Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott reports the band have completed the recording of their eleventh studio album.
Originally planned as an EP, the follow-up to 2008’s Songs From The Sparkle Lounge developed into a full album when the band completed a run of writing sessions last spring.
Elliott said on his Planet Rock radio show, “Yes, I do sound very jolly, don’t I? I’m jolly because we have finished the new album – apart from the mixing of it. We have sung our last word, played our last solo, hit our last drum. It’s done! And it will be out later this year.”
The band’s production schedule was disrupted last year due to live commitments and guitarist Vivian Campbell’s stem-cell treatment for cancer.
Elliott recently confirmed the launch would be delayed until later this year after Def Lep had received “an unprecedented amount of offers” of work.
additional source: classicrock.teamrock.com
17 Responses
I do hope it’s rawer sounding than that Sparkle Lounge release. Most of the CD sounded like they put the Def leppard machine on cruise control, and the fact the put Tim McGraw on it only proves that the majority of pop/hair metal fans went over to country, not to mention their collaboration with Taylor Swift. Of course, you have to follow the money, and there aren’t many rock acts that can actually pull in the fan numbers that country does, which is just really depressing.
I’m all for artist’s following whatever direction they feel they need to, but like most of the bands that were huge from 80 to about 93 or so, I can’t name one newly written Leppard song by name, nor would I probably recognize it on the radio.
Wut
Clearly, you know something Axl doesn’t know…
Have you spoken with Axl about this? No one knows what the man is thinking or has planned. He’s every bit as secretive and misleading as the Van Halen boys…if not more!
GREAT NEWS!
I’m pretty much a broken record now whenever I comment on Def Leppard. Nothing would make me happier than for them to say “the hell with the critics and charts, forget the ballads, forget the pop and country collaborations, lets just crank up the amps and do an “old school” Def Leppard album that rocks from start to finish!” But they’re not that band anymore, and haven’t been for almost 30 years. Which is not to say they haven’t had some good stuff in that span, I could cherry pick an album’s worth of good songs from “Hysteria” through “Sparkle Lounge”. But that’s the problem – I probably only really like 12-15 songs out of their last 3 decades of work. Rick Allen in a recent interview said the new album is a “mix” of styles. So to me that means maybe a couple “rock” songs, a few ballads, some poppy stuff, maybe another collaboration with some other country or pop artist, etc. So for a fan of the first 3 albums, probably another generally underwhelming release. I’ll try to give it a fair listen, I’ve been pulling for these guys to let it rip again for a long time – but by now I don’t get my hopes up much. I’m just not interested that much in albums that try to have “something for everybody”, they end up watered down and don’t have enough of what I like or want in them. This band may have been considered part of the NWOBHM in the beginning, but they have a lot more in common now with Bon Jovi than Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.
Bon Jovi? no way that is the slickest pop machine the hair metal business ever created “yuck. Lep never really did the “hair metal thing” they were lumped just like Tesla because of the times. I would say they are more UFO and of course Mott the Hop sounding. Lep can still bring it live which is a lot more than most can say after 35 years in the business.
I have a renewed found interest in Lep these days and crank them alot now!!!