Def Leppard...

I have a lot of respect for the wealth of metal knowledge this board has. Soooo, here's the question. Do you think, in your opinion, that Def Leppard were ever a heavy metal band, or do you agree with the band that they were always just a pop band. I am curious to see what other opinions of the matter are.

I am of the opinion that they started out in much the same way as the other New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Saxon and Maiden, influenced by the likes of Thin Lizzy, UFO, Sweet, Mott the Hoople, Wishbone Ash, etc. Their first EP, On Through the Night, High & Dry and to a lesser degree Pyromania, were most certainly heavy metal albums. As they became more popular they went more and more glossy pop, which is fine. That's the direction that they chose. However, there is no doubt in my mind that they started out as a metal band, even if Joe Elliot now claims they never were a metal band to begin with. Thoughts? Comments?

Well, my favorite album of all time is High N' Dry, so that tells you something...

Def Leppard kills me. Listen to 'Overture' from On Through The Night and then 'Make Love Like A Man' from Adrenalize...like wtf.

First two albums were heavy metal in the NWOBHM vein, Pyromania was American Glam, Hysteria was American AOR, and the rest were pretty much a poor man's Bryan Adams 'effort'.

It's a sad state of affairs to be honest. I'd look forward to reading their autobigraphy whenever it comes out. I'd be curious to know how they went from High N' Dry to bouncy formage teeny bop 3 albums later.

I realize the bullshat they went through with Rick Allen's arm to Steve Clark's death...it's just these fellas were ridcliously promising at a young age, and then all too soon became a whoar to the allmighty dollar.

Sad.

Sure. On Through The Night and High N' Dry were classic metal albums that still sound great today. Pyromania was a little more polished, but still had it's metal elements. Then for me, they just went downhill from there. Sure, they've sold millions of albums, made some great coin and faced great adversity and was still able to keep it together. Good for them. The path they chose was the right one for them. It got them the fame and fortune they wanted. They could have stayed the course of metal and ended up either a forgotton footnote in the history music like so many other NWOBHM bands of the era or a washed-up joke, touring the mid-west with Poison & Ratt.

Yep....first two were great NWOBHM....Pyromania much more polished but still very metal.....then the end of a great band. LOL

Of course they started out as a metal band.

their first 3 are metal albums i fink. pyromania was just more polished than the other 2. stagefright rocks

Stagefright was a wicked tune...when I was out with injury for the high school hockey team I'd play Stagefright and Switch 625 during warm-up...I was cool then.

I remember Blabbermouth recently had an article in it sayin that Joe Elliot never considered Leppard to be a metal band...right.

Joe's a flamer.

Yes, Joe Elliot has been saying that Def Leppard were never a metal band since the late 1990's when heavy metal became a dirty word.

Mutt Lange was the Bob Rock of the 80's.

i don't think they started out metal, however they have not always been a pop band. that really didn't start until Pyromania imho.

they started out a regular rock band.

mc666 wrote:

i don't think they started out metal, however they have not always been a pop band. that really didn't start until Pyromania imho.

they started out a regular rock band.

Do you also think that about Saxon, Tygers of Pan Tang, Angel Witch, Satan, Blitzkrieg, etc.? They all had a sound not far off from "On Through the Night" and "The Def Leppard EP".

I would say they were a rock'n roll band, or if you really stretch it maybe hard rock. We've had this discussion before and I don't consider artists like Meatloaf, Bryan Adams, or Def Leppard to be heavy metal.

Meatloaf and Bryan Adams? What do these two bands have to do with "High n Dry", "On Through the Night" and the Def Leppard EP? Not the same style whatsoever. Sure on later albums Def Leppard were a pop band not unlike Bryan Adams, but those early albums were NWOBHM in my opinion and in most records of metal history.

Check out www.nwobhm.com

Ult: I don't think these people have heard those albums, and they certainly weren't around when Def Leppard, together with Iron Maiden and Saxon fronted the NWOBHM scene. It's a historical FACT, not something you can look back upon and claim it never happened.

I would say they started out metal and evolved into the polished pop rock they are known for today

lol Meatloaf or Bryan Adams??...lol ok.

I don't think they were ever a heavy metal band, nor do I think they've always been a pop band. Obviously now they're much more pop than their early years, but only on X would I ever really consider them a pop band. Was Hysteria really any different from the countless other rock albums out at the time? Of course not. Sure, their choruses were big and catchy—bigger and catchier than most—but they were still a rock band.

As I've mentioned before, Def Leppard is my all-time band (shut your mouth!), but I've always had problems with people calling them a heavy metal band. If On Through The Night came out in 1987, it would have sounded like Hysteria. Just listen to the vocal harmonies on that album—"Hello America," "Rock Brigade," "Satellite," "When The Walls Came Tumbling Down," etc. It was all there. They were obviously a bit more raw back then, with them being young and all, playing a more aggressive style—relatively speaking—but all the latter day ingredients are present on the early Def Leppard albums, they were just recorded in a sort of "sign-of-the-times" kind of way, which made it seem different. It's all perspective—I think—and I don't hear a heavy metal band; I simply hear a raw version of what the band was later.

With X, though, they fully turned down that pop rock road. They were surely never glam or AOR, though.

They were a metal band, I agree that the first 3 were metal albums. Joe Elliot had no problem being called metal when they were selling millions of albums in the US

MetalGuy71 wrote:

They could have stayed the course of metal and ended up either a forgotton footnote in the history music like so many other NWOBHM bands of the era or a washed-up joke, touring the mid-west with Poison & Ratt.

Just got my tickets to see them with Foreigner and Styx at the Kentucky State Fair in August. May not be Poison and Ratt but I know a washed-up joke when I hear it.

ultmetal wrote:

I am of the opinion that they started out in much the same way as the other New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Saxon and Maiden, influenced by the likes of Thin Lizzy, UFO, Sweet, Mott the Hoople, Wishbone Ash, etc. Their first EP, On Through the Night, High & Dry and to a lesser degree Pyromania, were most certainly heavy metal albums. As they became more popular they went more and more glossy pop, which is fine. That's the direction that they chose. However, there is no doubt in my mind that they started out as a metal band, even if Joe Elliot now claims they never were a metal band to begin with. Thoughts? Comments?

I couldn't agree more. They had the same management as AC/DC at the time so you can see the Mutt tie in there.

Joe has probably grown as an "artiste"...... yea..... I still like 'em for what they were and what they are. cheers !!

quiettype wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

They could have stayed the course of metal and ended up either a forgotton footnote in the history music like so many other NWOBHM bands of the era or a washed-up joke, touring the mid-west with Poison & Ratt.

Just got my tickets to see them with Foreigner and Styx at the Kentucky State Fair in August. May not be Poison and Ratt but I know a washed-up joke when I hear it.

Whoops. No offense to you, though

And for the record, Def Leppard are still selling out arenas. They may be far from what you once liked about them, but they're far from washed-up.

Eyesore wrote:

And for the record, Def Leppard are still selling out arenas. They may be far from what you once liked about them, but they're far from washed-up.

I was just trying to make a joke. Lighten up, Francis.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

And for the record, Def Leppard are still selling out arenas. They may be far from what you once liked about them, but they're far from washed-up.

I was just trying to make a joke. Lighten up, Francis.

They're my favorite band.

Might I also add that it's not just Joe that talks the "we were always a pop band" crap. They all do it. Of course, when I think pop, I think of NSync and crap. I don't think they mean it that way.