Good to see some DL love up in here. I've been reading the last 3 pages or so and now that the new record has sunk in for the early buyers such as yourselves, would you recommend this as a purchase? My last DL album was 'Hysteria' and apart from a double disc greatest hits package which included the later singles I'm not up to speed with their post eighties work. Is the new album a good place to start for me? From what I gather here, there's some fat to be trimmed but ...

I don't check out albums online, I prefer buying on recommendation from fans and having the cd booklet in my hands on the first listen.

thanks

I would say Diamond Star Halos is neither a good or bad place to start if you've not checked out any post-Hysteria albums. I would personally skip the follow-up album Adrenalize, especially if you already have one of the greatest hits albums. You're not missing much there. I'd say your next purchases should be RetroActive (1993), Slang (1996) and Euphoria (1999).

RetroActive is an odds'n'sods album of b-sides and then-newly finished tracks from previous album sessions but works rather well as an album in it's own right. If it WERE an actual studio album, it would have been a more worthy successor to Hysteria.

Slang is where the band started going in a rather different direction musically. It's more experimental and dabbles in different genres but at it's core is a more organic, stripped-down version of the band and it's also where their songwriting ability really started to shine. Lyrically it is much darker and more introspective. It is not album to jump into if you're in a "Pour Some Sugar on Me"/"Animal"/"Rock of Ages" mood. If I were to make an analogy, it's Def Leppards "These Days". You'll either really dig this album or just not care for it. If your greatest hits album is a 2CD set from 2004 onward, you'd have heard the title track (ironically the more Leppard-like track on the album) and "Work It Out".

Euphoria is were the band returned to their more familiar sound and borrowing ideas from previous works (including Slang to a degree) whilst having the songs stand up on their own and sounding slightly more modern. This is the album with the song "Promises" which is included on any double-disc greatest hits album and still gets played live now and again. It's probably the most immediate-sounding post-Hysteria but I think it's important to hear RetroActive and Slang first so you can appreciate the "journey" to Euphoria.

As for anything after that it's hard to truly recommend anything. X (2002) much like Slang started to mix things up again, genre-wise, but this time going for a more pop direction. Has it's moments and Joe Elliotts vocals are awesome here, but the songs are mostly lacking flavour and musically felt rather dumbed down.

Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008 ) and Def Leppard (2015) are both more familiar-sounding affairs and have some good songs between them, but I feel most of it is forgettable. Diamond Star Halos (2022), as some of us have said already, is not as experimental per-se but does take some liberties with some of the compositions and what the average person would normally expect from a Def Leppard album.

In all honesty, the best person to ask here is Bleeding Purist as he "lived" through their entire career and is much more articulate than I am in terms of describing each album. He's posted loads of great stuff here over the years so worth searching through them.

thanks so much, your post has been a great help. I know what albums to buy next now and I won't be starting with the new one. First purchase : 'RetroActive'.

UK 2023 tour dates with Mötley Crüe;

https://t.co/9cDcjg1AXv

Ambitious doing Wembley stadium. Neither act sold out their last shows in UK.
Crue didn't sell out Wembley Arena and Leppard the o2

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Drastic Symphonies
 

New album “Drastic Symphonies” released May 19th

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/...webp_QL85_.jpg

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/def-...phonies-album/



It included several tracks combined with classic pieces by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Track Listing
1. “Turn To Dust”
2. “Paper Sun”
3. “Animal”
4. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” (Stripped Version)
5. “Hysteria”
6. “Love Bites”
7. “Goodbye For Good This Time”
8. “Love”
9. “Gods Of War”
10. “Angels (Can’t Help You Now)”
11. “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak”
12. “Switch 625”
13. “Too Late for Love”
14. “When Love & Hate Collide”
15. “Kings Of the World”
16. “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” (Not on all versions)

Interesting track list with “Turn to Dust” from Slang as the opening track. Totally out of the blue much like Diamond Star Halos was last year. Not sure this will be my cup of tea but an interesting move nonetheless.

In more saddening news, Rick Allen was attacked outside of a hotel in Florida recently.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...er/ar-AA18IfUg

This tracklist excites the hell out of me. Turn to Dust and Paper Sun, holy hell.

A couple of random choices but I really want to hear this.

DeF LEppARd
 

Amazon have a 2 disc set listed with the 2nd disc being a Blu Ray containing the entire album in Dolby Atmos.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drastic-Sym...r%2C234&sr=1-3

I am intrigued by the random album tracks that have been selected for this album as well, but I'm not sure sampling the original recordings would have been the best way to go with something like this. I think a live album with an Orchestra à la Metallica's S&M album or KISS’ Symphony: Alive IV would be better.