Def Leppard's masterpiece

Pyromania (1983.) Def Leppard's third album.



Def Leppard's first album, On Through The Night, was a great album but a commercial failure. The sophomore album, High 'N' Dry, did slightly better, giving the band their first big hit. The group re-recruited producer Mutt Lange for their third album, which was to be bigger than anything they had done so far. Midway through recording sessions, the band was forced to replace the alcohol-dependent Pete Willis with former Girl guitarist Phil Collen (NOT to be confused with Genesis singer Phil Collins.) It took over a year of recording, but finally in early 1983, Pyromania hit stores. Read on for my review of Def Leppard's third album.



This was it. They say that the third album is the one that makes or breaks a musical artist, and it couldn't be more true than Def Leppard. This is the band's MASTERPIECE (in my opinion, this album is even better than the more-popular Hysteria album that followed it.) Several hits came from this album. There was the hard pop-rock classic Photograph (at its time of release, it was the band's biggest hit), as well as the classics Rock Of Ages and Foolin', along with the dark half-ballad Too Late For Love. What's most fascinating of all is that the big hits, while excellent in their own right, are the album's WEAKER tracks! Die Hard The Hunter, Comin' Under Fire, and Billy's Got A Gun are three of the best hard rockers that Def Leppard EVER recorded. Most of the other tracks, including Rock Rock ('Til You Drop) and Stage Fright, are also excellent. The only song I'm not too crazy about on the album is Action! Not Words, but there are so many other great songs on here that I don't care. And even that one is still pretty good overall. Though not my personal favorite, I won't deny that this is Def Leppard's best all-around album.



This is quite possibly the ONLY Def Leppard album of which the domestic release is practically perfect. The sound quality is good, there's no issues regarding long-lost tracks from this era, and it's readily available in stores. There's no need to buy an expensive import release of this album - the domestic one is fine.



Pyromania stands the test of time. A greater pop-metal album does not exist and never will (although some have come close at times.) If you're a fan of classic hard rock, and this isn't in your collection yet, you need to add it, and I mean today! There's no excuse for not having this one in your collection. It and Hysteria are the first Def Leppard albums I would recommend to any new fans of the band.

Pyromania : Caution - Flammable; Keep away from fire!

Pyromania is one album you never hear enough about. This album landed in the charts at #1 and I believe it was the best selling album of 1983. It deserves the title of Grammy Nominee, and almost every song on this album is worthy of a good listen.



This album, in my opinion, was the height of Def Leppard's career. Some might say Hysteria was, and that Pyromania was just a musical stepping stone to their temple of success. I disagree. Why? Even if Hysteria was the most successful album, Pyromania stays loyal to Lep's old roots in the Brit Rock genre. Joe Elliot screams "Photograph...I got your picture" into an off balance microphone stand, sporting a Union Jack sleeveless V, while the rest of the boys are off in the distance shredding that infamous killer riff on Gibson Explorers and Les Pauls in front of gigantic Marshall Amplifiers.



Ahh...Those were the days. If you're looking for good music, check this one out. You won't regret it.

Sets your disc player on fire

I was introduced to rock by Def Leppard, Animal was the first rocksong which i saw on MTV. Pyromania didnot get as commercial success as Hysteria, but a great album. More hard and fast than Hysteria. Everything about this album is good, be it riffs, solos, drums, singing, bass. Well produced, not as over produced as Hysteria. Because of Rick's accident, DL could not rock as hard after this album. They still retained Rick as their drummer, even he had lost his arm, and would never be able to play as fast as he used to, this shows their friendship. Hats off to Rick.



1. Rock Rock (Till You Drop) - Great opener

2. Photograph - A bit simple, but a good song

3. Stagefright - Catchy song

4. Too Late For Love - Power ballad

5. Die Hard The Hunter - Great solo, good lyrics

6. Foolin' - another power ballad, good guitar work

7. Rock Of Ages - awesome song

8. Comin' Under Fire - another catchy song

9. Action! Not Words - both Steve and Phil doing solos at same time.

10. Billy's Got A Gun - good bass work.





Also recommended: Hysteria, Slang, Euphoria.

This Album Was Sooooooo Freakin' Hot in '83! PYROMANIA!

"Pyromania" was unleashed to the public in mid-1983, and it took the rock-n-roll world by storm! There is a good reason for this because this is a near perfect album! All of the songs are hard rock perfection. It's tough to find a so called "filler" tune on this album. Produced by Robert "Mutt" Lange of AC/DC fame, this album still has Def Leppard trying to find their own identity but stll sounding a little like AC/DC. Mr "Mutt" is also contributed as being a co-writer on EVERY song! A true 'Jack of all trades'! This is also the last album with Pete Willis on guitar. He would be replaced mid-way through the recording of the album by Phil Collen. Pete Willis had a big influence on their sound and this would be dramatically noticable on all future Def Leppard albums. This is a great album to play in your car during the summer with the top or windows down and the radio CRANKED! Here are my ratings of the songs based out of 5 *****:

"Rock Rock (Till You Drop)" - The first thing you notice is the synthesizer mixed in with the drums and power-chording guitar intro, letting the old fans know that this album will be a little different from the first two. The pace then picks up. Sounds alot like "Back In Black" era AC/DC. Joe Elliott has a voice made for rock! His voice alone makes the record hardrock! Scorching guitar solo from Clark. A pure hardrock song. Great! Rating - *****

"Photograph" - Guitar intro combines with a heavy drum beat and vocals. Synthesizer is really predominant. Heavy chugging guitars help to give the song that hardrock edge. Joe sounds great! Alot of emotion and feeling from his voice. A very melodic/hardrock tune that was a HUGE hit for the band and you will hear why, because this is a classic, perfect rock-n-roll song! Rating - *****

"Stagefight" - A fast paced rockin' song with terrific harmonization. A song about trying to get your object of affection to have sex with you. A great hardrock tune. Rating - ****

"Too Late For Love" - Eerie electronic wind and moody guitar melody opens the song. Joe Elliot then starts singing the chorus. The song picks up its tempo and sounds like Dio's "Last In Line" and could have easily been on The "High-N-Dry" album. A very haunting and moody sounding song. This song also got alot of airplay. Another terrific song! rating - *****

"Die Hard The Hunter" - Opens with electronic helicopter and gun fire sounds. A song with fantastic harmonizing to intro the tune. The song then changes tempo when the band kicks in, turning it into a hard rocking tempo, with heavy bass and snare drum. The synthesizer is also on display here. A song with intelligent lyrics about a veteran trying to integrate into society after returning from war. Rating - ****

"Foolin'" - Synthesizer and soft guitar intro, with a ballad tempo that picks up steam and power when the drums come in. A very heavy, chugging guitar and tempo change during the chorus helps make this song a true hard rock CLASSIC. Smoking guitar solo from Clark! Again, there are great harmonizations from the band (that's what sets this band apart from the other metal bands of their time) Great singing from Elliot! A gem. Rating - *****

"Rock Of Ages" - "Alright! I got something to say"! A song praising the merits of rock-n-roll! This tune also received heavy air and video play. Another BIG hit for the band. A hard rocking tune with some fantastic "laughing" from Mr. Elliott! Ends with the sound of a match being struck and the licking of flames. A Classic rock song. Rating - *****

"Comin' Under Fire" - Might be the best song on the album! Could have easily been placed on the "High-N-Dry" or "On Through the Night" albums. Another moody and eerie sounding tune. Strong rhythem section, heavy bass playing and nice vocal harmonizing. GREAT SONG (w/inane lyrics). Rating - *****

"Action! Not Words" - A song about trying to get laid. A mid-tempo song with heavy drumming from Rick Allen and thumping bass from Rick Savage. Sounds alot like AC/DC, Bon Scott era. Rating - ****

"Billy's Got A Gun" - A GREAT song. Very underrated. Before Aerosmith wrote about "Janie" and Pearl Jam sang about "Jeremy" , the Lep was telling the world about Billy and his gun. The gun craze started here! A song with intelligent lyrics and a terrific melody. A great tune that deserves more recognition! The song and album closes with a repeating drum-synth pattern. How eerie and portentious, because Rick Allen would get in a car accident a few months later and lose his left arm, requiring him to use drum-synths. Also, in the band photo on the first page, only Rick Allen's left arm is blocked from view (you can see BOTH arms of the rest of the band) Too wierd for me!

Overall, A CLASSIC album! One of the top 10 albums of the '80's. If you appreciate pure hardrock or just great music then BUY THIS NOW!