Zeitgeist. It sounds like a sneeze. Or what you say to someone afterward. In fact, it’s a German term that refers to the mood of the times.

But if you think that means Billy Corgan is trying to get in step with today’s world, think again. The cueball-domed rocker is far more interested in recapturing the spirit of the mid-’90s — the glory days when he and his Smashing Pumpkins were kings of the alt-rock scene.

That much is obvious from one spin of his new comeback album. But here’s the surprise: He just might pull it off.

Zeitgiest — the 40-year-old Chicagoan’s first Smashing Pumpkins CD in seven years — is a striking return to the heavy, song-driven form of early albums like Siamese Dream and Gish.

It’s got everything you expect from a Pumpkins disc: Corgan’s whining, nasal bray, introspective lyrics and thickly layered afterburner guitars. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin’s propulsive, hypercomplex beats and pinging snare tattoos. Tight, muscular songs that connect the dots between fuzzed-out grunge and proggy arena-rock bombast.

More telling, though, is what’s not here: The self-indulgent epics (only one song breaks the five-minute mark). The melancholy and infinite sadness. The high-concept experiments. And the rest of the band — notorious control-freak Corgan sang and played virtually every note on the superbly produced disc. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Especially when the results rock this hard.

Doomsday Clock 3:44 Human octopus Chamberlin explodes into action, bashing out a pattern that sounds like his kit is tumbling downstairs. Corgan cranks some massively heavy riffs at the bottom of his guitar neck and wails about how “it’s lonely at the top.” Suddenly we feel like we’re back at Lollapalooza.

7 Shades of Black 3:14 That first cut? It was no fluke. Here’s another one that’s just as heavy, with more fuzzy supernova guitars and hard-charging drums. Some quieter passages and subliminal vocals show they’re not just one-trick ponies.

Bleeding the Orchid 4:03 A choir of Billys introduce this atmospheric, plodding power ballad. Corgan whines about getting “milk from the flower (and) blood from the stone” (whatever that means) over some drippy, reverberating arpeggios.

That’s the Way (My Love Is) 3:48 Underneath all that heaviness, Corgan always had a mushy pop heart. It surfaces here, as Billy croakily croons “Of course I love you baby, ’cause I’m alive” while wrapped in a blanket of ringing guitars.

Tarantula 3:51 With its meaty, rubberized riff, blistering solos and chugging neo-boogie beat, this cut betrays Corgan’s Black Sabbath influence — until the soaring chorus takes flight.

Starz 3:43 The quiet, restrained verses create tension. The fist-pumping power-chord chorus provides release. We can see the crowd moshing now.

United States 9:53 The album’s musical, thematic and literal centerpiece. Jimmy channels the tom-tom triplets from KISS Alive’s drum solo while Corgan unleashes his inner Tony Iommi with a mighty slab of Sabbathy sludge. The expansive middle section has echoes of Hendrix’s Star Spangled Banner and King Crimson. Cue the lasers!

Neverlost 4:20 An electronic marimba and string synths decorate this pretty piece of dream-pop that comes straight from 1979 (the year and the song).

Bring the Light 3:40 Keeping the gentler mood going, Corgan tops this chugging pop-rocker with breathy vocals, some U2ish melodies and a flurry of harmonized guitars borrowed from Brian May and Queen.

(Come on) Let’s Go! 3:19 You want grunge? Here it is. Based around a buzzy lick, a pumping four-on-the-floor beat and a poppy chorus, this track could be a long-lost Nirvana cut.

For God and Country 4:24 Out with the grunge and in with the gothy glam. Billy contemplates war, death and patriotism over an understated groove iced with dusty textures and a stark piano. Think Bowie in Berlin.

Pomp and Circumstances 4:20 Throbbing strings. A waltzy tempo. Vocals reminiscent of Freddie Mercury. And a gong. This closing ballad definitely lives up to its name.