Def Leppard – “Def Leppard” [Album Review]

At this stage in their career, if you’re expecting UK hard rockers Def Leppard to do anything different then you’re going to be sorely disappointed. Having written some of the biggest, cheesiest rock anthems of the last thirty-odd years, this new self-titled album from the Sheffield rock titans shows they have no intention of deviating from their unit-shifting formula.

First single “Let’s Go” kicks the album off and as the polished “America-friendly” tones pour out, there is no way you can mistake this for anyone else. No dramatics, no surprises, just Def Leppard doing what Def Leppard do best. Of course you could level the argument that, like the rest of us, the older they’ve got the safer they’ve got, but this is a band who, like their fanbase, are comfortable with what works.

Whether it is slick, polished rockers like “Let’s Go” or tear-jerking, heart-breaking ballads like “We Belong” or “Broken And Brokenhearted,” Joe Elliot knows exactly what it takes to press the buttons of the band’s massive fanbase. Def Leppard is arena-filling rock at its best. What it lacks in originality, it makes up for with the kind of lighter-waving, anthemic swagger that fans have come to expect from the Sheffield rockers.

If you’re a band like Def Leppard that has, at some point in their career, discovered that magic ingredient which turns unknowns into worldwide superstars then trying to replicate that success presents something of a mammoth mountain to climb. Def Leppard, while sticking to their winning formula, may never reach the heady heights of the Hysteria era again but, in Def Leppard have an album that, while it may at times seem a little too run-of-the-mill, will certainly keep their massive fanbase happy.

Track Listing:

01. Let’s Go
02. Dangerous
03. Man Enough
04. We Belong
05. Invincible
06. Sea Of Love
07. Energized
08. All Time High
09. Battle Of My Own
10. Broken ‘N’ Brokenhearted
11. Forever Young
12. Last Dance
13. Wings Of An Angel
14. Blind Faith

Run Time: 54:35
Release Date: October 30, 2015

Check out the song “Pour Some Sugar On Me” here.