Pyromania
Def Leppard
1983
Album Summary
Pyromania is the third studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 20 January 1983 through Vertigo Records in UK and Europe and through Mercury Records in the US. The first album to feature guitarist Phil Collen who replaced founding member Pete Willis, Pyromania was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album was a shift away from the band's traditional heavy metal roots toward a more radio-friendly sound, finding massive mainstream success. Pyromania charted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, No. 4 on the Canadian RPM Album chart and No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart. Selling over ten million copies in the US, it has been certified diamond by the RIAA.
WikipediaI always wanted to know what an album with one armed drummer sounded like. But not this badly. Got through 3 songs.
I've never been able to think of Def Leppard as anything other than a joke, this album is a big reason why. Look at that cover, this band looks metal! Wait, what? It's just a bunch of pop songs? Okay. Well, congrats on your immense wealth and popularity!
Making heavy metal accessible for the masses! Love this album almost as much as I did 40 years ago. High and Dry is their best album though!
This is a classic from my childhood. Growing up, by older sister had the vinyl LP. Everything about it, from the music, the cover art, and the videos on MTV, fascinated me. Joe Elliot was the king of cool in my book. I used to love the part of the "Rock of Ages" video when he had the broadsword and it turned into a guitar. Too friggin cool. It was a fantastic balance of heavy/hard rock and melodic pop. I still love it.
Pre-1001 I probably would have listed pop-metal as my least favourite genre, but now there are so many others competing for that spot. Kicking off with a song title like "Rock Rock til you Drop" assures a maximum score of a two in my books though I have to admit "Photograph" isn't my least favourite radio hit of the early 80s, so a one was averted.
its big cock rock and its cheesy and dumb. some of it is fun guitar rock, but most of it belongs dedass in the past.
+Photograph, Too Late for Love, Foolin', Rock of Ages, Comin' Under Fire, Billy's Got a Gun Deliberate, precise, measured, exact...these are not words we normally use to describe hard rock, but Def Leppard isn't like other schlock rockers; They use musical theory, chord progression, harmony, and song structure to produce a glisteningly crystal-clear product that is chock full of production value, addictive progressions, and perfectly-balanced mixing. There just isn't another act out there that can so pull off what Def Leppard does, album after album, and make it look so easy in the process.
This album is both amazing and a total baffler. It's basically a perfect little slice of pop-meets-rock with the big choruses, mutt lang production and technical skill to pull it all off. But the first song is legit terrible. I don't even know why it's on the album at all, let alone why they'd want it to be the first thing anyone hears. Oh, and let's be real: most of us would be surprised to learn that this was BEFORE the drummer got his arm cut off, because it still sounds like it was written with a one-armed man in mind. At least he didn't have to really relearn much to play it live. Maybe Joe Elliott is actually Nostradamus and predicted the accident along with 9/11 on the album cover LOL! haha, 9/11 jokes aside, this album is great. 5/5.
The album where Def Leppard began to tip the scales from cool rocker baddasses to pop-star overplayed media darlings. Some good stuff here. Some not so good. Probably a 3.5 and rounding up because their previous album, “High n Dry” got me reprimanded by a school board member for excessive noise at a HS baseball game.
Loved this when it first came out, haven’t listened to it for about 20 years and sadly it hasn’t aged well. It’s the genesis of commercial DL, you can hear their distinctive sound within the album. Still I would give it a 4 because there were tracks on it that were still very listenable
This is one of the albums on this list that I know well already. I think every song is great and it is enjoyable from start to finish. "The extra instrumental track at the end of 'Billy's Bot A Gun' has been called either 'The March Of The Dreaded Zultrons' or 'The March Of The Wooden Zombies' by different band members. The sound is Rick Allen putting random numbers into a Linn drum machine, later added to by the band and Mutt" (http://www.deflepparduk.com/album3.html) Classics: Photograph, Rock Rock, Too Late For Love, Foolin', Rock of Ages,. 4.5/5
Artist #411 on last.fm but never heard this record Some classic tunes here! Nothing wrong with a bit of Leppard!
Oh boy I thought Iron Maiden was a joke, this is even less funny. Everything about this, the the cover, album title and the arrangements all scream cliche'd overwrought commercial metal. It is truly execrable.
Probably a 4⭐️ but it’s getting the full 5 because Def Leppard are awesome
I was surprised for it to be this good! I thought it would be corny and although it feels a lot like ACDC it has a charm of it’s own
Stand-outs: "Rock Rock Till You Drop," "Stagefright," "Photograph," "Comin' Under Fire"
I LOVE Pyromania!! I’ve listened to the full album before, it’s just amazing! It’s one of the best albums from the 80s, and one of my favorite albums ever recorded!! I especially love Too Late For Love, Photograph, and Foolin’!
Warm fuzzy 80s vibe, sick guitar riffs, passionate vocals, excellent harmonies. Every track is solid. This shit is good.
This album is as catchy as I remember when listening to it on the juke box seeming every day of 8th grade lunch.
God this is so dramatic but great. Favorites were photograph and Billy’s got a gun. Least favorite was rock of ages. 😘
Okay so this may have the best album cover of all time? Why did nobody warn me? Yes it's hair metal. Sometimes you really want to listen to hair metal. Foolin' is obviously an all timer. Die Hard the Hunter was awesome too. All the tracks were at least okay-to-good.
Turns out I recognized more tracks on this than I thought. Hard one for me to be objective about.
To be honest, this one was way better than I expected. Perhaps my expectations were low because two of the best known songs from the album (Photograph and Rock Of Ages) were by far the worst tracks in my opinion. But the less poppy parts of the album were a lot of fun and I ended up enjoying the album quite a bit!
Encara superarien quatre anys després el que aquí ofereixen, tant a nivell de producció com de composició, però això no treu que 'Pyromania' sigui un dels àlbums de l'anomenat pop metal més singulars i rellevants que existeixen. Deixaven enrera el seu passat NWOBHM i s'embarcaven en un viatge per conquerir el món de la música dels '80. Ha superat la prova del temps i temes com 'Photograph', 'Rock of Ages', 'Too Late for Love' o 'Foolin'' sempre són igual de benvinguts que el sol després de la pluja
Really potent compared to Hysteria, and has a lot of potential. Still too samey for a 5.
It was a good album. Fun to listen to and relatively short. Many of the songs sounded familiar, although several of the songs sounded the same.
Proto-butt rock! Sounds like Bon Jovi at times. AC/DC at other times. Throw in a little Motley Crue. This is some serious nostalgia shit right here. It's corny but I love it.
80s rock and roll marked a massive deviation from the 70s. The influence of disco and warm recordings gave way to a resurgence of blues and stadium feels. Def Leppard was not an exception here, borrowing the wailing vocals of Led Zeppelin and the commanding guitars of Jimmy Page, Def Leppard changed it up and defined the 80s sound of rock by using background vocals to sing the choruses, ushering what would most certainly be the theme of 1980s metal, and that is writing what essentially is an anthem. Songs that could be sung for a crowd, by the crowd. "Rock of Ages", "Photograph", both songs create that feel of not just a hit single, but a rallying cry of sorts, something that as fans of Def Leppard, brought people together. This was the strangely optimistic theme of the decade and the band did it well. Overall the album is heavy when it needs to be, and expressive of the decade it was recorded where a new cool was being formed, and for that it earns its place in 1001.
This album is great! Every song is a great song to rock out to and I am very sad I missed them on the stadium tour!
Listen, I know this is straight-up bubblegum pop hairmetal. None of these lyrics are going to challenge anyone and there's nothing surprising on the album. But damn if it isn't a whole lot of fun. It's also a rare example of an album where the b-side tracks hit so much better than the a-sides. I mean, "Foolin'," "Rock of Ages," and "Billie's Got A Gun" all on the same side? That's a lot of fun relegated to the flip. I sure can't justify a 5-star review here. It's just not that good. But it's too fun for a 3-star. So here we are. 4 stars for you, you silly brits.
Nice to hear a Def Leppard album. The only time I saw the band was in 2006 or so. I was in the front row and center with a buddy and ended up partying in the hotel room with one of the guys from the band in New Orleans. It was an epic and unforgettable night. I enjoyed this album quite a bit!
Many months ago I gave Def Leppard's Hysteria the full 5 stars. They were more ambitious in Hysteria, but every other strength I found in Hysteria can also be found here. They truly represent the anthemic pop sound that glam metal aimed to stand for in the 80s. The production is super clean (apparently the drums were sampled), and the delivery is perfect to rock and sing along to, especially on the vocals. I noticed there's a stronger heavy metal influence on tracks like "Stagefright", and does get a bit prog in tracks like "Die Hard the Hunter." There are several duds in this album. Just like Hysteria, the last few tracks aren't very good, except they're actually generic duds here ("Billy's Got a Gun" is decent with cool effects). Otherwise, it's a great record all throughout just like Hysteria but with weaker songs.
Th first thing to comment is that this album is prior to Rick Allen's accident, which, while it was a tragedy for Rick, definately contributed to Def Leppard creating a unique sound on later albums. As such this is pretty standard 'hair metal' of the early/mid eighties. Well produced, well performed and one of the best of it's type, but nothing really exceptional. Hysteria and Adrenalize are much more impressive works. Yes it (and they) will be criticised as being 'poppy' but music does not always have to be serious and cutting edge, sometimes it can be, and should be, just pure fun - which this is.
Walked 3 miles one way to the mall to buy this album when I was 14. Probably 3.5 but 4 for nostalgia.
Another from the panther with hearing difficulty! I can comfortably say I enjoyed Hysteria more, but this one is really solid too. Some classic bangers like "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages," plus a couple other songs I will keep in the playlist. They aren't the most sophisticated band, but they get the hits right. I can't imagine we'd have more than these two albums on here, but we shall see. Great listen though! Favorite tracks: Photograph, Rock of Ages, Too Late for Love, Foolin. Album art: God I hope this isn't one of the twin towers, like that ominous Jeru cover. But no, the art style is cool here, a sniper scope zoomed in on a burning/exploding building. It's one I've seen hundreds of times. Strong framing/font too. Very nice. 4/5
A classic rock album with some fantastic songs. Photograph, Rock of Ages, and Foolin' are my favs from this one. The rest aren't very memorable but they are still good to listen to. I think this makes two Def Leppard albums on this list too so glad to see them return.
Pretty much what I’d expect. Corny but fun, easy to listen to but not a lot of depth. 7/10
7/10. Continually taken aback that I like Def Leppard. That said, this album had some issues, namely that two songs tried to have a runtime well over 4 minutes, which is way longer than I want to listen to a single Def Leppard song.
I figured this would be some tired dad rock bullshit given the repetoire of these bands but it's pretty fresh. It's got way more replay than I expected.
I find this album a bit tough to rate. It's a fun album to be sure, with several radio hits, and a collection of lesser songs that hold up pretty well. I think it's also possible that this album is culturally significant, in that it was one of the earliest works that made the metal genre palatable to the mainstream, though there were also many steps in that process. I don't know how actually groundbreaking this album is, in that it presented a more mainstream version of a genre that was already well on its way, but I also don't think that pop music should be scored more poorly just because it is easier for lots of people to enjoy. It's fun, it's worth a listen. You're probably not going to learn anything about the metal genre from listening to it, but that's also probably not why you are listening to Def Leppard in the first place 4/5
Solid classic rock goodness. Kinda surprised to see this was 1983 by the time Def Leppard was apparently making themselves more "radio-friendly", but my '90s kid brain has a skewed perspective of where music friends fall on the timeline, I guess. Hopefully there's some earlier Leppard in the 1001 for me to compare this to.
Cool upbeat rock, if we’re limited to 1-5 stars exactly and if the ‘like’ range will generally be 3 or 4 this is definitely in the 4 category. Enjoyable and entertaining
A fine hard rock album. Not a huge fan of Def Leopard, but I certainly appreciate what they do.
What do I say about this? It's not metal, but did it claim to be? Kind of? This is pop glam. And it's pretty damn good for what it is. I have no problems with this being a fantastic example of it's genre and time.
Catchy tunes and an energetic band aside, Mutt Lange is an absolute genius. His talent and perfect timing pushed all the right buttons right when the rock world needed it. This album still holds up in the 2022s. Some of the songs come off as pure cheese, yet...I would be remiss if I didn't give this 4/5.
30th September 2022 Listened during the day while working from home. Went out for dinner at Bhoomi for our birthdays. Love a bit of big hair glam rock and Leppard deliver it in spades.
It may be unfair to say that Robert "Mutt" Lang did for Def Leppard what he did for AC/DC. However, in both cases he took the bands standard material, pushed for a higher overall quality (and some writer credits in the process) and made it sound huge. In both cases it was enormously effective. Essential hard rock power pop (even for those like me who don't love the genre).
Hysteria was my first introduction to DL as a teenager, but this album had the hits that I kept coming back to as an adult. The rest of the album is a bit of a hard rock/pop metal hodge-podge, and it’s still a wonder to me that the percussion sounds here (done by a drummer with two arms) sound very much the same as Hysteria (done by a drummer with one arm).
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Rock rock, Photograph, Too late for love, Foolin
If you want a definition of 80s rock, this is it for me. Not an album I would put on very often but I really enjoyed it. Favourite songs: - Photograph - Stagefright - Rock of ages
Great 80s rock... Photograph is fantastic. I hadn't heard anything else on this album before.
When this album came out it was so unique and amazing. I have heard it SO many times over the years. I think it is still great, but maybe not as great as I thought it was in the 80s. 4/5
I really love this album but objectively it's a 4* due to a few filler tracks
Way better than I thought it would bem really enjoyed it. Brian was not impressed with my one armed drummer Trivia. It passed the Alice test as she stayed in the room the whole time. How long until Brian blasts this during a workout in the garage?
The first songs have some very interesting, high energy, rugged vocals (I didn’t know this is the album of Photograph). Personally I found that the latter part of the album was really nice as it slowed down a bit and was less focused on the high energy hits. 3.5/5
Really solid, if a bit formulaic, hard rock/hair metal from a peak moment in the genre's history. Easy listening for metalheads.