Def Leppard’s self-titled Def Leppard album was released on October 30, 2015.
The Def Leppard Album
Def Leppard was released seven years after the band’s previous effort Songs from the Sparkle Lounge.
The length of time between the two projects was understandable. After all, the critical importance of releasing a new album wasn’t what it used to be, not by a long shot. What was once considered a necessity, and an essential tool to plan a tour around, had become increasingly irrelevant, especially at this point in the band’s career.
Many of the traditional components (and benefits) typically associated with a new music project had fundamentally and forever changed. As a result, the prioritization and urgency for a new album had also shifted, ultimately leading Def Leppard to change its approach to releasing new music.
This deep dive will go further into this topic and so much more.
Do you really, really wanna do this now? If so, prepare to take an in-depth look back at Def Leppard’s self-titled Def Leppard album.
“Let’s Go” A Different Route
By 2015, Def Leppard was in a different career mindset.
The band was no longer contractually obligated to release a number of albums on behalf of a record label over a specified period of time. Moreover, the days of feeling any pressure whatsoever to outdo previous monster album releases — production-wise, sales-wise, or tour-wise — were long gone, too.
From a creative and business standpoint, this afforded the band more freedom and flexibility in determining what direction they wanted to go in, and where to place their focus. This additional control was not only better for the band, but it also made a lot more sense, as so much had changed in the music industry over the years.
During the days of Pyromania, Hysteria, Adrenalize, and to an extent, Euphoria, comprehensive promotional strategies were put into place to launch and market those albums. But by 2015, many of those sales and marketing initiatives didn’t matter, some didn’t even exist anymore.
For instance, how many singles will there be from the album? How will the releases be timed? Will there be a multi-format radio strategy (i.e., will some tracks solely target specific radio station formats like album-oriented rock stations, adult contemporary stations, etc.)? Which ones will be official singles to target mainstream Top 40 radio stations? And so on.
Frankly, those types of questions didn’t apply to Def Leppard. Even the word “single” had lost its meaning.
As had been the case for years, having a Def Leppard song soar up Billboard‘s Hot 100 singles chart, let alone sit atop it, wasn’t a priority nor a realistic expectation. That’s not to say the band wasn’t putting out quality songs; it’s just that the industry and radio landscape had changed significantly.
Way back when, a Def Leppard hit song occupying Billboard‘s Hot 100 singles chart involved the culmination of heavy national radio airplay (no longer the case by 2015), considerable MTV support (the network perceived as a promotional outlet was a distant memory), substantial single sales (the days of cassingles and CD-singles being purchased in mass were long gone), and so on.
Singles lost their impact and inevitably became less rewarding, hence less worth the time, effort, and expense.
The same increasingly applied to albums. Case in point, remember going into a record store weeks before a major album release? P.O.P. (point-of-purchase) materials such as posters and flyers would decorate sections of the store, hyping the event. Cashier areas would have bag stuffers reminding customers of the upcoming album’s release date; select, high-profile locations would even have contest entry boxes to win a copy of the album or win tickets to the artist’s local tour date.
Upon the album’s release, you couldn’t miss its availability when shopping those stores; updated signage would adorn the walls and windows, and album copies would fill shelves and racks, just waiting for consumers to nab them.
Most of these types of record stores were gone by 2015. And while few remained, even major chains like Best Buy weren’t avid supporters of the CD format anymore, requiring consumers to flip through alphabetized bins just to try and find a few copies of an album the store might be offering.
In short, a new album — more specifically, sales from a new album — wasn’t as consequential and didn’t provide anywhere near the revenue stream it used to. (While vinyl has become a nice little sales niche in recent years, it remains just that, a niche.)
With the realization that numerous traditional sales outlets and promotional options were extremely limited, and knowing the majority of consumers were not even purchasing complete albums — instead, in the age of digital, many preferred to stream or simply select the tracks they wanted to own — a full-length release imminently decreased in importance.
So if or when Def Leppard were to put out an album, the majority of what used to be a tried and true release strategy — from marketing to radio to retail sales — has been turned on its head. As a result, Def Leppard adapted, re-prioritized, and altered their overall approach.
“We Belong” On The Road
A seven-year gap between albums is a long time, but that doesn’t mean the band was out of the spotlight. Their main focus and priority between the two projects can primarily be summed up in one word: touring.
The days of Def Leppard vanishing from the public eye and locking themselves in a studio to feverishly work on an album, only to reappear years later to promote it, were gone. Instead, as was done for years prior to the Def Leppard release, the band toured. And toured. And toured. Without any new original studio album to promote.
Previous album Songs from the Sparkle Lounge put the band on the road for most of 2008 and 2009. After that? More touring!
- 2011: Toured a good portion of the year around their live release Mirror Ball;
- 2012: Performed nearly 50 dates in support of their Rock of Ages tour;
- 2013: An international summer tour, followed by their “Viva! Hysteria” Las Vegas residency;
- 2014: Summer tour with KISS (42 tour dates)
The band certainly kept itself busy, and to the delight of concertgoers, toured extensively every year between the release of Songs from the Sparkle Lounge and Def Leppard.
In recent years, Joe Elliott addressed the topic of recording new music versus touring, reiterating Def Leppard’s priority:
“Playing live is, at this moment in time, more important than new music.”
Do You Really, Really Wanna…Record A New Album?
The Def Leppard album was not part of the band’s original plan.
Initially, the intention was to record a few new songs, potentially release them as an EP, and then go back on tour. So many new song ideas developed in the process, though, that — voila! — a new Def Leppard album emerged.
In a broader sense, the band’s continued creative drive to write new music benefits themselves as well as their fans. In addition, their approach to making a new album is emblematic of Def Leppard at this point in its career: they have the luxury of recording new music only when the need and desire arise. The band is now well-established, has a locked-in fanbase, and has mastered the art of putting on a great live show.
From a business perspective, touring relentlessly continues to be the most pragmatic route, as it’s truly the most stable and lucrative income stream for the band (pre- and post-pandemic).
Nevertheless, new music will always attract extra attention since it’s become a rarity, and since it’s done because the band wants to do it, not because they have to.
Which brings us to the self-titled Def Leppard album.
Def Leppard meets Def Leppard
Recall, if you will, when outside songwriters were brought in to supply the band with songs for the X album. Or the time when the band felt the pressures of coming up with yet another commercially successful album (which became Adrenalize) in hopes of repeating previous monster sales feats.
Those types of scenarios and distractions seemed ancient by 2015.
The band no longer felt constrained or obligated to abide by other peoples’ wishes or timelines, which makes the Def Leppard album more unique than all of their previous efforts. It’s unrestricted, with music and artistic expression at its core, as epitomized on the Def Leppard album cover which features the band’s classic logo shattering through a glass wall.
Vivian Campbell touched on why the band still feels the need to exercise its creative artistry:
“I think there’s a few things that keep bands vital. For Def Leppard, one of those things is that we continue to occasionally make new albums…even though some people say, ‘Why do you even bother? People just wanna hear your hits. You do very good business by just going out and playing your hit songs.’ But it’s important for the lifeblood of Def Leppard as a band that we continue to be a creative unit.”
It’s that mindset that resulted in Def Leppard, fourteen tracks showcasing the band flexing its creative muscles — all the more reason the album’s title is fitting: it’s their album, on their terms, done their way.
Def Leppard is the band’s most diverse album. It does not harken back to any particular Def Leppard era, but there are instances where a song will conjure up thoughts of a previous Def Leppard hit.
Def Leppard: Tracklisting
Most songs on the Def Leppard album were written by one or two band members. Here’s a breakdown of the tracklisting along with who wrote each song:
- “Let’s Go” (Rick Savage, Joe Elliott)
- “Dangerous” (Phil Collen, Joe Elliott)
- “Man Enough” (Phil Collen, Joe Elliott)
- “We Belong” (Joe Elliott)
- “Invincible” (Rick Allen, Joe Elliott)
- “Sea of Love” (Phil Collen)
- “Energized” (Phil Collen)
- “All Time High” (Joe Elliott)
- “Battle of My Own” (Rick Savage, Joe Elliott)
- “Broke ‘N’ Brokenhearted” (Phil Collen, Joe Elliott)
- “Forever Young” (Phil Collen, Joe Elliott)
- “Last Dance” (Rick Savage)
- “Wings of an Angel” (Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell, Rick Savage, Joe Elliott)
- “Blind Faith” (Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell, Rick Savage, Joe Elliott)
The album provided the opportunity for the band to experiment freely and go down numerous musical paths, some of which they’d never done before.
It’s quite an eclectic listening experience: Delve into Beatlesque territory with “Blind Faith”; enjoy a blend of folk music, blues, and a dose of Led Zeppelin with “Battle of My Own”; take a ride with the band flat-out jamming with their raw, attitude-filled “Forever Young.” And that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
(Read a review and ranking of each Def Leppard album track here. And if you really want to indulge in Def Leppard, check out this must-read book!)
Def Leppard Album: The “Singles”
Several tracks were utilized to promote the Def Leppard album.
First was “Let’s Go,” a guitar-driven track intentionally made to sound exactly like the type of song Def Leppard fans would expect. It’s no surprise it was chosen to launch the album, as it unapologetically puts the band’s signature sound on full display. (Read more about “Let’s Go” here.)
Joe Elliott spoke to Rolling Stone about the song:
“It has that swaggering, mid-tempo rhythm, like ‘Sugar,’ and ‘Rock of Ages.’ The idea was, we wanted something familiar.”
“Dangerous,” another track that leaned towards a sound from an earlier Def Leppard era, followed it up. (Read more about “Dangerous” here.)
Next was “Man Enough,” with its prominent “Another One Bites the Dust”-like bass line groove. (Read more about “Man Enough” here.)
And, finally, “We Belong,” the album’s standout track, featuring each band member taking turns singing lead vocals. (The band would eventually debut the track live in concert years later.)
These four tracks were positioned as the Def Leppard album’s “singles,” but they could just as easily have been referred to as promotional tracks, as single chart performance hadn’t been relevant for a very long time.
Def Leppard Album: Music Videos
Music videos were created for the album’s four promotional tracks, with each video showcasing sci-fi animation…
…interspersed (in some shape or form) with band performance footage.
Like this (very) quick cut from “Dangerous”…
…or the “We Belong” video (with Joe Elliott’s face projected onto a sheet):
The science-fiction “storyline” continued throughout each of the album’s videos.
Did these music videos enhance the songs and upsell them? Frankly, not really.
The videos would have been more effective and memorable if they focused (much) less on the obscure and rather distracting sci-fi animation and (much) more on the band members themselves.
Think back to the music video for “Photograph” or “Pour Some Sugar On Me” or “Let’s Get Rocked,” and so on: those unforgettable visual experiences are embedded in fans’ minds, forever conjoined to the songs they represent.
Unfortunately, the four music videos from the Def Leppard album all mix together, mostly lacking any of their own identifiable traits.
The Def Leppard Self-Titled Album — Final Thoughts
Def Leppard debuted at a very respectable #10 on Billboard‘s U.S. top albums chart, thanks in part to the band resolving their long-standing digital rights dispute with their record company which allowed them to also offer the album digitally.
The album was the band’s seventh Top 10 U.S. album release, an impressive achievement, especially for a band that was approaching its fourth decade in existence.
Even though Vivian Campbell’s album contributions were limited due to ongoing health issues, he went on to say he believed it was the best album Def Leppard had put out since his time with the band.
Vivian told Cryptic Rock in 2016:
“I can honestly say I think it’s the best record that Def Leppard has put out in the twenty-four years I’ve been with the band. The irony is, it’s the record that I’ve had the least involvement with. I don’t know what that tells me (laughs). The good news is, it is the strongest record [in] many decades from Def Leppard. We are all very proud of that.”
During an interview with Boston radio station WAAF, Phil Collen made the following proclamation about the album:
“I think it’s the best thing we’ve done since ‘Hysteria.’ I really do.”
Undoubtedly, some fans will agree with Phil’s opinion, while many others won’t.
This brings us right back to where this deep dive began: Up against a music industry environment that had completely changed since the days of Pyromania and Hysteria, Def Leppard took matters into its own hands and course-corrected, making the most of the situation.
Phil succinctly summed things up this way:
“There wasn’t any industry — no record company executive or anyone — saying, ‘You’ve got to do an album.’ It was purely because we wanted to write songs, and we felt the need to do that.”
Simply put, the Def Leppard album showcases what the band is best at: being Def Leppard.
Would you really, really want it any other way?
