Def Leppard's Pyromania: Klassique or Dud?

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The only Def Leppard album I still listen to consistently, this album sizzles with poetic darkness in a rock and roll pop sensibility. Call it a metal record if you must, but its carries a lot less heaviness and a lot more depth than meets the eye. Disregard "Photograph" because its the odd one out on this record. But look at some of the excellent tracks like "Too Late for Love", the ever-famous "Foolin", "Comin'Under Fire", "Billy's Got a Gun", and my personal favorite "Die Hard the Hunted" which has very interesting lyrics. The whole record also carries the quintessential element of a large chorus. So am I right, or am I just full of shit in my early 80s metal nostalgia?

Luptune Pitman, Saturday, 13 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i thought aerosmith did 'billy's got a gun', was theirs a cover or something?

ethan, Saturday, 13 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

No, that was Janie's Got a Gun.

Luptune Pitman, Saturday, 13 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

oh.

ethan, Saturday, 13 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I'd stick with Hysteria more in the end, but Pyromania was one of the two records I played endlessly in 1983 (the other? Rio, but of course ;-)). It's also fun searching out where the synths are.

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 13 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

'Die Hard the Hunter', 'Billy's Got a Gun', and 'Photograph' are great, 'Foolin'' is so-so, the rest is total filler. If they would've been more consistent this might've been epochal, for the right reasons.

dave q, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I haven't listened to these albums in ages, but I remember liking High N Dry more than Pyromania. It was looser, ballsier, more FUN, and more "rock n roll." Critics said it was an AC/DC ripoff (and they had a point) but I always thought it was their finest hour.

Mark M, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Foolin's f-f-f-fantastic! Isn't Rock of Ages on there? Classic.

Tracer Hand, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Luptune can I call you Chuck? My French friend was into Def Leppard, she did a gymnastics routine to "Pour Some Sugar On Me." She had a badge of Def Leppard on her army bag. She had Das Kapital in her house. And in late breaking news, today I saw some 18 year olds in a late model Ford Escort unfitted with a big bass speaker listening to Def Leppard quite loudly.

maryann, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The post-Boston fast-ballad "Photograph" is alone worth the $5 second-hand price. I also rate "Billy's Got a Gun" and "Rock of Ages." The intro and solo from "Die Hard the Hunter" are total classics but the rest of the song is pretty mediocre. I love the way the solo is built around that one great riff that just climbs and climbs. Oh wait, "Stagefright" is cool too. Good riff. The rest of the record's pretty mediocre though. Hysteria is much better, with more variety, better songs, and the production that took 80s corporate-rock gloss so over-the-top that it became avant-garde.

sundar subramanian, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

four years pass...
Def Leppard's a band that never fails to amaze me, they had such strong potential that was perfectly clear on On Through The Night and High & Dry that sort of came into more on Pyromania and was realized into full fruition on Hysteria.

Following Steve's death they came back with Adrenalize, admittedly..not that great of an album but when you take into account the things they had to do after Steve's death with it, it becomes great.

Slang, while not well recieved, was great! There was that pure rawness to it that was much different than the other albums. Personally I liked that sound, especially the fact that Rick Allen played an acoustic drumset on a Def Leppard record for the first time since his accident in 1984.

Following Slang was Euphoria and then X. While both Euphoria and X weren't amazing albums, they were still good. They showed the growth and depth of the band members.

And then you take into account the greatest hits package Rock Of Ages which revisits all your favorites and makes you say, 'yeah, they're damned good!'.

Which is pretty cool to look at the other albums and then to Yeah! that was released yesterday. It goes back to their roots, lets you see what makes them crank up the radio. It's interesting to finally hear Phil Collen sing on a Def Leppard album. Singing Stay With My from The Faces tore his voice to shreds, in fact, he did the song in one take and afterwards couldn't speak for 3 days.

Vivian's a good guy to have replaced Steve, while it was tragic what happened to Steve...Viv's a good fit in the band. It's not fair to compare either guitarist, both had very different styles and talents. As I said before, Viv's a good match for the second chapter of Def Leppard.

Def Leppard is and always was classic.

Christina Noles, Wednesday, 24 May 2006 08:13 (nineteen years ago)

three years pass...

too late (for love) is a near-perfect rock song.

Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 15 May 2010 01:33 (fifteen years ago)

Super classik!!!!!! Rock of Ages, FuhFuhFuhFooolin, Photograph, Too Late...love that whole album top ta bottom. Hysteria's great, I love it, but Pyromania feels a bit more genuine, a little less plastic than Hysteria . (but Mirror Mirror off High n Dry will always and forever be my jam. )

VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 May 2010 02:34 (fifteen years ago)

I have really come to love High and Dry in recent years, but Pyromania is the one that hit me in elementary school. That at Metal Health were certainly essential in my development. Killer songs and production. And the artwork--you obviously couldn't get a major to release that in this day and age.

Nate Carson, Saturday, 15 May 2010 02:36 (fifteen years ago)

nine years pass...

Foolin has it all: the opening acoustic guitar minor key arpeggios, left turns into IS ANYBODY OUT THERE???, ascends into the sky with OH, I JUST GOTTA KNOW...then gets slugged in the jaw with some AC/DC riffage

calstars, Sunday, 22 March 2020 01:16 (five years ago)

it completely rules

also Daniel esq otm

brimstead, Sunday, 22 March 2020 18:10 (five years ago)

three years pass...

SOMEWHERE IN THE DISTANCE, I HEAR THE BELLS RING

linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Monday, 17 July 2023 23:16 (one year ago)

Pyromania's more brooding deep cuts are so underrated. "Too Late" among them!

A. Begrand, Tuesday, 18 July 2023 02:39 (one year ago)

They should have quit with this album, as everything that came after it was garbage.

Alex in NYC, Tuesday, 18 July 2023 20:17 (one year ago)

“rocket” is so not garbage

brimstead, Tuesday, 18 July 2023 20:18 (one year ago)

Hysteria is perfect.

A. Begrand, Tuesday, 18 July 2023 20:36 (one year ago)

every time i play a song from this album i immediately just want to go play any song from hysteria instead. except for photograph, which is a perfect monument unto itself.

nobody respects the chair (Spottie), Tuesday, 18 July 2023 21:46 (one year ago)

I like Hysteria a lot but Pyromania is their Sistine Chapel to me.

STAGEFRIGHT
ALL NIGHT

linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 18 July 2023 22:00 (one year ago)

Two very different beasts for sure.

Pyromania is an exercise in balancing aggression and sensitivity, two extremes. Hysteria is less bipolar, more about nuance, even when it's silly.

A. Begrand, Wednesday, 19 July 2023 06:08 (one year ago)


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