Pyromania - 1983 Tracklisting -
1.
Rock! Rock! (‘Til You Drop!).
2.
Photograph.
3.
Stagefright.
4.
Too Late for Love.
5.
Die Hard the Hunter.
6.
Foolin’.
7.
Rock of Ages.
8.
Comin’ Under Fire.
9.
Action! Not Words.
10.
Billy’s Got A Gun.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5ab6RIlAGwbVAacV1JIr2d?si=3B3XK45sQVuJ8YhPOihNhQHigh ‘n’ Dry, led by
Bringin’ On The Heartbreak is doing very very well in America and parts of Europe. The touring cycle sees them playing support slots for large auditorium shows in the US, and finishing off with a tour supporting Judas Priest from late November to mid December of 1981. Def Leppard is really gaining traction.
Almost all of 1982 is spent writing and recording a follow up album, which under Mutt’s guidance is given a singular mission. Following the success of
Heartbreak, he wants 4 hit singles for the follow up. A massive undertaking for sure, but for Def Leppard, this didn’t prove too difficult a task. While this would also be the last album to feature founding member Pete Willis, this was also the album that introduced the “terror twins” by bringing in Phil Collen.
Right, then. That’s enough setting the scene. Pyromania begins in Globen, Glauchen, Glieben, Gunter
Rock! Rock! (‘Til You Drop!) is the opening track, and of the three we’ve gone through so far, it’s easily my favourite. This one starts by setting the scene before getting into the main riff, and once we’re there, man, these thing takes you all the way. As I mentioned in my early cutouts review, this song used to be around before
On Through the Night under the name
Medicine Man, but I’m glad it got held back. This song has an intro that sets the scene, and it’s also a track that sets the tone for all that will come for the rest of the album.
Photograph is the second track, and the first single. This is one of their biggest hits, and while I have to admit I’m a bit over it after hearing it so many times, I still love this song. It’s a huge sounding track with great riffs and killer hooks. There’s really not a lot to say about it, this is just a catchy song, and well worth being one of their biggest songs to date.
In my opinion,
Stagefright also could’ve been the opening track of this album. This song is one of Joe’s most difficult vocals these days, but it’s such a hard hitting track. The group vocal in the chorus is beautiful, and while a lot of this song is centred around chugging guitars, the chords throughout the choruses and solos are so thick and serve the song very nicely. There are so many killer songs on Pyromania, but I think this one could be my second favourite to something coming a little later. There’s a great live version of this on
Viva! Hysteria if anyone cares to know how this sounds in 2013.
Too Late For Love opens with a swirling wind and synth beeping before we get a really hooky riff. Joe’s vocals paint a really vivid picture, and then we get that glorious group chorus. This song is one that keeps getting bigger in all the best ways. This was the fourth single released from the album, and it’s a huge track. This is actually fairly underrated against the three other singles from
Pyromania, and in my opinion it’s actually the best of the four. Everything here doesn’t just work, but works phenomenally well. Hope they play this next time I get to see them.
Die Hard the Hunter closes out side A of
Pyromania. This thing is epic. The acoustic intro into the rest of the song is immense and cinematic as all hell. The riffs throughout the rest of the song are huge too, and this is another song that really utilises the group vocal really well. But for me, it’s all about the instrumental section. The descending riff that starts at the 4:02 mark is just incredible, and the closing lick to the instrumental section gets me every time. This is probably my favourite track on all of Pyromania, and I think this song opening the 2019 Las Vegas residency (captured on
Hits Vegas) was a stroke of genius. This song spent way too long out of Def Leppard’s live catalogue, and now that it’s been brought back, I hope it finds its way out much more often.
Foolin’ opens side 2. Another subdued intro with an acoustic guitar and vocals gives the pre-choruses and chorus a much bigger impact. Bringing everyone in for the heavier sections make the verses seem much more tender and fragile. Playing with the elements like this gives the song a really distinct character. This was the third single released from
Pyromania, and still sees inclusion on a lot of the band’s setlists. This is a huge fan favourite, and to be fair, it’s a huge Deadeye21 favourite too.
Gunter, Glieben, Glauchen, Globen. Right then,
Rock of Ages. Such a huge track that one of the many Greatest Hits compilations shares the name. This single alone (the second released for
Pyromania) went gold, remains in the encore of all Def Leppard shows, and kinda counts as the title track for the album, containing the line “no serenade, no fire brigade, just
Pyromania”. What can be said about this one you don’t already know. Overrated? Maybe a little. Deservingly so? Yup, 100%. If you’re not singing along when this song comes on, there’s a good chance
you’re doing it wrong!
So, we’re seven tracks in and we’ve got seven absolute bangers! Let’s see what’s in store with the next two that are kinda less known.
Comin’ Under Fire has a blend of
Too Late For Love and
Foolin’ in its DNA. Another huge chorus (man, these songs all have really good choruses!) There’s a great call and response after the second chorus, much like on
You Got Me Runnin’ from
High ‘n’ Dry. Yet, for as good as this song is, it also seems to lack some of the charm that the rest of this album has had so far. This feels a little bit like a B-Side track to me, but that’s ok. This is still a pretty enjoyable song. I love the outro of this one.
Action! Not Words doesn’t earn that same goodwill from me though. It’s a song that might’ve been an absolute banger on another album, or an absolute hit from another band, but for Leppard on
Pyromania, this song is largely shippable for me. It has got a really cool setup to the solo, but these lyrics aren’t good. I think this song may actually be in Drop D which is pretty cool, there’s a real nice tone to the guitars that isn’t present on other tracks from
Pyromania, and the sliding lead that opens and closes the track is pretty decent, but this is a bit of a clunker for the album.
Billy’s Got A Gun is the closing track here. This is a real dark track, almost like a precursor to a song like
Pumped Up Kicks for example, but done with the metal tone of early Def Leppard. This is a song that actually could’ve fit on
High ‘n’ Dry, if not for the keyboards. The bridges of this song are definite highlights, and Steve’s soloing on this track is really effective and emotive. This is a mini epic, for sure, and closes the album really well. This does close
Pyromania off on an interesting note with the electronic drum loop after the song’s proper ending, but that’s what Leppard felt like doing and it doesn’t really hurt the album any, so… cool, I guess? The version found on the
Rock of Ages compilation cuts that out though, if anyone is super bothered by it, and there are great live versions of this on
Hits Vegas and the super deluxe version of
Hysteria.
When all is said and done, this album SLAPS! Perfection isn’t quite the word I’d use for it though, as
Action! Not Words does hold it back a little. But for a band to make such a massive album so early in their career is truly phenomenal. 8 out of 10 are absolute gold,, and one of the other two is still pretty good. Is 4.75 out of 5 too low for this? Honestly, maybe. I could be convinced this goes all the way to 5 out of 5, as even looking into
Hysteria there is at least one song that doesn’t grab me on there too. I’m conflicted how I should rank this one, but out of the three so far, this is definitely my favourite!
Since this one is such a massive album in the Leppard catalogue, I can’t wait to read your thoughts on it! Tomorrow, I’ll do a smaller deep dive into the bonus disc of
Pyromania’s deluxe edition,
Live at the LA Forum.
Topic: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive (Read 11466 times)
