Color us surprised: Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo told Rolling Stone that the opening riff to his band's classic track "Undone" (better known to some as the "Sweater Song") is a total rip-off of Metallica's "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)."
The revelation caught Music Times off guard because the thought never struck us, despite having heard each song at least a thousand times. Upon reflection however, Cuomo's point is valid. The reasons not to notice the similarities are several. For one, Metallica's plucking is dark and resonant, while Weezer's is laid back, if not totally bright. And of course "Undone" seems to be about a guy pining for a woman while at a rock concert while "Sanitarium" is about a veteran pining for freedom while locked up in an insane asylum. Tough to get those themes confused.
Cuomo clarified however that it hadn't been his intention to cop the riff from Metallica, but he realized his subconscious theft years later.
"'The Sweater Song' was the first Weezer song I ever wrote, back in 1991. I was trying to write a Velvet Underground-type song because I was super into them, and I came up with that guitar riff," he said. "It wasn't until years after I wrote it that I realized it's almost a complete rip-off of 'Sanitarium' by Metallica. It just perfectly encapsulates Weezer to me - you're trying to be cool like Velvet Underground but your metal roots just pump through unconsciously."
It was a good move for Cuomo to call himself out for it before the media could (although The Blue Album has been out for 20 years without us realizing the similarity), so he maintained face. Either way, both tracks are great numbers and no one seems to mind one borrowed guitar line.
