory is pure internet-age madness.
Then there’s "Everyone." This one is a relic from the late '90s. It’s heavy. It’s weird. It’s basically Rivers screaming about sucking thumbs over a grinding, dirty riff. It feels like the missing link between the raw aggression of Pinkerton and the polished crunch of the Green Album.
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Most people skip the end, but the cover of Toni Braxton’s "Unbreak My Heart" is genuinely fascinating. Rick Rubin suggested they do it. While the rest of the band reportedly hated it—which is why it sat in a vault for five years—Rivers belts it out with zero irony. It is a straight-faced, power-ballad rock cover that somehow works in all its melodramatic glory.
A Breakdown of the "Odds and Ends"
If you're trying to track where these songs came from, the list is all over the place:
- I Don't Want Your Loving: A leftover from the Make Believe sessions (2005).
- Blowin' My Stack: Another Make Believe era track, featuring some of Rivers’ most brutally honest "paying my bills" lyrics.
- Trampoline: A demo from the 1998 hiatus that finally got the studio polish it deserved.
- Autopilot: A synth-heavy experiment from The Red Album sessions that feels very 2008.
Why the Critics Were Split
The reviews were... mixed, to put it lightly. Pitchfork gave it a 3.5, which is typical for them during that Weezer era. But AllMusic actually liked it, giving it 4 stars and claiming it held together better than some of the band's "proper" albums.
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The record debuted at number 48 on the Billboard 200. It wasn't a smash hit. It wasn't meant to be. It was a "special project" designed to satisfy the hardcore fans who knew these songs existed in demo form but wanted to hear them at full volume.
How to Listen to It Today
If you're a casual fan, Weezer Death to False Metal might feel like a collection of B-sides. But if you're a completionist, it's a gold mine. It shows the evolution of Rivers’ songwriting over 17 years without the pressure of a "concept" or a major marketing campaign.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Listen to "Everyone" and "Losing My Mind" back-to-back. It’s the best way to see the range of the band’s unreleased material from the late '90s.
- Check out the "Let's Write a Sawng" YouTube archives. Seeing how "Turning Up the Radio" was built by committee is a trip.
- Compare the version of "Mykel & Carli" on the iTunes deluxe edition to the Blue Album B-side version. It’s an older, rawer 1993 recording that gives a different vibe to a fan-favorite track.
- Don't treat it as a main album. Think of it as a curated museum exhibit of the songs that almost were.