From the Deciblog archives, dredged up via vintage Metal Sludge: Rivers Cuomo — or, um, should I say “Peter Kitts,” above right — used to be in a shred-tastic, poofy-haired spandex band called Avant Garde. Apparently Cuomo has been a good sport about his past, but it’s still too hilarious not to poke fun at. The band made a run at it from 1987 to 1990, but thanks to the Interwebs we can experience their demos even today courtesy of a bunch of over-zealous completist Weezer fans.

And you know what? Shit ain’t bad. Cuomo’s Iron Maiden fetish is first and foremost, and with the galloping beats, twin guitar harmonies, and Bruce Dickinson Grim Reaper’s Steve Grimmett styled vocals the whole thing is a smorgasbord of ’80s metal influences. There’s also elements of Slayer in Cuomo’s playing with chromatic runs and whammy dive-bombs, and even some catchy Ratt guitar licks… hell, they tried it all. We’re not quite sure when and why Cuomo ditched the hairspray and spandex for thick-rimmed glasses and corduroys, but we’re guessing it had something to do with a band whose name rhymes with Birvana.

Check out the Avant Garde demos on the fan-created MySpace page.

-VN