Hysteria

Seven singles. Seven goddamn singles on this record. That’s insane. And thanks to a very kind and awesome 5th grade teacher who let us listen to cassettes during class… I have these tunes ingrained in my membrane. I “sang” Pour Some Sugar on Me over the phone to my first girlfriend at her request. She dumped me the next day. Okay, the timing here’s not exactly true but it didn’t last and it couldn’t last because when all is said and done, Love Bites. (At least in the 5th grade.)

I have a weird relationship with rock music. The majority of my favorite albums EVER belong to rock and its subgenres. I love rock!! However, a lot of the biggest rock bands ever are bands I don't enjoy in the slightest. When you say you like rock, a lot of people think of these arena bands from the 80s, like Def Leppard or Bon Jovi. But this is EXACTLY what I DON'T mean when I say I love rock. These 80s pop hair-metal bands do not sound good. The way they overproduce their music is sickening; it's really too much. It's irritatingly poppy. The music is engineered to be sickeningly cheesy and sweet. These bands are obsessed with their cool image more than anything, and it shows. Every single song is a painfully cliché and cringeworthy "anthem", and they're all indistinguishable from the others. The lyrics are uninspired. The formula is so overdone here. It's exactly like Halloween candy: a piece of candy is fine once in a while, but once you grow out of adolescence, the thought of eating a bucket full of candy in one night makes you want to vomit. This album is a bucket full of cheap, over-processed junk candy, and it was really hard to enjoy more than a minute of it, let alone a whole hour of it.

In 2022 ‘Hysteria’ feels like the most ridiculous album. It sounds all of the $4.5 million that it reportedly cost to make. It’s shiny, gleaming, glossy, expansive, excessive, bloated, monolithic…over produced, probably 20 minutes too long; and yet I still really like it because despite all my criticisms, the album is a heap of big, dumb fun. It reaches for your jugular, doesn’t let go for the duration, and demands you have a good time, which ultimately you will. Truly ‘Hysteria’ is to hair metal what ‘Thriller’ is to pop.

Where Pyromania had set the standard for polished, catchy pop-metal, Hysteria only upped the ante. Pyromania's slick, layered Mutt Lange production turned into a painstaking obsession with dense sonic detail on Hysteria, with the result that some critics dismissed the record as a stiff, mechanized pop sellout (perhaps due in part to Rick Allen's new, partially electronic drum kit). But Def Leppard's music had always employed big, anthemic hooks, and few of the pop-metal bands who had hit the charts in the wake of Pyromania could compete with Leppard's sense of craft; certainly none had the pop songwriting savvy to produce seven chart singles from the same album, as the stunningly consistent Hysteria did. Joe Elliott's lyrics owe an obvious debt to his obsession with T. Rex, particularly on the playfully silly anthem "Pour Some Sugar on Me," and the British glam rock tribute "Rocket," while power ballads like "Love Bites" and the title track lack the histrionics or gooey sentimentality of many similar offerings. The strong pop hooks and "perfect"-sounding production of Hysteria may not appeal to die-hard heavy metal fans, but it isn't heavy metal -- it's pop-metal, and arguably the best pop-metal ever recorded. Its blockbuster success helped pave the way for a whole new second wave of hair metal bands, while proving that the late-'80s musical climate could also be very friendly to veteran hard rock acts, a lead many would follow in the next few years.

Massively clichéd, ludicrous lyrics, teenage hair metal, pointless forgettable solos and generally indistinguishable from a dozen other 1980s middle of the road rock bands, (in this case from Sheffield but trying to sound like Americans). It's OK in small doses, just letting it wash over, but nothing stands out or grabs my attention; the songs aren't strong enough to transcend the limitations of the genre. Plastic rock.

This album was so satisfyingly awful. I knew I would hate it going in, and every song confirmed my prejudice.

Awwww I haven't heard Def Leppard in a long time and this was so much fun to hear again. Perfect bit of hair rock I needed. I ended up listening to the album three times throughout the day. Can't beat a bit of cheese rock to brighten a dull day.

This is a fun one. Just ridiculous 80s butt rock and soft metal. Tons of great shredders and power ballads. Kinda weird that they are an English band though. They would like they are straight from the sunset strip to me.

Underneath the hood this is a quietly insane record - the kitchen sink production, Joe Elliot's nonsensical stream-of-consciousness lyrics, the mere fact that the drum patterns had to be configured for three limbs - wild. Its subsequent success is the cherry on top. If you don't like melodic hair metal, it's an automatic one or two star, right? I do, though - and all the Mutt Lange bells and whistles are still a pleasure to behold.

Hair metal is big, dumb, and bad

I can't believe I have to gatekeep fucking Def Leppard's Hysteria. But first, yes the sound is very late 80's and peak Hair Metal. But that doesn't take away from its achievements including 7 charting singles. Not impressed? This album was so monu-fucking-mental that it produced those singles in a time period of 1 1/2 years. In today's music that's enough time for the current pop-ranked singers backed by an excel spreadsheet of writers and producers to reinvent themselves three times over. Not enough? Fine. Let's remove a drummer's arm. This is DL's first record in the four years following the accident that claimed drummer Rick Allen's arm. He relearned how to play the drums on an electric kit designed for him for this purpose. And finally, this album fucks. This album fucks so hard that the people giving it shitty dad-rock ratings probably don't recognize that could have been conceived to this album. 5 out of fucking 5 🤘

I too am surprised with how much I enjoyed this album! I started off listening to it with my brother on a Thanksgiving road trip. We took turns reading the lyrics and laughing at their silliness; I mean, "Red light, green light, yellow light, go!" says it all. Then the songs started sticking in my head. When we arrived at our destination, I listened to the album again whilst shooting pool—a perfect Def Leppard scenario, I think. And the transition from ironic-love to genuine-love for DL's Hysteria took hold. I began to appreciate the boldest, largest moments on this album just as they're presented ("God of War," for instance, is fan-friggin-tastic!) And soon I was mumbling "Red light, yellow light, green light go" and "You got the peaches, I got the cream" to myself without any concern or conscious, and much to my brother's chagrin. I couldn't exactly explain to him why I all of a sudden thought this album was great, and I agreed fully with all of his complaints. I just liked it! For many of the same reasons he didn't to be honest. So there you have it. I would say this album is too long, because it assuredly is, but it has too be! I couldn't imagine this insane, maximilist, balls-to-the-wall, tongue-not-even-in-mouth-let-alone-cheek, a record being any shorter. What's unfathomable is how tight the songwriting and production still manages to be in spite of all this album's late-80s, obscene, excesses. I can best describe the sound of this album as if the members of Slayer performed an Eagles cover, with, yes, a twist of Michael Jackson. Which, come on! It's so cool! Four stars!

Honestly this is jam packed full of catchy shit. Everything is pretty big, really well-written, perfectly executed, etc ec. The vocal harmonies in particular are where they really stand out I guess - and the way they meld with the guitar melodies so well. Production is flawless, if a little declawed, but it really is just a crystal clear, perfect little slice of late 80s production. It's openly cheesy as shit, just puts itself right out there celebrating the big hair/sleaze look - it's almost like they knew hipsters in 2021 would go into conniptions in the knowledge they can't stop it existing already. ha. Criticisms: Excitable is a dead set awful song, and Don't Shoot Shotgun isn't far behind. Also, it feels like the whole album could have been one long song - great for cohesion, and might have been amazing at 30min... but 60? They could have trimmed the fat and I probably would've given it a 5/5. That being said, it's been fun to listen to this again in full, haven't heard it beyond the hits in a good 10+ years. 4/5.

More classic tracks than I realised. Pretty good album for their first album with a one armed drummer.

Didn't realize how many Def Leppard songs that I knew came from this album

I really don't want my metal to sound acceptable to my mother. Give me more Slayer and less Bon Jovi. And NWOBHM is the single worst name for a musical movement ever, so it is a no from me.

Pop trying to be metal. I understand why it was popular in its day; tough dudes felt like they could like a "rock" band that still got ladies to shake it. Song writing is solid pop writing and production is over layered and over compressed....but I guess that became the iconic def leppard sound. "Run Riot" had interesting time changes between straight and half time, and the verse also had an interesting odd meter time signature thrown in every 4 bars or so.

1st album I ever purchased.

Great Album, each song is good and sounds like it belongs into a huge stadium show and best of playlist. Album itself could do with being 15 min shorter

Truly a classic

I'm really hating it and I don't think I'll finish it. This shit is cringey as hell. Some of the guitar work is good though. Hair metal was a mistake and I don't think it's OK. animal is almost not bad. it's growing on me and i want it to stop, love bites.. pour some sucks. Not good overall, maybe influenced some good music.

Pretty amazing pop-hard rock magic. Definitely has it's own sound and lot of catchy tunes. Though absolutely POP, it still holds up well.

I remember vividly the first time I heard the first single from this album: "Women." I got chills. Mind you, I was barely ten years old. But I'd been listening to Def Leppard (through my older sisters) since they bought the Pyromania LP in 1983. MTV really made Def Leppard for me. And then there was such a long wait... (4 years is a long time when you're ten). The drummer lost an arm... But the video for "Women" came on MTV... I was amazed. Rick Allen playing drums... Joe Eliot looked different. His hair was blonder. Longer. What an album. Every song could be a hit. I think the best one, the most underrated, is "Gods of War." But as a whole, the album is among my favorites.

I’m a big fan of Pyromania. Surprisingly I had never listened to this follow up album before. I didn’t realize how many of these songs I remembered from the radio until I started hearing them, so most of the album was at least somewhat familiar. I love that Def Leppard shimmer! ————————————————————————- Random thoughts: Interesting that “Love Bites” originated as a Country Ballad… listening to it now I can hear how that could work. I’m surprised I couldn’t find a country cover. “God of War” shows that anti-war-hair-metal-protest music works! Effective and interesting mixing of tempos, rhythm and melody on songs like “Don’t Shoot Shotgun.” When they start cranking it up you really feel it! “Armageddon It” is possibly the best metal pun ever. I haven’t listened to Hysteria in a long time and was struck by how lovely it is. A lot more going on in this song than I remembered or gave it credit for. ————————————————————————- With age I’ve gained greater appreciation of 80s hair metal and Hysteria is right up there with the best of them! I see a lot more of this in my future.

I knew this was Def Leppard's biggest album but I didn't realize that basically every song became a classic from Love Bites to Animal to Hysteria to Armageddon It. Lots of bangers and the epitome of hair metal

Never thought I'd give Def Leppard a 5 stars...

I can no stress this enough...this album is one of the greats. Just a joy to listen to hits that represent an era of rock. This is why this collection of albums was written.

“Hysteria” was tipped to me by a trusted nerd as fireworks, but I didn't expect to play it four times over a busy weekend. Their song structures still elude me - is it as simple as having passable riffs doubled with slightly-too-high soccer terrace chants, broken up by dueling solos and peculiarly placed pauses and instrumental lurches? Simon, is this my prog? Def Leppard were a laughable proposition at every stage of my early sink into music, too ridiculous and preened when I was experimenting with metal, even more ridiculous and obviously corporate whorish when I was gorging on grunge and pre-grunge, and not even a consideration when I moved into what my wife calls “boiler music” (“This sounds like a boiler”). Apart from the hair, my lasting impression of them before this weekend came from Rick Allen's guest-appearance on the popular British children’s program, “The Sooty Show”, which made me think he’s a nice dude, one unusually natural when jamming with a band of glove puppets. The band’s name is a successfully more-stupid homage to that of Led Zeppelin’s. My research indicates that many of this record’s participants were often drunk, heavily drunk, during this important time of their lives, though perhaps not so drunk in the studio, which has me wonder how this affected the songs. There is a boozy optimism to this record, and most of the lyrics work very well if you imagine slurring them off your face: the chorus of “Animal” cries to be grunted and bellowed. Lyrics have the mystical quality of an insistent pub lush, an unspoken “you all know what I mean” hanging at the end of each line. The music has mood swings - sweeping choruses trip into stomping marches, impressionistic instrumentals jump-cut to air-horn versification - and the general sense of not always being aware of where to go next, usually resolving with an impassioned football-chant chorus or a guitar rockslide. Played at super-low volume, the shrillness of the drums pierce unpleasantly, but maybe they need this to stab through layers and layers of absurdist guitar. These guitars are a joy with their many whooshing, dramatic sounds; like a hairspray Sonic Youth! I am also reminded of peak Ted Nugent, but without the paedophilia, which I hope we can agree is a plus.

So Def Leppard’s debut album “On Through The Night” came out when I was in high-school in 1980, and as a rock guy, I really liked their sound – especially when compared to a lot of the new wave and punk music that was coming out at the time… It was heavy and raw, but had that AOR FM station appeal back then… Their follow-up album “High & Dry” was also excellent, and their raw, powerful, hard-rock sound seemed to be evolving… Then came the next 2 albums where their sound developed into a way more commercial – as well as a much more polished sound – with “Hysteria” being the 2nd of those two… Can’t blame them – as that recipe really worked for them – especially with females, and at least they did retain their hard-rock sound for the most part… Forgot just how good this album was, and how many songs made it to radio back in the day… Below are my favs in order - “Armageddon It” - 6-stars out of 7… “Animal” - 6-stars out of 7… “Rocket” - 5-stars out of 7… “Pour Some Sugar On Me” - 5-stars out of 7… “Hysteria” - 5-stars out of 7… “Love Bites” – 5-stars out of 7… “Love & Affection” – 5-stars out of 7… The vocals and harmonies are really well-done, even if the lyrics are pretty poppish, and basic – but musically it really pops – as I’m glad they were able to retain their hard-rock edge during this transition… There is pretty decent diversity throughout the album, and they definitely have an original sound for sure… As a drummer – I was incredibly impressed with Rick’s one-armed drumming on this album after his awful car accident a few years earlier… Got to see them in 2007, and he was even more impressive live… I do wonder if his more “electronic” sounding drum kit had something to do with kicking them into their more commercial/more produced sound – as the one element that they truly lost, was their rawness – but I doubt this album would have been as successfully from a commercial standpoint without it… 7 hit singles from this album is pretty damn impressive, and I’d probably give this a 4.25 if I could, but a healthy 4 in my book for sure – and glad I went back an listened to this one all the way through again, as it’s a great album…

Delicious strong cheese

One word: Cheesy

It’s the standard later 80’s hair/stadium rock music. It’s fairly uneventful and sounds the same as approximately 100 other rock bands from the time. Thankfully the 80’s finally put an end to the infatuation of band members trying to look and sound overtly feminine more than actually producing interesting music. The only song on this album that stands out from the rest is Love Bites...perhaps it being the only ballad and therefore different to the rest enhances it’s appeal but I genuinely think it’s still a standalone decent effort. Anyhoo...yawn. NEXT!

80s hair metal. An expansive sound with massive choruses combined with synth elements. An easy and enjoyable listen, and very 80s. A bit samey though and difficult to remember any particular song, possibly a result of the slick production, within which the actual songs get a bit lost. 3.5/5

Monster hooks, monster riffs, monster drum fills - the excess of the 80s are in full effect here. Whereas I tend to ding albums for sounding dated, somehow I enjoyed this album much more than expected - it's so over-the-top 1987. There's even a catch-all political track that encapsulates all of the "foreign threat" fears of the era - terrorism, civil unrest, Cold War, complete with a cameo from Ronald Reagan himself. A perfectly realized time capsule.

Might have had too much rock in my life to give this a great assessment but it didn't rock my socks off.

the album sounds like the soundtrack of 80s hardrock, not bad nowadays but not exceptionall either

I don't care about the singles. I really can't abide 80s hair metal. Thar voice, those lyrics and that production massively suck. Shite

There is some genuine artistry to be respected in Def Leppard, and their story of overcoming adversity is very heartwarming. But the cheese factor is so very strong.

Exactly the production sound I hate - the pop metal soundtrack to a Chuck Norris made-for-TV movie or a 3rd-rate strip bar, or perhaps a Chuck Norris made-for-TV movie set in a 3rd-rate strip bar. Singer is awful, songs go on far too long. Barely a tune on here amongst all the leering and screeching. Not enjoyable even in a cheesy '80s sense, but harmless. Kiss are far worse.

This album reminds me of the review for Spinal Tap’s “Intravenus de Milo” album: “They are treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry.“

I wandered lonely as a cleft lip baby at a Pretty Little Miss USA competition. "Isn't she brave?", "She's a loser, Janet. An ugly little loser who's ruining the competition for everyone."

Hahaha it's like a piss take. I know it wouldn't be at the time, but now? Sheesh. Very much of its era. 80s movie montage. Rockin'. Yeah.

First listen, but I have long hated "Pour Some Sugar On Me," so this album had an uphill battle to fight. There is obvious craft and passion on display here, but it is not to my taste at all. The polished, squeaky-clean production and the perpetually-horny lyrics just don't jive. There is some enjoyment to be had with catchy melodies and some very nice vocal harmonies. Highlights: "Armageddon It," "Run Riot," "Hysteria," and the intro to "Gods of War".

Oh boy. I listened to this album a lot in high school. Despite the memories and nostalgia associated with this album, and how much I enjoyed it at that time, it's super mediocre. Extra point for nostalgia.

New Wave gets an unfair reputation for 80s cheese when bands like Def Leppard exist. They have all of the inspiration of 70s hard rock and metal with none of the substance. My first thought was "Oh god this is the album with Pour Some Sugar On Me" swiftly followed by "Oh god, it's 62 minutes long". You will definitely feel those 62 minutes, and somehow Pour Some Sugar On Me is the best song here. The rest of the songs for the most part feels indistinguishable from one another, if you've heard any mid-late 80s glam metal then you've heard this entire album.

Music to drink your first beer to 😎 (not too much though, it's a school night!!)

Just awful

I feel like my older sister had this cassette tape and it made me feel like a big kid to listen to her music. This one particularly stood out because something about the cover made me think I was listening to real adult rock music. I remember Love Bites coming on and wanting to fast forward, because I didn't get it....now I get it and it's a good one! I didn't know why but I did know there was something dirty about Pour Some Sugar on Me (but still shook my hair around!). One thing I have always loved about Def Leppard is that you always know its them, because they have their own unique sound. But they balance it so well, that each song does sound different. Animal is just amazing, I love it! And beyond that, they are just all good! There sound is unique but great, they have good lyrics and overall there is nothing bad here. This is a great album, turn it up, sing along and dance!

This album is far too nostalgic for me to give it anything but a 5. I listened to this cassette SO MUCH as a kid, and if I had to pick my #1 favorite song from childhood, it would most definitely be Pour Some Sugar On Me. I was obsessed. I definitely listened to side one more than side two, based on my familiarity with each side, lol. Really bringing back all the memories listening to this. Also, it totally rocks!

It just doesn't make any sense how good this album is. Hits after hits, it's just fun on a record!

This particular album means a lot to me. When I was beginning to explore classic rock in my 2000s teenage years, Def Leppard was one of the first bands I really tapped into. I was constantly amazed by how big EVERY song sounded on this album. I wasn't really into "music metrics" back then, but it is clear that this fact dawned on other people, too, as this album has seven singles to its name. It's wild to consider that an album that was met with so much strife (not the least of which is drummer Rick Allen's accident that lost him an arm) would eventually turn into Def Leppard's biggest hit album, the second in what is the holy trinity of Def Leppard albums. I think at some point after the 80s, hair metal stopped being cool. It had a brief reprieve in the 2000s (or maybe that was just me and my weird friends), and judging by a lot of the reviews here, it's gone back to being not cool again. But whatever. I considered what I would give this album, as I didn't want to just jump to 5. But still, this album has a hold on me. The singles are absolutely banging, and the non-singles are still so much fun to hear, as cheesy and nonsensical as the lyrics may get accused of being in this day and age. Considering all of hair metal as a genre, Def Leppard damn near perfected it on this album. The fact is, most anyone who is going to legitimize hair metal will be hard pressed not to admit that Def Leppard achieved one of the greatest, if not THE greatest hair metal albums of all time with Hysteria. So a 5 it is.

Excellent album, it all hangs together well with no bad tracks at all A solid rock classic

I was already waist deep in nostalgia just 20 seconds into the start of this album. When "Animal" comes on, it hits me like a tidal wave. By the time "Pour Some Sugar On Me" plays, I've been swept away by the undertow. I cannot deny how fun this album still is, almost 40 years later. I was literally compelled to crank this up on my drive into the office this morning. 'Hysteria' was one of two albums that I remember dominating playtime on my sister's car stereo. (The other one was a little unknown debut album by GNR.) Whether you labeled it "glam metal," "arena rock," or just "hard rock," Def Leppard changed the game, produced 7 solid radio singles from 12 tracks on an album that was an hour long, and dominated the MTV airwaves for at least 2 years. This album is the band's masterpiece; their magnum opus, if you will (at least for the "arena rock" genre). They never released anything this good ever again.

Where to begin with this iconic album? This is definitely a different sound than their previous albums, but that worked to their advantage in a giant way, making it more accessible for mainstream music fans and not just die-hard rock stans. This album is tightly produced and meticulously crafted to produce a cacophony of sound that envelops your ears. The most noticeable of these techniques being the liberal use of reverb and the layer upon layer of vocal overdubs. I also noticed how far back the drums are in the mix because of this. Still, this is one of the biggest and most fun albums of that era and it deserves the full compliment of stars that I have to give it.

One of the best bands to come from the 80s metal scene. Hysteria really moved into a more pop metal sound, but it worked. For a band to stop everything after such huge success of Pyromania to stick with their drummer so he could relearn how to drum again, says a lot about them. Loved this album.

Like I'm in high school again! There are some good hits here and solid rock from start to finish.

Epic start to finish.

STEP INSIDE WALK THIS WAY YOU AND ME BABE HEY HEY! *cue kick *ss music*

A classic of 80's hair metal. Is it cheesy at times? Yes. Is it something your dad would listen to on the radio and reminisce about the good old days? Absolutely. Does it give me any deep thoughts about the world we live in? Not really. And that's all fine. It's currently the day before the elections in the US, and sometimes you just need an easy-listening album to escape the stresses of the real world.

While not Mutt Lange's best Album (Back in Black is in a class all by itself), this is his finest work with DF!! One armed drummer and all!

This album feels massive but intimate at the same time. The layers of sound hit like a wall, but the melodies are so smooth, they almost glide over you. It’s like if Journey had a bit more edge, or Queen kept things more radio-friendly. The balance between rock anthems and ballads is perfect. Every track feels polished but never overdone.

Bought the album the day it came out. I remember bringing it home and putting it in my dad’s high fi stereo and just blasting it. Still sounds as good as that day!

Ultimate rockNroll, loved all of this from start to finish, it's unbelievably dumb, but it's so much fun and slightly campy, but you can sing along and so many songs are just belters

Listen, this is peak hair metal. It's too much, for sure, but it's ROCKING (in a super polished and hairsprayed way)

This is the perfect 80s pop-rock record. No throwaway tracks, no filler. Just wall to wall bangers and flawless production.

Excellence!!

Another nostalgic album. I thought of rating it a 4 (I like a lot of songs, but not sure I'd listen to the whole album again) but adding one for the band's perseverance.

Air drummed to this in my pre-teen days. Highly recommended.

🤘🏻🖤🥰🇬🇧🇬🇧🥰🖤🤘🏻

Def Leppard basically greatest hits.

I had heard some but not all the songs on here, and listening to it as a cohesive whole, I actually loved it. For context, I'm a pretty big fan of 80s metal, but had never been that much of a Def Leppard guy. Relative to most of the similar product I like (esp. GnR, Skid Row, Metallica) it's way lighter, way more glam, and in many ways more polished. Honestly the best comp for it is probably Boston. And it has that same effect as the first Boston CD, where you feel like you've just witnessed the sonic equivalent of watching a video where someone flawlessly peels a dozen hardboiled eggs in 30 seconds using some ridiculous stupid trick. You know, like, when they've had a massive four-part chorus, hand-clapping, a complete stop-and-restart, and modulated up a whole step for the coda, you have to wonder what else they've got in the bag. But of course Def Leppard's got more ammo. Vocal solo over the refrain on "Animal". Calling out all the members of the band on "Rocket". They literally have every trick in the book. And yes, it is a bit much. In fact, it's WAY, WAY, WAY too much. That's the point. This CD is a science project in how to create the perfect rock album, like the woman in "Weird Science". It's so polished you could do dental surgery using the reflection it casts. I still don't totally know how they get that massive vocal chorus effect on the refrain (which refrain? Why, all of them of course). I think probably the triple-tracked the entire band singing together in a closet with the echo set to 10. Who cares though, Def Leppard did it so the rest of us don't have to. The CD is a little weaker on the back half, but honestly, who cares. It's so overwhelmingly loaded on the A-side that it doesn't matter. Anyone who reached the weaker tracks on the 2nd half (roughly starting with "Don't Shoot..."), man or woman alike, will already want to sleep with any and all members of the band by that point. And that's the point, isn't it?

Perfect album!

If you listen to Animal on its own, it's a good song. If you listen to it in the context of the whole album, it's an absolute banger. Didn't expect to love this as much as I did

A most excellent album to motivate for work

This is the album with Pour Some Sugar on Me. Overall great rock with some slow jams.

Great album, full of hits.

There's one guy in here who rated this one because he loves rock but hates this and Bon Jovi, and looking at his profile the dude HATES black people and thinks racism didn't exist a decade and a half ago, so fuck that dude. Anyway this rules. They aimed to make a rock equivalent to Thriller, like an all-singles record, and boy howdy did they ever.

Genre defying Def Leppard. Metal? Rock? Arena? Hair Band? Pop? Well, yes, all of the above. Quintessential 1980s.

Yeah, I gave 5 stars to a Butt Rock album. It's an exemplary one.

I didnt own many albums growing up. I owned this one

An original classic!! My late teen years, oh the memories attached to this album!

Rocks like a mother sucker.

That's an easy one .... I love this disc

My childhood<3

love it!

Best album yet. I'm now a huge def fan

An excellent rock album, full of hit tracks that will remain in your head for days after listening. I was glad to listen to it in its entirety for the first time.

Ronald Reagan’s best vocal performance

Awesome

Album cover is giving metal, and I was right about that. Have never heard of them and I'm in the mood for loud sounds so here we go. First song, powerful start. It is two step beat and the second one is louder. Ouu it's not screamy metal, he sings normally, but does talk louder in some lines. Definitely liking the guitar and the beat that makes it richer. Amazing chorus. I like his voice too. I expected this to be hard listening, but it ain't. Head banging sounds, soo good. Instrumental break was a perfect addition after the verse. I'm done, this is such a banger can't get enough of it. Also LOVED THE WAY HE SAID "WOMEN" AND "MEN" SUCH FUN. Second song, rocky start, but there was a radio talking before it. Vocalising now, not a good voice, but that doesn't matter. I love the fast beat, it's so catchy. Great chorus too, not better than the last one, but I'm loving it. Fully different vibe with the constant beat, it's giving Indian music if it was rock. One of the amazing instrumental breaks right here just because of how unique it is. Louder guitar slamming, aaand back to the original instrumental chords, lyrics came in and everything is in order now. In the outro they mixed all the sounds they have used chaotically, however, in order. Third song, it's nothing drastically different from other rock songs, first verse I mean. Ohh chorus is catchy and interesting, the lyrical flow is good too. Other two songs stand out more, though the chorus here is veeery good, I would scream along with it. Instrumental break fits the overall vibe in the song, which they haven't done before exactly, and transitions greatly into the chorus. There was a skip, and then chorus continued quickly. 4th song, slow start with different instruments. It became upbeat, but it's still downtempo, in the chorus. I love their style, it's so karaoke cored. It's break and I feel like some guy is like "ah ah ah ah", satisfying low key. The chorus has the same vibe with how lyrics were said as in before songs. The break was kinda basic. It has a Micheal Jackson vibe, the way he emphasises on some words, and beat hits hard. Robotic sounds at the end. 5th song, nostalgic start, sounded smth I've heard before. Gun shot beats. Hip hop cored singing, I always love that in rock. He's basically talking fast though. First time here, when I liked the verse more than the chorus, which is not as interesting and unique as the verse. Chorus seems more interesting second time, buut the both verses were way more better. Break was not as good as the other mentioned ones before. The last verse was veery good, too. Outro seems like it's gonna be repeating chorus. 6th song, it's a classical rock now. Nothing dramatically different from what I've already heard. Apparently this is glam metal and I so agree. It's not the kind of metal I expected. The chorus is catchy, and has a Beatles vibe slightly. "Are you gettin' it" and "Armageddon it" WHAT A RHUME, just realised. They have a memorable vibe, and a way of displaying titles in the songs very well. Break was very short, it isn't even a break tbh. It slowly faded away with the chorus. 7th song, I haven't this much for a long time here. Slow and constant sound start. Some nature-like sounds, and now people marching ones too. Such a New Order beat drop, I expected harder than that, but nope, which was better. Ohh, it's getting progressive, and harder too. The singing sounds like other songs, so not a stand out, so chorus here is better than the verse. They do short lyrics in the chorus, which in the long run sounds better, he says something the guitar goes on and so on, quite classic way of rock too, gotta love that(btw these are all imo, and based on what I've listened to before). Men talking and bombs dropping and exploding sounds at the end. 8th song, definitely a bop already. It's kinda basic, and less unique compared to the other songs, but I get the vibe depending on the fact I've been listening to them for some time now. This was the worst song I've heard here, but it doesn't mean it was bad, it was just worse than the other ones. The break is giving here more than in others though. Outro edged me, AAND IT WAS A TRANSITION TO THE 9TH SONG, hard start. He's screaming already too, low key blues vibe, but it's metal cored, the lyrics in () are one of the best and catchy ones on this album. Love the chorus too, I'm gonna enjoy the song and then write down notes this time. I LOVED THE START OF THE INSTRUMENTAL BREAK, BUT IT DIDN'T LAST LONG. Otherwise it's a masterpiece from every angle. 10th song, HELLO I KNOW THIS BEAT, IS IT A SAMPLE OR ORIGINALLY THEIRS? JUST REMEMBERED, I LISTENED TO IT YESTERDAY, IT SOUNDS LIKE PINK FLOYD'S "goodbye blue sky". Thing is it sounded familiar even when I listened to Pink too, too nostalgic. Now the song, it had that beat at the start mode. Now it's fully different vibe, but not complaining, it progressed well. Beat came back and I love itt. 11th song, WHAT ARE THESE SOUNDS, IT'S AND I'M SCARED, IT'S GETTING FAST AAAAAAAH. Awesome start, the deep voice it getting faster, just too unique. Sounded like Darth Vader too. Overall the song is too good I must say. Not very, but still progressive, he started screaming for a moment. Outro was chorus fading away. 12th song, this has Cher's "love and understanding" vibe based on the title only tho, the genre is totally different. Less unique, but still worth it, this song is. Break isn't giving, I wanted more. Chorus isn't catchy and sounds like a verse almost, but that's something too in a good way. Basically, 5 star album instantly, I expected much worse than this since I didn't know the artist and metal can be hard to listen to, but luckily I was ready for worse and got the one I wanted more, soo yea I vibed with every song as much as it needed me to.

I have to give this 5 stars for being one of the most played albums when I was a preteen. This signified my transition from kids music to grown up music. I even had a poster of the band on my wall! Listening to this again brought me right back to my childhood.

My fav band in hard rock, and it's their staple. Perfect album.

C’mon this is just fun. The big sound! The excessive layering! The giant epic insanely produced choruses! Yes there’s a nostalgia factor for me, but I don’t dig it just for that. It’s the whole crazy prototypical 80s glam rock sound that makes it good. Maybe so bad that it’s good, but good nonetheless. I’m all in with this one and not even sorry about it. And BTW, listen to the guitars. Sorry but you’re gonna hear the same riffs and motifs you’ll find on “real metal” records. Polished isn’t a crime any more than pretentious, musical virtue signaling via “rawness” is.

Great album, really fun to listen to from start to finish

This album is amazing. This is pinnacle 80s hair-band-glam-arena-rock. Solid rock, beginning to end.

This is my favorite album overall for the 1980s. This is the album that I listen to most of all from that decade and only second to The Who, Quadrophenia. Hysteria blew me away when it first came out in 1987. The production was the best I ever heard and nothing since then has overtaken it. Mutt Lange was at his peak and his pushing the band members paid off.

It's been a long, long time since I listened to this album. I was 9 years old when it came out and boy it was huge. It really was everywhere. A few years later grunge hit and overly produced albums like this were instantly dead and forgotten. Time plays tricks as I remember this as being much more robotic and sickly sweet than it actually is. More pop than rock, but there is still a rock edge buried in there. Almost like magic those hooks immediately flood back when hearing the songs, even though I believed I had forgotten them, and I find myself singing along.

just banger after banger

Amazing.

Awsome