Def Leppard
Pyromania

What?... I don't understand... I mean... Are we aware??? On DeBaser, there are even 49 (FORTY-NINE, I say) reviews about Iron Maiden, 25,138 on Dream Theater, and 78 million billion on Pink Floyd (and most likely some cheeky devil is making one even right now), but only 2 (TWO, I say) on the legendary Def Leppard?!? Are we kidding??? But... Do you realize??? Only 2... But mmm... Ugh... I still don't understand! So... We need to do something about this... So... Let's get to work: Fidia, you now commit yourself and prepare one on 'Hysteria'... Someone else, prepare one on the debut 'On Through The Night' while I dedicate myself to this one.

Well... After answering the call from the "Greek sculptor" (who lamented being the only one to focus on Def Leppard here on DB) and after giving orders regarding it, I prepare, as already mentioned, to review what I consider the most important and significant album (not to mention the best) in the discography of the Deaf Leopards (the name is the bizarre distortion of deaf leopard which indeed means "deaf leopard"... [these parentheses are a pain, right?]): the glorious 'Pyromania.' A (if I keep it short) nod to history: the group in question formed in far-off 1976 in Sheffield (UK) under the name Atomic Mass. After constant line-up changes, in 1978 they reached a definitive stability, counting among their ranks the young Joe Elliot (vocals) and Rick Savage (bass), who were later joined by the excellent guitarists Steve Clark and Pete Willis (replaced in 1983 by Phil Collen) and the promising drummer Rick Allen, who at the time was only 14 years old (and who would've thought). The band changed its name for good and began to make a name in the English locales. The year 1979 saw the birth of their first EP (unfindable :-(...) 'Getcha Rock Off' which introduced them thanks to clever radio programming (which made certain Iron Maiden members quite envious for the success received), but it is in 1980 that our artists managed to produce 'On Through The Night,' their first exhilarating work which established them as one of the diamonds of the then emerging N.W.O.B.H.M. alongside the aforementioned Iron Maiden.

The sound of Def Leppard, however, differs from that of Maiden and deeply roots in American, Australian, and English Hard Rock of the late seventies, influenced (more or less openly) by groups like UFO, Thin Lizzy, and AC/DC (but also by the melodic taste of the grand Who and the more "choral" Queen). However, there are slight but fundamental novelties: the guitar sound becomes more rock-solid, squared but varied (compared to the cited groups), the drumming is one of the most dynamic and exciting of the time, and the arrangements are noticeably more refined... The sound is engaging yet powerful, gritty, and biting as never before, and although influences and callbacks are very evident, it maintains enviable freshness and personality... Delicacy is a word that doesn't exist in the Leppardian vocabulary of the early days which, thanks to an idea of fast rock full of energetic fury, creates scenarios of explosive harmonic devastations from palpable tension, with a succession of slowdowns and accelerations causing car-like nausea. Def Leppard turns out too bonded to Hard Rock to make a mark with the "new" British metallers and too influenced by harsh and destructive sounds to win over the more refined and graceful-tasting English rock enthusiasts. For this reason, the first 2 albums (the second is the most direct, immediate, and jarring 'High 'n' Dry') weren’t practically considered in their homeland to be then idolized in the new continent where their sound was taken as an example by many emerging groups.

But it is in 1983 when our fellows craft the album that definitively consecrates them in the eyes of the broad audience (including English), and that will make them known as a deadly concert machine: the monumental 'Pyromania.' The album can be defined as an album of transition... Def Leppard, in this work, indeed slightly depart from the heavy and immediate sounds (yet always sophisticated) of the previous 2 albums to lean towards the compositional richness and elegance of the forthcoming 'Hysteria.' But, astonishingly, this album does not present the tragic and classic flaw of transition albums, namely uncertainty, confusion, and lack of precise definition (the classic "neither fish nor fowl")... But instead, it represents a perfect blend of light/dark tones where power and melody celebrate one of their most successful marriages... A concentration of energy and freshness that at the time had very few rivals; a subtle balance between frenzy and sonic rationality as never heard before... All orchestrated, with incredible personality, by Elliot's golden voice (one of the most powerful and "rock" voices of the eighties), by Clark's sharp guitar and by Allen's hyperactive drumming.

The album is composed of 10 potential hits in a continuous alternation between Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. It is a work to be devoured as a whole and that never tires or bores. No use prolonging (since I've already done it quite enough) with a classic track-by-track for an album like this... Suffice it to say it spans, with singular ease, from melodic and exciting American-origin Rock to the fast-paced Heavy typical of those years, passing through moments of vaguely Thrash flavor (listen to the riffs in "Die Hard The Hunter" for that matter) up to tensely engaging or squarely sharp beauty moments (the influence of AC/DC sometimes appears very evident), all seasoned with excellent choral refrains that lend power and elegance... In short... Every track is worth listening to countless times, and everything possesses a scenic spectacularity and energy that fits perfectly in the "live" dimension that our artists would develop to become one of the most exciting concert machines of the eighties.

Subsequently, Def Leppard would not manage to re-emerge at these levels (although 'Hysteria' is really an excellent album), perhaps also conditioned by the tragedies that befell various band members (Allen would lose an arm in a car accident in '84, and Clark would die in '91 from a strange cocktail of drugs and alcohol). 'Pyromania' is a work that snapshots the band at its best form and still deserves today the esteem and respect of anyone who considers themselves a fan of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal... In short... Let's give to Def Leppard what belongs to Def Leppard and let's try not to forget the grandiose musical pages written by these gentlemen... Please.