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Def Leppard - Pyromania review



Reviewer:
9.5

294 users:
8.26
Band: Def Leppard
Album: Pyromania
Release date: February 1983


01. Rock Rock (Till You Drop)
02. Photograph
03. Stagefright
04. Too Late For Love
05. Die Hard The Hunter
06. Foolin'
07. Rock Of Ages
08. Comin' Under Fire
09. Action! Not Words
10. Billy's Got A Gun

I'm not quite sure what everyone thinks of Def Leppard nowadays, but there's no denying that in the early eighties they were one of the best bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Life changing albums like Pyromania still inspire young musicians to this day, and if you're wondering how this album sounds, overshadowed as it is by its successor Hysteria, rest assured it's nothing like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" or "Let's Get Rocked," to mention a few.

Between the inspired heavy metal of High 'N' Dry and the hair metal/pop rock-laden Hysteria, Def Leppard braced us with what appears to many '80s rock/metal enthusiasts (including myself) as one of the best metal albums of the '80s and the band's best album to date. The reason for that to begin with is the superb songwriting of former guitarists Steve Clark and Pete Willis, who was replaced by Phil Collen because of alcohol abuse. Songs like "Rock Of Ages," "Billy's Got A Gun," and "Photograph" have stood the test of time. In fact, whenever listening to this album, one can't really pinpoint any major flaw, except maybe the murky production which - although typical of that era - fits the album's style and music perfectly while remaining above the benchmark of the recording quality of the early eighties.

Being a transitional album between their early heavy metal sound and the later radio-friendly hair metal, Pyromania offers a lot of various styles, most notably the AC/DC-inspired "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)" taken to a higher level. The intro riff is simply addictive. "Photograph" is the single-type of song because of its accessible pop-rock vibe, and its huge success clearly paved the way for the style in the Hysteria album. Joe Elliot lays down some of his highest and most memorable vocal lines to date. Lines like "Can you feel it in the air? / There's danger in the air" from the closing track "Billy's Got A Gun" send chills down my spine to this day. "Foolin'", another legendary track by all means and a facilitator of the power ballad movement, provides the intense atmosphere of a failing relationship which presents itself though nice effects, passionate lyrics, and intense drumming by the talented Rick Allen, who unfortunately lost his left arm the following year in a car accident.

Being an album that combines expert songwriting, talented musicianship, intricate harmonies, solos, and drumming, added to which are the soaring heavy metal vocals of Mr. Joe Elliot, Pyromania proves itself as a landmark album of the eighties metal scene and as close to a perfect album as any band can get.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 10
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 9
Production: 8

Written by Mountain King | 04.10.2014




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.


Comments

Comments: 8   Visited by: 73 users
04.10.2014 - 12:33
BlueDragon

The band that introduced me to the heavier sounds, even though today they play on a different level, i'm forever grateful to them...
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04.10.2014 - 12:49
Rating: 8
Ace Frawley
The Spaceman
Yeah, excellent review of an album I really dig. I listened to it recently and I think I prefer it to Hysteria, which I also really love. I think "Photograph" is my favourite Def Leppard song. It's interesting because if a band released an album like this today, I would totally dismiss it as garbage, but when I first heard this back in the 90s (admittedly many years after it was released) I loved it. I still really dig it today, despite preferring a heavier, darker style of rock music.
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The sun shines over The Fool...
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07.10.2014 - 18:18
Rating: 7
tea[m]ster
Au Pays Natal
Guilty Pleasure. Stagefright my favorite track. Thanks for the review.
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rekt
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23.07.2015 - 19:11
Rating: 5
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by BlueDragon on 04.10.2014 at 12:33

The band that introduced me to the heavier sounds, even though today they play on a different level, i'm forever grateful to them...


different yes and much below own level and critics, maybe drummers hand, but still band sucks nowadays
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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12.03.2022 - 05:35
Rating: 9
Metal_Mikey

Excellent review. I’ve been a big fan of Pyromania since its 1983 release.
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12.03.2022 - 13:21
JoHn Doe

I overplayed this album years ago, good album, but I'm kinda done with it, don't need to listen to it any time soon.
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I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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12.03.2022 - 18:22
Rating: 9
AndyMetalFreak
A Nice Guy
I also overplayed this one, along with Hysteria, and High 'N' Dry, that was during a time when I was really into Def Leppard, but now I don't have the same interest in them as I did then, the same goes with AC/DC.
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12.03.2022 - 19:34
JoHn Doe

Written by AndyMetalFreak on 12.03.2022 at 18:22

I also overplayed this one, along with Hysteria, and High 'N' Dry, that was during a time when I was really into Def Leppard, but now I don't have the same interest in them as I did then, the same goes with AC/DC.


AC/DC are more fun to listen than Def Leppard.
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I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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