Billy Corgan, where the f**k have you been? Zeitgeist is an album that rocks hard and clearly justifies the return of the Smashing Pumpkins. Cynics be damned, Zeitgeist bursts from the speakers and thumps you over the head.

All the classic hallmarks of the Pumpkins are present. The pounding kick drum of Jimmy Chamberlin, the Billy Corgan snarl, and most importantly that massive wall of guitars that knock you back and demand to be noticed.

The first half of the album, in particular, serves as a reminder as to just how good the Pumpkins were at their peak. If I had to recommend two key tracks to listen to I’d say Doomsday Clock and Tarantula.

One thing that has changed since the Siamese Dream/Melancholy era is Billy Corgans choice of amps. Throughout the current Zeitgeist tour he has been favoring Bogner (Uberschall) and Diezel (Herbert) heads.

Whilst he has retained a fleet of strats, and a couple of SGs, for the low tuned songs (dropped C etc.) he appears to favor a Black Schecter C-1, as you can see in the image below.

In terms of the guitar tone on the album, it is reminiscent of the Machina album. Bruising. A lot of the trademark Pumpkins octave runs and high squeals are still there, and I’d guess the ‘Big Muff’ fuzz pedal is still getting a solid workout, although now in conjunction with a wider selection of high end rack effects.

Sad to see the old JCM800 not on stage anymore but from a listen to the album I’m quite sure that both it and the JMP1 preamp both got an ample workout.

In summary, buy Zeitgeist and allow it to kick your ass!