1166. Def Leppard / Diamond Star Halos. 2022. 2/5

Like the rest of the world, Def Leppard has been in covid isolation for the better part of the last three years, and while they rested up in their own parts of the world, there was no doubt a need for a reflection on where they stood in the world, and just where they wanted to head once the pandemic had receded. This is the band’s first new album since their self-titled effort in 2015, after which a world tour playing “Hysteria” in its entirety took greater precedence. Well, they know what is going to sell tickets.
We could have a whole new entry started up to discuss how the music in Def Leppard’s discography has progressed from 1979 up to the present day. And while the band has never strayed from the fact that they wanted to be a rock band, not a metal band or any other type of band, it seems as though even that statement has changed over the years. The further infusing of less heavy styles of music in their songs and albums over the years has been obvious. But through that, there appeared some hope of a recovery. “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge” actually had some really good songs on it, and a recovery of sorts stating their wish to infuse the music of their heroes from the 1970’s in their current day music, and the well-received early single released from this album, seemed to indicate that this might be the album that saw the band give us a really good hard rock album for the first time in years.

The album kicks off with the excellent rock groove of “Take What You Want”, an early indication of what style of songs this album is going to produce. It is a very 1970’s glam rock AOR beginning, in perfect Def Leppard style which gives it its relatability to the modern time. Rick Savage co-wrote this track with Joe Elliott, and also wrote the closing track on the album “From Here to Eternity” which also references that age with the same feeling of T-Rex and Queen. “Kick” is a typical Phil Collen penned track, maintaining a familiar structure of song and riff, while allowing both guitarists to showcase their exceptional solo skills for a short space of the song set aside for it. It never ceases to amaze me on Def Leppard albums, with two such fabulous and highly credentialled guitarists in the band, that on the albums at least there is not room for more soloing between the two. I know they want pop rock songs, ones that are basically radio bites, but surely the occasional break out of guitar feuding would be a great addition.
The album contains a lot of harmless songs of that same calibre that I spoke of – the Def Leppard pop-rock. “Fire it Up”, “SOS Emergency”, “U Rok Mi”, “Open Your Eyes”, “Unbreakable”. And then you have the quieter ballad-style Leppard tracks, such as “Liquid Dust”, “Goodbye for Good This Time”, “All We Need”, “Gimme a Kiss”, “Angels (Can’t Help You Now)” - the ones that scream radio airplay... well, in the late 80’s and into the 90’s at least. I’m not sure they will work the same way in this day and age. Two of them, “This Guitar” and “Lifeless”, feature guest vocals from Alison Krauss, which also brings in the country and western style onto the album. It’s all very easy listening stuff, the kind of tracks that can crossover for the band to draw fans from several genres of music loving folk. You know the drill. Def Leppard aren’t going to be re-inventing the wheel at this stage of their careers. The band knows, and the two principal writers in Elliott and Collen know, that their bread is buttered very much on one side now, and that’s what brings in the cash.

I haven’t purchased a Def Leppard album since “Slang”, and I haven’t done so again here, instead utilising the streaming music service to listen to the album. And there is a very simple reason why – because now that this review is done, and I am about to publish this review, I see no reason to ever listen to this album again. Now that isn’t a statement about its quality, or the skills of the musicians involved. It is simply that the style of music that Def Leppard has played for almost the last 30 years just doesn’t excite me at all. They have gone their own path, and I most definitely went on a different one. And the sugar coated soft metal ballads are ones that by now, when it comes to Def Leppard, you become immune to. But I must admit, when we have these country and western ballad songs, such as the duets with Alison Krauss, I really am in a quandary as to what is going on. This is where they cross over another line that surely no one ever thought they would. To be honest, I’m not sure there are any further lines they can cross.
If I am in the mood to listen to a Def Leppard album, I will always head to any of those first five studio albums. They are the ones that sit proudest on my CD shelves. Those albums and the songs are what I love about the band. Everything from that point on has been a completely different style, and not one that appeals to me much at all. And given the excitement and burst of tingling sensations I got when I first heard the two singles the band released off this album before its release, the end result is a little disappointing. But as I said, with Def Leppard, you know what you are getting, and if you enjoy what it is they are releasing then you will probably love this album, and if you are of my vintage and grew up with a different band, you will probably sigh and nod knowingly as you move on to the next band and album being released, and never look back.