Reviews (page 3 of 8)
I fucking hate Def Leppard so much. They’re stupid brain dead approach to music. Meatheaded idiots who harmonize by yelling. Whose lead singer sounds like an amalgamation of every rock singer’s worst sides. I remember seeing their drummer on VH1. He seems nice. And he does fine in spite of his one arm. Anyway. Occasionally the production almost makes this album work. Photograph is very good in spite of everything else. It’s just the everything else is so bad.
More Glam Metal than Heavy Metal. It sounds quite similar to any of the other stadium rock band albums from the same era - not bad, but a bit too commercialised.
Such a solid rock album, didn’t expect it! Could be added to the definition what a classic rock album sounds like.
I liked it in the beginning because it was powerful, but a few songs in it started to feel like very generic rock.
Thought this was kiss for quite a lot of the album
Yep, those vocals are very 80s heavy rock coded. Not for me. Favourite Track(s): Photograph Least Favourite Track(s): Comin' Under Fire, Billy's Got A Gun
Loud, cheesy and dumb... but still groovy and fun to listen. This kind of greasy, overproduced pop-metal has been so rehashed over the years that it's hard to imagine how radically different it felt in the early 80s. Our parents listened to Bob Dylan or Elvis, so that's what we heard at home ; for some of us, stuff like Def Leppard were a big shock, because they sounded like they were from another planet - and you could actually hear them on the radio, contrary to more extreme but less easy to find genres of music. Of course, it was just a fad, and five years later hair metal had already become a parody of a parody. But I'm still happy it existed at some point in time, allowing hard rock music to invade the mainstream psyche. It's clearly not something I'd listen to anymore (even nostalgia has limits...), but blasting this album while drinking my morning coffee was kind of a guilty pleasure. 5/10
Damn, couldn’t even finish it … and I know their next album Hysteria is even worst… A few flashes here and there, quickly ruined by those painfully cliché vocals.
What an absolute pile of 💩 hate it.
80’s Rock ⭐️Foolin’
Tried not to judge it as a Hair Metal album. It definitely made me see the appeal of this era of music. Rock of Ages is a banger and same with Photograph. After that, it all kinda sounds the same, but not in a bad way. Also loved Too Late for Love.
I liked a couple of these, and the rest were kind of ”meh” or just ok. This is really 2.5 for me…normally I really have to dislike a record to give it a two, so I will settle on three stars.
lowk boring sorry
was listening to this and was like wow this is so Supernatural (2005-2020) coded…… then ‘rock of ages’ started playing and OH. yes i was correct. (that songs plays when dean rolls up to the fight between lucifer and michael at season 5 finale…… yall know the one)
Better than expected. Not my thing but some of the singles are very Transformers The Movie (which is no criticism).
It's 80 hair metal, you either love it or you don't 3*
I'll probably offend a lot of people by saying this but this kinda felt like fairly generic rock to me?
Highlights: Rock! Rock!, Photograph, Stagefright, Too Late For Love, Die Hard the Hunter, Foolin', Rock of Ages, Comin' Under Fire Easy! Dope and fun to listen to. I went through the entire record only once before but mostly forgot the non-singles. By memory, I like to think of Pyromania as Appetite for Destruction, but if it wasn't hot garbage. It has a similar distribution of hits that I think rock the same, but unlike Appetite, the rest of the record didn't make me want to puke. Photograph was etched into my brain as a classic because of GTA V. Too Late For Love and Rock of Ages were songs I liked prior to this listen too. This slaps all the way and is surely worthy of a revisit. Hits are hard af and are a certain add to playlists. Yeah, it felt a bit cheap since it's engineered to be radio friendly, but hey, that's a skill too (especially when your whole record rocks throughout!). The closers could have been better, but the ending sequence of Billy's Got A Gun was ok.
Honestly I'm just not the biggest fan of 80's hair metal, and this doesn't have the hits their previous album had. Occasionally this had some energy but overall this was too much hair metal for me. 4/10
I loved Def Leppard growing up, and this has some great memories. It’s not a brilliant album, it’s aged too roughly for that, but it has some solid tracks - Photograph, Too Late For Love, Rock Of Ages - but also some really average cock-rock stuff. Not as good as Hysteria, or indeed High and Dry (which isn’t on the list, but is probably my favourite Leppard album), but it’s still better than most if it is your kind of thing.
Dont need two Def Leppard albums on the list. I can appreciate it's place in history. It's just not my thing. 2.5/5. Raising to 3.
Did not like
Good if in the mood for rock music
7 / 10
Hair metal still sucks
Head banger from my high school years….big hair, tight jeans.
Six albums ago I got Hysteria, so... First off, this is a MUCH better album. It's not even close. The production isn't anywhere near as over-produced as Hysteria and the album has some bollocks as a result. Maybe Pete Willis having been involved in the early stages helps as well. I owned copies of this on cassette back in the mid 80s – difficult to find in a small provincial town in the UK, and a band that I'd have never heard of if someone I knew who lived in Windsor, Ontario hadn't mentioned them in a letter. So, thanks Margaret; hope you've had a good one. The result is that, despite not having listened to this for years, I knew just about every word of this. And, yeah, it holds up. I gave Hysteria a 2 (honestly, it's horrible). This is a strong 4, so, what the heck, lets make it a five.
Starts out great but flags significantly as it goes along
I have heard this album before, and I've always liked it. Definitely a great album. I listened to it twice, five stars.
I will admit that I am biased to this album, my dad had the CD in his car when I was a kid and this was the first proper album that I ever loved. I was really surprised to see all the negative reviews on here. Sure the album isn't deep but it's great fun. In my opinion it's the best of this type of 80s stadium rock. "Too Late for Love" was one of my favorite songs growing up and I still think the way it builds up is great.
Yuck
I don't think this is as solid as Hysteria, but it definitely paved the way for a seriously hairy 80s. In retrospect the production is kind of annoying with the booming toms, but I'm always impressed with their harmonies and vocals. Maybe a 3.5 for me, but dropping as I gave Hysteria a 4.
With this album, Def Leppard wrote the template for mid-eighties metal MTV certainly helped fuel their popularity, but this really is a great album, taking the whole genre to a new level A sold-platinum classic Very happy memories!
Everything that had me not liking metal. This was insipid. I get the appeal for the 12 year old male, or some of them, anyway. Just not for me.
тяжеловато, но запомню ли я откуда офспринг запев взяли?
I could see myself really liking it on another day but just wasn't in the mood for rock-pop today.
Very generic hair metal. Nothing that really stood out for me.
I wasn't aware that Def Leppard were considered part of the new wave of British heavy metal. I really thought they were an american hairmetal band. Some interesting songs, but in the mirror looks and sounds a bit cheesy.
I guess this is one of the few old metal bands that I enjoy an entire album of.
Getting this a few days after 'Hysteria', my first reaction to this was 'seriously, there are two Def Leppard albums on this list?' This is so generic it feels the like the result of an AI prompt for '80's rock with no real content other than how much they like to rock'.
This album reminds me of my childhood; I love me some def leppard. This is a great rock album.
Used to love this album when I was younger and wanted to hang out with my sister and her friends because I thought they were cool. Over forty years later, it doesn’t hold up for me musically anymore. Rock Of Ages is still a banger, though.
Nice sound good guitar. Not my cup of tea. 1.5/10 38.73%
Some bangers. Another of cheese. Fun.
Never been a fan of Def Leopard but this was a bad ass album. I’d listen again.
3 or 4 of these songs are classic rock staples. They carry a lot of the weight here. I don’t think we talk enough about how crazy is it that the drummer lost his arm like 2 years after this album came out and just continued to drum for the next 40 years
Apparently I was getting Def Leppard confused with another band because I didn't recognize hardly any of these songs. I know they were instrumental in forming that 80's hair metal sound and at the time it was a new thing but now this album almost sounds like a caricature of the genre. It isn't bad but I guess I don't like this type of rock/metal as much as I thought I did.
My rating 3.4. So much nostalgia wrapped up in this album that when it came up I was excited. Then I listened to it. Doesn’t hold up. The hits are the hits but most of it is pretty mediocre.
Classic glam rock that actually rocks. Not as strong as hysteria, but it has the hits. Steady drums and that classic whining yell followed by a gravely chorus.
Old, tired, cheezy rock that I mustn't hear ever again.
Not as many standouts as Hysteria. Was slightly disappointed by this one
Remember listening to this at overnight camp in my early teens and being blow away. Some songs held up over time.
I have a super soft spot for Def Leppard, or at least the Pyromania to Hysteria era of Def Leppard. I know most of their sound could be attributed to Mutt Lange studio tricks, but I don’t care. I don’t even think the lyrics are particularly deep or compelling, or that they’re doing anything musically that is terribly revolutionary with their instruments, but those two records hit all the right notes for me. It’s probably nostalgia for me; I think Hysteria was the first record I ever sat down and listened to front to back, and I loved it. Nothing has changed on that front since, and it’s almost 40 years later. Anyway, Hysteria is the superior record of the two, but Pyromania is pretty solid also. 8.5/10
Good
2.5
2.5
Hell yeah
Wow, no lo que esperaba AT ALL. Después de tantos discos miserables veo estos nombres y portadas y me preparo mentalmente para una experiencia satánica, pero este disco fue extremadamente fun. Como escuchar los temas de AC/DC y Led Zeppelin que me gustan. Súper fun y enjoyable. De hecho, primero in a long time que estoy por darle play de nuevo para ver si cacho alguna otra joya con más atención. Canciones guardadas on first lisen: Rock! Rock! & Photograph.
Great rock music.
No like 80s
Drunk mom rock (who tried cocaine once).
I remember buying this after hearing Rock of Ages, which was released after Photograph. I kinda regretted it, because the other album I had in mind was INXS 'Shabooh Shabah' and INXS was more along the lines of my taste in music. But there are some stellar rock tracks on Pyromania. I grew to love it. Probably should just give it a 5 since it brings back good memories, as well as for the music. Best Songs: Foolin', Too Late for Love, Billys Got a Gun, Rock of Ages, Rock Rock (til you drop), Photograph......
The commercial face of NWOBHM, I didn’t have much time for Def Leppard at the time, so it’s been an education of sorts listening to Pyromania 40+ years after it’s release. Though, I reckon I got it right first time - there’s nothing here for me. Pyromania is all about the flash, with next to nothing to say, and though the songs have plenty of hooks, nothing really sticks. It’s two-bob spandex power pop with one eye on the charts and the other on your girlfriend’s tits. I’ll pass. 2/10
I absolutely cannot believe that there are two Def Leppard albums on this list. I have already heard Hysteria, surely that's enough Def Leppard for anyone. Interesting that Rock of Ages began "Gunter, glieben, glauten, Globen", same as the Offspring's Pretty Fly For a White Guy. That's where the Offspring got it from, but does it mean anything? I have just looked it up and the answer is no, the Offspring just thought it was funny and wanted to use the sample. That's the only item of interest I found in this whole album. It's fine, but Hysteria was more enjoyable for me. Pyromania can be left on the cutting room floor.
Radio friendly housewife rock from the steel city sellouts. Styx-like vocal harmonies & Joe Elliott doing his best Steve Tyler impression whilst laughing all the way to the bank. To be fair, they do the whole American pap-rock better than the locals. This is a lot more listenable than Hysteria as it still has a bit of edge, albeit blunt.
Meh
2.25 - Better than expected, but still not my jam.
Glam rock qui s'écoute bien !
J’ai mis pour courir, ça fait le taf mais pas ma came
Ok
When I think of ¨cock rock,¨ this is it besides Motley Crue. Something about this cheesy, 80s, nasty sound is the perfect vehicle for mayhem and the pleasures of the flesh.
Def Leppard sound exactly the way you'd expect Def Leppard to sound. They sound like standard generic 80s power hard rock. Which I guess says something, because they helped set the sound of this style enough for it to become a stereotype. It all kind of sounds the same to me, but hey, it does what it says on the tin I guess. If this is your style, then there's probably loads to enjoy here.
Very loud and oh so 80s.
Not their peak.
Too late 4 loving. Benson the burner !! Rock on
glam rock 😭🤘🏼
Whos up deffing their leppard rn
Det här är inte riktigt min smak av rock. Det är inte direkt dåligt, men det träffar inte lika bra som säg black sabbath, the who eller modernare rock. Rösten och gitarren är nog det jag "ogillar" mest.
Kan inte låta bli att gilla detta - även om det är lite fjantigt är det också kul och catchy lyssning rakt igenom!
Je suis habituellement pas un gros fan de «hair metal», mais un ptit Def Leppard de temps en temps, je dis pas non
I'm sorry. I just can't take cock rock seriously. I grew up with it. Everyone around me loved it. While there are some bangers, probably because I'm incessant 90s Classic Rock overplay, for the most part I still think it's the equivalent of bad 8th grade poetry couple with tight jeans. Went into this wanting to like it more than I thought I would. I didn't.
Sorry but if you're not giving this 5 stars you and I will never truly meet eye-to-eye. Good memories of mowing the lawn and cleaning out the garage with this cassette (courtesy of Columbia House) on the walkman.
Fun illustration of glam rock rifts, but I did not find anything that remarkable outside of the guitar work.
Great album, had a fun time listening.
Amazing start, but the hype kinda died a bit in the middle. I could definitely vibe to this though.
I've already had to review one Def Leppard album on this site, and that's one more than I should ever need to do. This one is somehow worse than the other one, and I'm not sure if it's because I knew what to expect going in, or if it's just truly worse. "Photograph" and "Animal" were the only songs I didn't feel an intense urge to skip. Side note: I never knew that "Günter glieben glauten globen"came from Def Leppard not The Offspring. Brother, these guys stink.
An old favorite. I prefer this to Hysteria, which got extremely overplayed.
classic rock, not bad
no me gusta
DL went full on pop metal with this album and got really big. They lost me at that point as I preferred their earlier music. Needless to say this Mutt Lange sound inspired many other arena rock acts in years to come.
ахиреть прикол не ожидала их тут
Hello senior year...such nostalgia. You kids get off my lawn
Ok
This is the first entry from Def Leppard, and undoubtedly there will be more. This album has three decent hits: “Photograph”, “Foolin’”, and “Rock of Ages”. I hear them every time the radio is tuned to classic rock. However, the remaining seven tracks are similar to each other and boring. Overall everything balances to an average rating.
Hey, I know "Mutt" Lange! I didn't know he was the innovator of "Gunter glieben glauten globen", though. What a legacy... This album was less enjoyable than I expected. More noisy, more guitars. 'Photograph' sounds like 'More Than A Feeling', but worse. It's probably hard to be a musician named 'Phil Collen'. It's confusing that 'Rock of Ages' is a musical with no Def Leppard songs in it. This doesn't seem bad enough for a 2, but if a 3 is "decent"... Highlight: 'Foolin' (ballad-y)
I liked this one more than Hysteria, I tried to imagine myself with a blonde mullet in a backyard at a BBQ, but that only held for so long before reality set back in.
Tough to decide which I like more between this album and Hysteria. Photograph is one that's been a little overplayed to me, but Foolin' and Rock Of Ages are a few of my favorites they've made.
I just hate glam rock. I hate the hits more than I hate the deep cuts that didn't get pummeled on the radio. Voice is strained and unpleasant. Studio production is thin and compressed. Synths are 80's bad synthetic, after they lost the 70's analog warmth and before they got good again. Drum sounds are just artificial and out of balance. It's rock without energy, pop without danceability, corporate rock for the masses. I can't go to 1 but no chance this hits 3.
A jewel from my teens. I started with Hysteria and then I bought this record
pretty nice
2/5 and this is my favorite Def Leppard album
Was initially going to give this 3 stars as I'm not really a glam metal fan, but as it went on, there were some catchy hooks and great technical ability that drew me in. So I gave it another spin and I quite enjoyed it overall the secondtime. Good rock album to play whilst working. 4/5 some great solos and catchy hooks. Just that element of cheese that means it's a soft 4, but 4 nonetheless.
Great album … best listened to on vinyl. Perfect set up for Hysteria
Wir müssen nur die Zeit zurück drehen...
Hair metal with all the fun and none of the sleaze. Some of the lowest rated albums i have are in this genre as they are just gross to listen to. This was silly and loud and catchy and camp and Sheffield and much better.
Strong rock, almost felt like a parody at times but still enjoyable
So this is Rock of Ages huh
okay so the album art is super awesome but the music sucks ass
So far really getting a more commercial radio vibe from this album, it’s almost too safe and boring. After reading that this was a move to being more of a radio friendly sound it makes sense. Not a bad album but largely uninspiring and lot of repetitive hooks and choruses that feel like many songs should end 30 seconds before it’s over. A couple of good hits and nice guitar solos but this one is pretty average for me.
Album #22, Def Leppard, Pyromania ⭐️⭐️⭐️ We’re getting into a genre I couldn’t care less about. ’80s heavy metal isn’t my thing. I don’t know if this counts as hair metal, and I’m not that familiar with Def Leppard. But I’m leaving my bias at the door for these listens. It opens with “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)” and I thought, oh God, here we go. But you know what? It won me over. First and foremost, it’s loud. Properly loud. Everything is well balanced and clear in the mix. You can hear every instrument distinctly. The drums are absolutely huge. It’s full-on stadium metal. Whether you like the music or not, you have to appreciate a record that sounds this big. It’s headache-inducing at times, but it is what it is. It’s a great-sounding record. Song-wise, I don’t care for some of them. You have to take the corniness at face value and accept that it’s part of the deal. “Too Late for Love” does nothing for me. The songs about rock and roll are pretty boring too. “Photograph” is easily the best song on the album. There’s a cool effect on the melodic guitar lines, kind of a phased, reverbed sound, and I love it. Any track with that kind of melodic playing really benefits from it. “Comin’ Under Fire” is good. “Die Hard the Hunter” is too long. A couple of others are decent. I’m giving it three stars because, for what it is, I actually enjoyed it. It won me over. I wasn’t in great form today and thought this would drive me mad, but it actually cheered me up a bit. So I owe it that.
This album rocks! The songs are all so enjoyable and powerful, and it doesn't lose any quality. Every song is a great addition, even though I have my preferences and not all are fantastic, but, still, it's a fantastic album. This album truly gives you so much energy! And it's a pretty cool way to combine heavy metal with a mainstream sound. It's not that the album is anything mind-blowing, or something new in music, but, who cares if the music is great?
This was about what I expected. Photograph is a really good song. They’re great rockers and the somgs have a certain heft that other rock bands don’t.
the one genre i don’t like <3
Such a good album from start to finish. Starts off with back to back bangers, then cruises on through to the end. A couple top notch ballads. Guitars go heavy. It's one of my favorite 80s albums.
I’d say these are a lot of fun live, but nothing exciting on this studio album. Feels like they’re almost a parody of themselves
By the time Def Leppard make Pyromania, any lingering romance about bands as gangs is already museum culture. Even the idea of the band as jobbing musicians putting up with each other is old hat. Queen were edging toward corporate theatre as early as 1972. There were touring groups in the 60s that existed in name alone. But Kiss understood instantly that the band didn’t even need the name, they could simply be the logo. By Def Leppard, the transition is complete: the band is a vessel, a container for a product, its members less important to the public imagination than the typography on the sleeve. Perhaps that’s too strong. There is a sense of a gang in Def Leppard: when Rick Allen loses his arm, they gather round him. Although it is telling that the most visible member of Def Leppard becomes visible through absence. Even on the record, there are glimpses of a real living breathing band in the verses, more thoughtfully arranged than the choruses. However, it is the choruses where it all goes to Hell, where everything the focus group circled in red - anthemic, uplifting, memorable - is smooshed together. The choruses come in, not like attack jets of precision, but as the spoon-as-airplane motion where the band feeds the audience their mush. They excuse the sub-Judas Priest of what preceded by not being Judas Priest at all. When the Offspring cribbed the start of Rock of Ages for Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) were they commenting on the risible populist cool of their protagonist or their own attempt at novelty hit-making? It’s the same thing, Def Leppard selling out hard rock for radio-friendly gloss, selling out their verses to their choruses. But, perhaps, that is just what rock looks like when stops pretending it isn’t pop. 2 This was a miserable listen. We’d be here all day enumerating all the different elements which make Pyromania an objectively terrible album. Instead let’s focus on the positives. Rick Allen lost an arm after this record in a car accident and the band stood by their chum! Fair play. Theirs was one of the most inspirational VH1 Behind the Musics I ever watched. Easily earns them an extra half mark every time, even for the two-armed drumming records. 1.5/5
This was definitely corny but it is fun at times. I didn’t hate this but I can’t give it more than a 2. They get on a roll here or there but a couple good moments does not make a great album.
I enjoyed the first few songs here particularly Stagefright - this had some energy to it that for me was lacking in the rest of the album. I can take or leave a lot of glam metal but it can be done well. I'll certainly give this album a 3 as it's a very good glam album, just got a bit samey after a while. I will say Die Hard The Hunter was more enjoyable.
Def Leppard flying high on this metal juggernaut. Always a great listen!
Nice
Extremely limited experience of Def Leppard before this, basically restricted to only their biggest hits. This album starts very fun, if a little poppy for Rock, with "Rock Rock till you drop", though I believe this was just the direction rock took during the 80s and, despite my grumbling, it did give the genre it's staying power for the majority of the decade. On second listen, I did really enjoy the romantic vibe of "Photograph", with the air grabbing choruses and guitar riffs that lead to air guitaring among friends, it's another really fun track. "Too late for love" had an incredibly catchy chorus and fantastic guitar chords; one of those tracks that made me feel good when listening to it. As the album creeps on, I notice (at least for me) that every track exists purely for fun and, emotionally, doesn't really offer anything else. Although I am enjoying every track, each one doesn't appear to have anything to say. I don't think I care... "Rock of Ages" is still great fun; Not everything has to say something. Too many times I think people don't understand that something can exist purely for fun and little else. ******************************************************************************* This album has, for one reason or another, reminded me again of my limited musical dialogue. This is now my 51st album and I still couldn't tell you what a harmony, an extension or what bright or transparent music is. I promised myself I'd fix this so that I had a more err... "Sonic" appreciation for the music as the journey unfolds. PPS - I notice this is another album with reviews that are, quite frankly, disgustingly hateful. If you're going to hate it, at least be constructive as to why it's as bad as you say it is. There are some real fucking arseholes on this website.
So many rock and roll songs about rock and roll. Fun album, some cool riffs. 2.6
1.4
Didn’t need more than one Def Leppard record on this lost and this one isn’t as good as the other.
I was ready to give this a higher score just based on the hits I know. However the rest of the songs just feel like filler and kind of lazy. They found a formula and were too afraid to stray.
I didn't enjoy it but I want to drive a trans-am now.
Good fun, metal for the masses. The longer you listen, the more it all blends into one bland monolith.
Spinal Tap war lustig. Aber diese Parodie ist over the top.
+: Stagefright, Die Hard the Hunter +-: Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop), Rock of Ages, Action! Not Words, Billy's Got a Gun -: Photograph, Too Late for Love, Comin' Under Fire --: Foolin' 3,2/10
My first favorite band and eventually first concert. Yeah it’s dated and cheesey but nostalgia plus the admitted fun it is to belt out some of the larger than life choruses still hit now. Is anybody out theeere, anybody theeeeeeere. C’mon it’s fun. A note listening as an adult, what a weird end to the album, must’ve left some people scratching their heads when the record stopped spinning. (3.5/5)
Hell yeah brother
Nothing groundbreaking but nothing offensive either, sounds a lot like Metallica, not sure which came first 3
2/4
It's 1992, and 11-year-old me wants his money back. This tape sucks.
La décennie 80 est bien celle de la mort du rock.
It’s like sex with a hooker, lots of fun but totally meaningless and no deep connection
Like a stoner comedy or slasher flick, it's unapologetically what it is. and what it is fuckin rocks 🤘
really good 80s rock… STAAGEFRIGHT ALLL NIGHTT
Oh, cool, it‘s the second album by poor man's AC/DC on this list – but now they‘re quoting Neil Young … Horrible music.
Well, sorry mom, I hate this. Divorced dad has better music taste
A classic classic rock album. It’s perfect for what it is and the time. Still very listenable and fun.
Just an absurd album. It's dumb. It's ridiculous. Also, those people can sing.
don’t love the 80s glam rock vibe, had a few bops.
It's no secret that I hate pop, and this is basically the rock equivalent. Call it what you want: glam-rock, hair-metal, maybe even just straight up pop-rock, but it's simple as hell and endlessly predictable. And yet, I really, really like this album. Maybe it's just because my mom has always liked music like this. But the vocals are solid, the music is energetic, and at the end of the day it's totally catchy and still pretty damn gritty. Def Leppard gets a pass. Perfect band name.
Okay, the haters have a point, and high school me would sneer, and every other song on the album really is kinda lame, but Rock of Ages is a feakin' masterpiece.
An album defining the sound of The 80s Teen American Male. Great songs overplayed.
Another OK album for when you want to play something loud and not really think about it.
It’s refreshing to hear such a full sound, with quality singing and performing. A lot of bands don’t hold up to this. As with their next album, I kept wanting to turn it up even more. 4.5
Man, I loved this album when I was 10 years old or so. Poster and everything. But I didn't enjoy any subsequent albums by DL. This one still holds up pretty well for me, though.
I am biased, but '83 was a great year. Solid album, definitely something I'd come back to listen to again.
C'est un album bien de son époque, complètement dans son jus que ce soit au niveau de la prod, des thèmes abordés ou même du chant. Alors oui, si on n'aime pas le hard rock et le metal de l'époque, c'est l'overdose assurée. Mais moi qui aime beaucoup cette époque, je ne peux m'empêcher d'apprécier cet album de NWOBHM, même si c'est sa facette la plus accessible et la plus consensuelle.
I get it but it’s not for me:/
Energetic over the top poppy hard rock. Good album all around, high energy fun and sexy. Worth a listen but it’s not an all time great (Spotify made that clear by having me listen to Van Halen and Deep Purple immediately after).
Sympa, un peu répétitif, je confondrais facilement avec ACDC
Liked it. Good to run to. 80s feel of The Lost Boys.
Of course it's cheesy, dumb pop metal. What exactly was everyone expecting from an 80s hair metal band? It's decent music and fun. Photograph rises above decent. 3.5
Never listened to a full def leopard album so excited for this one. Rock!rock! Is really fun. Well written and great guitar which I’m thinking will be a theme. Chorus is catchy too. Great fade into photograph. This is an all timer of a song. Probably heard 1000 times growing up. Very catchy. Stage fright is another banger. Just great music. Then slowing it down with too late for love. Harmony part at the beginning is really cool. Guitar solo is awesome. Multiple layers an good drums. Die hard the Hunter has the best solo but other than that good not great song. Foolin is really well written. All of the choruses are very catchy. Another great guitar solo. Rock of ages is another classic. A little bit of a simple song but just a well made rock song. Coming under fire and action before word are good not great. Kind of forgettable. Classic 80s rock songs. Billys got a gym is really good. Can feel the emotion. Great guitar. Love the story telling. Great way to end this album. Lives up to the hype, and will listen to again. 4.1 stars.
Dumb poodle hair 80's soft rock! yeah! Rock! I love Rock! lets Rock! All the songs sound the same and appear to all be about the same thing (Rock!) - but its inoffensive and well produced and quite fun to drive to.
What a terrible album cover. Music for A-Team fans. Give it a star for the start of '80s glam-metal and Photograph is a classic '80s rock song, but anyone liking this is pure nostalgia. ACDC's softer little brother. Hysteria the better album for full on cheesy '80s accessible-manly-glam-pop-rock-metal-roar-ness.
This is fun. I like their guitar sound!
Many afternoons were spent listening to this album on cassette in the back of my dad's truck. He was (and still is) a connoisseur of 80s hair metal, which I always compared to being a connoisseur of Big Macs—they're not bad necessarily, they're just intended to reach the largest consumer demographic. And you know what, after a few beers and a spliff on a Friday night, the only thing I want in the world is a Big Mac. You rock and roll on Def Leppard.
My love for Def Leppard's big, bold 80s rock bombast comes from my Pops, who passed down both an appreciation for the band and the lesson that you should always proudly own your pleasures without guilt.
𝘗𝘺𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢 is solid, radio-ready British heavy metal, polished by Mutt Lange into something big, bright, and built for arenas. The riffs hit hard enough, the hooks are undeniable, and the production makes everything feel larger than life. Still, it leans so heavily into its glossy sound that it never quite grabs me the way other early-80s metal does. A strong record, but not essential for me.
Favourite tracks - Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop), Photograph, Billy’s Got a Gun
A little cheesy, some talent, definitely not the worst on this list. A+ album artwork.
OK, this was essential listening when I was a nine-year-old hesher, and I am a little ashamed to admit I still know every song on this album. That being said, it lost its shine for me LONG ago. I can make a pretty good argument that this was the Prometheus of metal (at least in mainstream circles) becoming a toothless caricature of itself. There are defiantly a few riffs left here reminiscent of Judas Priest, but for the most part this is watered down and polished for popular consumption. Great for DF because this album certainly made them a household name but tis is background music for me.
Still dislike.
Yeah, not good. This is everything wrong with glam. It's just run of the mill cheesiness, with nothing interesting or special musically or lyrically. It's worst sin is that it's antithetical to everything metal should be. This is pop music posturing as metal / hard rock, and it's a shame it took the spotlight off of some actually talented metal bands of the era. 1.5/5.0: Bad
extremely cheesy and nothing metal about it but its a fun listen
cheesy
Don't make me tap the sign. *taps sign* Hair Metal sucks. All of it.
Decent. I like photograph and some of the other tracks like the opener and rock n roll are good too. There’s some definite mid on here. Im gonna give it a 2 because they couldve put so many other albums on this list and they chose this one
2.5
Metal and Pop, can, and do, mix. Neither of these things happened here.
Serviceable poppy hard rock. Not bad but lack some real hits to be something more than just decent.
this is a rock song!
I think hair metal had its place and time, but that has surely long passed. This record sounds like a parody of 80s metal. Stupid lyrics, simple and cheesy music, fantastic sounding and really well played guitars. It's like they wanted to make a more radio friendly metal but lost all of what made heavier music good by slapping so much makeup on it. I feel like this kind of music still has its fans but they are all the same fans that were there in the 80s going to see these bands every weekend. I would be very surprised if there were many new fans of this kind of music. I suppose this era of rock has to be represented on this list and this is as good an album for that as any - half of these songs are playing on countless classic rock radio stations right now. But I would guess there are quite a few of these records on the list, and I think there's even another from Def Leppard which is fully unnecessary. 2.25/5
While “Photograph” is glam rock perfection, the rest of the album leaves a bit to be desired. The songwriting doesn’t feel inspired and the unremarkable instrumentation can’t compensate for it.
Album No. 0128 on my list. Let’s just say I hoped for something a little better and expected something much worse. The only song I had previously known from “Pyromania” by Def Leppard was “Photograph”, because it’s the album’s most well known song (and appears on GTA V’s Los Santos Rock Radio). I don’t particularly enjoy this type of overtly over the top masculine hair metal style music, but I concede that the song is incredibly catchy. I expected the whole album to be like this, which it indeed was. But beyond those stylistic factors, I was afraid the songs themselves would be bad as well. But they were actually not. I mean, they’re not as good as “Photograph”, but most of them were still pretty okay. Mostly just straightforward, overtly over the top masculine hair metal. But not necessarily in a bad way. I’ll add “Photograph” (of course), “Too Late For Love”, and “Rock of Ages To My Playlist”. 3/5 stars.
3.0 - Ok
i hate def leppard. they’re so fucking boring and cringe and lame and they can’t sing. what is the point in making metal when you have nothing of substance to say. ‘ooh sex and rock and roll’ not even drugs you might as well make pop music at least then it’d sound better
None of the songs stood out to me, most interesting thing about the album is the intro sample to pretty fly for a white guy
The hawk the bone the eagle the bandit the fox make sure I hear this three times an hour
It's the bowling alley sound track. Hysteria is the better album
love itttt
Def Leppard were on track to be a massive part of the NWOBHM in the 80s, then said "nah, we wanna make crap."
Was not expecting to like it going in but it was a vibeeee
This was a really good heavy metal album. Big hits off of this one. I had thought they were from Germany but they’re from the UK.
Cheesy 80s rock, but I’m into the cheese
I’m conflicted bc this sounds cheesy and silly but is that not like most of classic rock?? Idk it’s fine overall
Secretly love me some hair metal
This album is devoid of all creativity
Dumb cheesy fun. This album caught me on a good day because I'm pretty sure I hate this. 4/5
It brought back some memories; I didn't listen to this kind of music back then! It's fun to listen to after all these years, and some songs really get us going, lots of energy... but my tastes have evolved and the metal I listen to now is something more mature and heavy! But it was fun, so a solid 3/5
Well produced, but not to my taste
Quality classic rock, but rather repetitive
Pretty good arena rock from the 80s, if it does get a little tiring towards the end of the record. Highlights: "Photograph"
Came on rocking hard and carried that all the way through.
Lo he escuchado a pedazos pero la neta esta interesante
While 'Pyromania' still feels like it’s missing a final polish, Def Leppard were clearly on the right track, delivering an ambitious and powerful album. It produced four instantly recognizable singles, highlighted by the standout “Photograph,” with “Foolin’” a close second. The band would later take the sound and momentum of “Photograph” and expand it across their 1987 release, Hysteria. Both Pyromania (1983) and Hysteria (1987) strike a similar balance of heaviness and melody, earning each a well-deserved place on 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
While not as polished and all-encompassing as Hysteria, this album more than holds its own. The raw and visceral rock sound here is extremely satisfying. Without the benefit of hindsight, you'd think this was their magnum opus and couldn't be eclipsed. They're running on all cylinders and you can hear some of the foundational chord progressions and harmonies that would lead them into that even bigger album 4 years later.
10/01/2026 A good, classic, British rock album. Spotify listeners: 8.2 million
sounds very generic nowadays but 2 stars because it's album 69
I liked rock rock till u drop the most and photograph
I like this rock more than the others but still not my thing give me winehouse or Beyone something pls maybe
not my type of music
Not my kind of music, but thought it was overall good.
5.0/10 May have liked this as a teenager... not so much now.
I liked this more than I expected to!
I understand the appeal of this band and album, and to 12 year-old Jeff it was understandably pretty cool. It didn’t quite do it for me, but Rock of Ages is a power pop banger, so that rounds up a 2.5 to a 3. A decent surround sound mix on Apple Music helped as well.
I’ve never intentionally listened to Def Leppard before today, and yet I “knew” three songs from this (photograph, too late for love, rock of ages). Pretty impressive staying power for DL. And I even liked one song (photograph)!
Good old fashioned rock. Tight.
Light 3,5
01) Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop) - 6,5 02) Photograph - 6,5 03) Stagefright - 5,5 04) Too Late for Love - 6,0 05) Die Hard the Hunter - 5,5 06) Foolin' - 6,0 07) Rock of Ages - 6,5 08) Comin' Under Fire - 5,5 09) Action! Not Words - 5,0 10) Billy's Got a Gun - 5,5 TOTAL: 5,85 (59/100) Current ranking: 641/785
Smells like hairspray. I'm pretty sure this album had a measurable impact on the hole in the ozone layer. I can't fault the job it does at being what it is. But it's very dated at this point. I'm sure this will bring back a lot of memories for a lot of people. But if you weren't the right age when this came out... it's just fine.
My prayers for more 80's rock have been answered! Said it before, I'll say it again - my love of Def Leppard begins and ends with Pyromania. "Rock of Ages". Summer of '83. Fuckin A. Add these guys to the list of bands whose biggest album was not their best. Gunter glieben glauchen globen! 5
Gunter glieben glauchen globen!
There are occasional moments of cheesy fun in here but overall it is very bland and repetitive hair metal.
I'd really like to give this 5 stars but it comes up just a little bit short.
Hum, better than Metallica, but still not really my thing.
Gunter gleiben glauchen globen. And suddenly I'm a little kid skating around a rink.
Classic 80's power rock... fun!
This is fine to be on nothing caught my ear but it wasn’t like I needed to turn it off - between 2 and 3 - thought it would be less poppy
Standouts Photograph Too Late For Love Foolin' Rock of Ages
Местами это неплохо, я не против стадионного хард-рока, но песни звучат практически одинаково. Альбом мог бы быть вдвое короче. Лучшая песня: Comin` Under Fire
Not for me
When people say 80's music their heads usually go to synthpop and new wave but often forget that the Rock sound found here was also ubiquitous. The hits are the hits and have been in the zeitgeist since their release. And no, I am not going to deny that "Photograph" is a fun song. The non-Singles all have that same generic 80's Rock sound, which turns out should just be called the "Mutt" Lange sound. A lot of it sounded like AC/DC to me. Mostly I can do without that slick 80s rock production. I wasn't much a fan back then and not much has changed in the ensuing years. I did find that "Stagefright" wasn't too bad though. I'm not going to ever come back to Def Leppard but I can understand the appeal.
Heavy
I guess I never realized how much this guy's voice sounds like the ACDC guy(s). This is a classic 80's hair metal album and band. There are some bangers in here with Photograph, Foolin', and Rock of Ages. My sister played the shit out of this, so there is a great deal of nostalgia here. I'll give this a 4, because you can roller skate your ass off to this.
Absoloute thrill ride, start to finish. Massive sounds and big neon, this album is hard to ignore Grade: 4A Top Tracks: Photograph, Rock of Ages, Action! Not Words.
Wasn't sure what to expect of this album, but I've enjoyed it far more than I thought I would.
This started off with such a bang and then just tapered off into mediocrity. Disappointing.
A última linha da resenha do livro resume bem o disco: "Deus do metal para adolescentes". Bem fraquinho!
Actually enjoyed a fair amount
Simple in its ambition with some great tracks.
It's OK, but not really for me. There were a lot more exciting things going on in music in 1983: post-punk, new wave, indie and metal - this isn't anything, what even is it? Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ ★★★☆☆ (5/10) Total reviewed : 178 Already owned : 40 Purchased : 6 To buy : 5 Nope : 127
Prvo je uslijedio šok što njih opet slušam, onda sam skontala da ne mrzim toliko Def Leppard. Hysteria je bolji album ali tu je to negdje. Radije bih njih slušala nego otprilike sav rock iz osamdesetih. Nekad se neki žanr jednostavno ugasi i ovo mi je najbolji primjer, nije bilo ničeg stvarno dobrog.
Alright rock. Nothing bad to say about it, but not my thing so doesn't stand out too much
I mean, they did what they set out to do and they did it well. This style of young, dumb and full of… fun…rock just isn’t for me
Satisfying, their sound is always fun and the less-significant songs still provide that treat. Not quite at a 4 but close to it
Coupl'a bangers but I'm glad this is on the list so I can say definitely that I don't like Def Lep 2/5
I think that this album was one of the main reasons why pop metal emerged in the 80s. Yeah, it's pretty cheesy, but the songs are catchy and fun. I liked some of their songs when I was a kid because it was so catchy. And I also like the riffs Phil Collen wrote on this because they are catchy. I don't know if I mentioned that this is catchy. But really though, it's very good. It's hard to write songs like this because of the complexity of simplicity.
This will always be my favorite Def Leppard album, even more than Hysteria. Not only does it have a lot of classic songs that are still enjoyable today, but the production was state of the art for its time. Mutt Lange’s work on this album set a new standard, influencing almost all the arena rock that followed in the ’80s. However, because the production was so polished and glossy, it has also faced some pushback over the years, with critics claiming the production is the main reason the album and its music came out as well as it did.
6/10
I’ve never listened to a Def Leppard album. And now I understand why. I get that hair metal had its time and place. Just not in my headphones. The band is solid so I can’t say they aren’t good at their craft.
Couple good songs, but got old fast.
Meh
I know it’s shallow and vapid and low IQ but it’s so fun!
Solid fucking album.
4/5
Not into this style
Fav: Stagefright Least Fav: Rock Of Ages I’m now halfway through the list! Not really a memorable album to mark the occasion but oh well
Þetta er ekki minn tebolli. Photograph er fínt lag og þetta er voða polished þannig séð. Startaði þessu glam metal dæmi sem ég elska ekki beint. En finnst smá asnalegt að henda í tvist bara útaf því.
A classic!
Very good hard rock album. listened to it a lot in 2022, i would give it a 3.5/5 but its closer to 4 so 4/5
Good album, some nice songs there, i did NOT enjoy listening it from my computer tho, only from my mini speaker but a bit too hard rock for me so a 3.
all good cheesy fun. Very easy to listen to , some brilliant guitar too.
I love this shit. Cheesy rock just for fun. Surface level singalong. People are being harsh I think - you're not meant to take it seriously. Are they super talented? No Are the lyrics deep? No It's just good fun man, lighten up, grab a hairbrush and enjoy it. The real highlight was actually the songs after on Spotify. Cheesy 80s rock. It's like a guilty pleasure, except I don't feel guilty.
they were gross but they had THAT thing
Generic bordering misogynistic
Classic hard rock with a bit of glam. Enough to stick in your head and probably would have sounded insanely innovational and powerful back in its time but now feels generic and overdone. I think that it sounds like that is a good thing because it gives this album a genre defining status
Yeah, they really rocked. It was a pretty silly era in musical history, but these guys rocked it for all that it was worth.
I just can't get into this. I understand this is the musical equivalent to something like a Fast and the Furious movie, i.e. I should turn off my brain and enjoy the fun, but even from a cheesy nostalgic angle, it's not doing it for me. However, "Photograph" is a great song.
Love the 80s composition and sound, kind of one note throughout the album though. Some sick licks throughout.
Trying to put myself in the mindset of how it was received when it first dropped, and if it was groundbreaking? It sounds cohesive, but it blends together quite a bit. God I really hate Janie’s Got a Gun too, a big ol stinker album for me
Klassisk 80'er-rock. Den var ganske udmærket at lytte til.
I don’t get it. It’s cheesy at best, boring at worst.
Solid album, enjoyable hooks, great 80’s rock album.
Peak Hair Metal. Rock on!!!
This sounds like commercial hard rock. I was excited to listen to a band on so many people's T-shirts, but I'm feeling indifferent with anything they might've inspired after this. Maybe this is what's been copied by rebel ballad singers for the next few decades. It's not the worst rock I've ever heard but I don't want it near my speakers. 1.7/5
Def Leppard hits are so good. And the other songs also have me nodding and jamming along. The Wikipedia blurb noting that this is their more radio-friendly sound makes sense. I think they've got the iconic 80s sound down to a T. Even with their more radio-friendly sound, they've still got some fairly heavy rock songs. "Billy's Got a Gun" specifically. I really have a hard time finding much to say about Def Leppard, just because I think they're really solid without doing much that stands out as spectacular, if that makes any sense. Their "bad" songs (relatively) set a pretty high floor, and their big hits take them into pretty elite territory. All while being a pretty easy listen. Favorite Song(s): Photograph, Too Late for Love
🤘🏻
Heavy metal for the masses. Cheesy as hell but by god do they sell it, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't absolutely love the big hits off this album in my definitive high school years (in the early 2010s).
This album is hitting me in the right place today. I've heard of it but never listened before and it's loaded with bangers. I can't judge this harshly because I don't think this album pretended to be or aspired to be anything more than just fun rock and it was indeed that. There's really not a duff track and this album had me rockin' in a genre that's generally not my thing. I can't think of a reason to ding it.
Dumb poodle hair 80's soft rock! yeah! Rock! I love Rock! lets Rock! All the songs sound the same and appear to all be about the same thing (Rock!) - but its inoffensive and well produced and quite fun to drive to.
Pyromania Photograph and Rock of Ages are dumb, but great fun 80s glam-metal-pop dumb. The rest of it is mostly just not very good dumb. A bit like Dre and the proliferation of dick sucking, they sing about rock and rock’n’roll constantly, to the point where you wonder about their insecurities. I do have a soft spot for Mutt Lange’s production on this sort of thing, he really does know how to make this 80s rock sound spacious and stadium filling, it’s just there aren’t really many good songs on here, with nothing outside of Photograph and Rock of Ages and possibly Action! Not Words eliciting much of a response, so it all feels a bit wasted. Definitely not the worst album, so it’s not a 1, but I can’t imagine coming back to it, ergo a 2. 🔥🔥
This has the sort of 80s soft-rock feel that makes you think shit MTV videos, spandex one-pieces, and flammable hair. Leaving behind harder rock roots, which I've never heard and so can't compare, this seems a cynical move to mimic AC/DC, ZZ Top and Kiss. However the first track 'Rock! Rock! (Til You Drop!)', which is pure AC/DC, ain't half bad. A rollicking riff. 'Photograph' has a chorus that transports one to an 80s high school comedy film, sounding like any soft rocker you care to mention, but it certainly has a radio-friendly melody. It all gets a bit turgid after that. Like wading through 80s treacle (Tate & Lyle). My favourite bit of this album was realising that the beginning of 'Pretty Fly' by Offspring is a sample. I had read 'Rock of Ages' was a single so assumed it'd have some redeeming features - but the treacle just got a hell of a lot thicker.
One of the greatest rock albums of all time!
Go figure. This is a great album. I'd say for the genre it's a 5. for my taste it's a 4.5
One of the best of Glam Metal, but that's not an especially high bar.
lmao
I think “Photograph” is a great song. The rest of the album is just ok.
boring
Great album… able to listen to it all the way through. It was almost like being at there concert again
Another good rock album! Photograph has always been a favorite
Quality hair metal.
Wow I am really surprised by this one! I'm normally very hesitant with glam metal, but this was just dramatic 80s fun! Very enjoyable, especially if you don't take it too seriously.
Outrageous. The 80s seemed like a good time.
Best Song: Rock of Ages Hair metal ruled a good portion of the 80s and this was a stepping stone for bands like Winger, Warrant, Enuff Zenuff, etc. This is better than a lot of other average at best "metal" that would come out later in the decade. 4/5.
Not for me. Clinical and stereotypical eighties hair metal at its worst. The snare sound is horrific.
I was already prepared to not like this, such was my hatred of ‘80s pop and hair metal. Then the singer chimes in sounding just like the guy from AC/DC on the very AC/DCesque first track, “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)” and the dread deepens. Luckily that was the nadir. I will acknowledge that “Photograph” is a good song (it’s the cowbell), ditto “Foolin’” (again, cowbell), and the riff supporting “Too Late For Love” is pretty tasty. Elsewhere there are songs with good elements weighed down by terrible period production (the drums, especially) and cheesy, cliched lyrics. I recall hearing these songs at the roller rink, blaring out of bitchin’ Camaros, or airing on MTV (the number of videos this album spawned is impressive), but I am likewise old enough to know that their musical quality took a pretty steep dive from here. These days I might select one of these songs on the barroom jukebox when I’m feeling nostalgic, but that’s it.
Okay, I really, really wanna roast this record for being radio friendly lite AC/DC pablum but 1) it was everywhere in junior high and I have to respect the market share and how it was the soundtrack to my pre teen years 2) def leppard covered Jobriath's Heartbeat and a bunch of glam rock songs on their covers record "Yeah!"and the lead singer was in the Jobriath AD documentary praising his work. It's part of my Repo Code that I can't dis another Jobriath fan, so pyromania gets a 3, even if Thomas Dolby used a pseudonym rather than be associated with working on it.
Simple pleasures, I guess, and if I'd had a lobotomy I'd maybe find some enjoyment in it. But just can't forgive it anyway for being so samey and dull. 1.5
What has 7 arms and sucks? Def Leppard!! (an oldie but a goodie)
Lange fully moves the band to pop metal juggernaut. The next album would realize the formula but most of the NWOBHM is gone. Classic stuff.
Cool!
god i hate this dude’s voice
TRES Y MEDIO A ESTOS ROCKEROS COMERCIALES
*Solid 80s rock/metal album but no specific track really stood out
In high school when this came out and damn, it was packed and good. Years later, I was able to talk to Phil Collen and I know he wasn't there from the beginning but the thoughtfulness reinforced the straightforward power of the music.