Andrew’s Judgmental Album Reviews: Def Leppard – Diamond Star Halos (2022)

Welp we’re gonna be in for another interesting June when it comes to flavors in the JAR. The album I wanted to cover got pushed back a week from what I can see, so I had to pivot. And sheesh, was this a hell of a pivot!

This does follow the weird theme we’ve developed of seeing how older bands have made it out of the pandemic with time to focus on song writing and where their minds collectively went. So now we travel to LA in the 80s with the Glam scene! Def Leppard is definitely a band all of your mom’s are aware of. Or if you’ve even been to a mostly white karaoke experience…you’ve probably heard Pour Some Sugar on Me at least once.

So for those unaware, Def Leppard really is peak 80s. From their two biggest albums of Hysteria and Pyromania, to the iconic one armed drummer, to tragedy taking away their guitarist Steve Clark due to alcohol poisoning. If memory serves they even had a VH1 movie about the early years up until Steve’s death. You know the musical act was a big deal if VH1 did a movie in the early 00s. In all seriousness, they are a pretty big deal, Google whatever you don’t know since Wikipedia will do a better job than an intro blurb from me.

Def Leppard is: Joe Elliott (vocals), Rick Allen (drums), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Colin (guitar), Rick Savage (bass)

• Artist: Def Leppard
• Album: Diamond Star Halos (2022)
• Label: Mercury
• Total Track Time: 61:27

Take What You Want this sounds…surprisingly accurate for Def Leppard. The rocking guitar driving the song with intertwining lead and rhythm riffs as the drum and bass hold the song together. Elliot’s vocals aren’t too bad either, granted he doesn’t push anything, its just a really solid way to get you into a Glam Rock kind of headspace. Sounds like maybe just a touch of Foolin guitar in certain parts. Kick again this has a very 80s vibe. They use maracas or some kind of shakers and there’s even an instrumental drop out for a clap along moment. Lyrically its on brand as well since its about a person they are addicted to and they don’t want to kick that habit. I find myself surprised to say that musically this could really fit in around their Hysteria and Pyromania years. The vocals are the only thing that stick out as showing age, but they’re not bad. Fire it Up okay now we get to a song that’s trying too hard. This definitely has the vibe of wanting to be Pour Some Sugar on Me or one of those stadium rocking anthems and yeah, this feels lame. At no where in the song does it raise to a raucous level to want to throw a fist in the air and sing-a-long. Not sure if that’s because of the vocal limitations, but musically its just boring. It’s got the typical stadium rock drum drive, but complimenting pieces of the song, well, really don’t. This Guitar feat Alison Krauss this is actually a really somber and reflective for a song about a guitar saving his life. It also has a very obvious Country vibe, especially using the specific twang in spots, but it’s still a really well done song. Plus the guest vocals from Alison adds a level of sincerity to the song that helps get over the almost comical lyrics of a love song to a guitar.

SOS Emergency so the energy picks up immediately and we’re back to the familiar Def Leppard sound. There’s a small touch of Photograph in the chorus portions, but it’s hard to really pick this one apart. It’s got great energy, feels very Glam and very Def Leppard…so all in all solid. Liquid Dust is musically interesting since I feel like you get little pieces of different musical styles. A little bit of Indian percussive elements and even the guitar tone for the bridge sounds more in that vein, mixed in with more contemporary sounds all tied in a song that seems to be about dying or reaching the end. The song drives without being overpowering, the instrumentation works really well for that ominous harbinger type of feeling. I’m surprised this song came from Def Leppard. U Rok Mi well at least this seems much brand since they do tend to like weird titles. But once it starts I get a huge Prince or T-Rex vibe from the instrumentation. The heavy rock guitar drive is very present in this album but it also sounds like a little tambourine and maybe ukulele? So a few interesting elements but it still sounds fine and lyrically it’s vapid but it’s Glam. Goodbye for Good this Time now this is more than just somber, it’s a full blown piano ballad. I get so many vibes of like Elton John or David Bowie with how this is all put together, even the flamenco guitar in the middle is a touch that takes me more to the eclectic nature of the previously mentioned two references. I do really like the lyrics in the chorus though; “It’s goodbye for good this time, As love lies broken in two, I’d move Heaven and Earth this time, To cross that wasteland with you”. Really well done song.

All We Need there is such a great energy and escalation in this song it really gets across fantastic amounts of hopefulness. I’m not really sure where this song came from, unless it’s just the antithesis of the pandemic, but it’s hard not to enjoy this song. Plus I really like this lyric from the second verse; “This ain’t no bedtime story, This one you nevеr forget, You’re like a night nеver ending, That I can’t wait to regret”, that last line of a night I can’t wait to regret is actually perfect. It exemplifies hope, fun, looking forward to having things to reflect on. It really keeps the perspective of the song forward. Open Your Eyes opens with some nice crunchy distorted bass, and the whole song holds onto more of an alternative groove vibe. It’s not bad, I just wasn’t expecting a song that reminded me of Soundgarden on a Def Leppard album. Yeah, aside from just feeling like it sticks out too much so far, it’s a perfectly fine song.

Gimme A Kiss that Rocks holy 80s overload. This really is such an irreverent 80s rock song. It’s a fun, a little stupid, and sophomoric in tone…but not crude. It still keeps that odd 80s wholesome grime; “Gimme a kiss that rocks, Plunder my skin, Be the tick for my tock, Show me a thrill that shocks, When the thunder begins, Gimme a kiss that rocks”, the lyrics are so inane they’re amazing. The song even ends with the sing-a-long claps and Elliott doing a kiss into the microphone. Angels (Can’t Help You Now) we get another piano driven song with the Elton John-esque vibes, but this one is not done as well as the previous. It feels like this song doesn’t know what it is or where its going, it’s just trying to drown out the lack of focus with a big orchestral feel halfway through the song. Its songs like these that make albums with 12+ songs FEEL like a drag. Lifeless aptly named for how I feel after that last song just sucked the life out of me. But it seems like Alison Krauss is on this song as well, so maybe we’ll get more country twangs? Yup, we definitely get some Country mixed with U2 for this one. While I do like how Alison’s vocals harmonize and bring more atmosphere to the songs while also giving life to a high end of the melodies, the song does feel a little uninspired. We’re hitting the home stretch and I feel like some of these songs could’ve really been cut in the interest of album quality. Not bad, just languishes in being a little boring, indiscernible from stock radio rock nonsense and not as good as the first song she was on.

Unbreakable okay okay, I don’t know why there’s so damn many references to INXS in my circle last few weeks, but here’s another one. The instrumentation really does give heavy INXS vibes, and I don’t hate it. Coming off of two fairly unremarkable songs, this sounds interesting enough to pull me back into the album and it’s not too far removed from their usual Glam sound. From Here to Eternity this is the first song I can safely say I got immediately entranced by to the point of googling the lyrics to sing-a-long to a song I don’t know. This has such a great storytelling element that I wasn’t expecting from Def Leppard. It’s like a combination of Queensryche and Queen. I love the film noir dark colors in the atmosphere of the song. It gets across a great 50s/60s detective movie. It’s nearly 6 minutes long, but does not feel like it at all. This was possibly the best ending song of any album I’ve covered this year.

Well now I’m not totally sure what to say, let me recover for a second. There were a few songs that felt like stock radio fodder, a couple that were just bad, but for being 15 songs…there was definitely waaaay more good than bad. Plus I really appreciate that they ended strong. Now would I have preferred two or three songs to be cut so the album would rate higher? Of course. But given that I haven’t listened to a full Def Leppard album since Hysteria, I have heard a couple odds and ends between, this is still better than expected. Also in case there’s any wondering why vapid lyrics don’t bother me as much here where they pissed me off for Three Days Grace it’s simple. You don’t listen to Glam for deep messages, whereas nu metal or alt metal is supposed to have some larger perspective. You don’t walk into a Jack Black movie expecting the same thing as you would from Johnny Depp. Plus vapid is far more palatable than cringe.

I appreciate how they made musical references in a few of their songs without feeling like they completely abandoned their sound. The dabbles of different instruments, arrangements and atmosphere helped to keep this as more than just a bad attempt to recapture glory days of 80s wild years. Age has definitely put a damper on Elliott’s range (not as bad as David Coverdale though, sheeesh), but they also played to his current strengths/restrictions, and it definitely worked.

Final Judgment: 7.25/10