As rock superstars Def Leppard return with a brand-new album, Diamond Star Halos, vocalist Joe Elliott insists that the album format is still important – at least for Def Leppard.
“When we got together in 2014 we noticed a trend of people releasing one song a month,” Elliott tells Rock Candy Mag writer Jon Hotten in an exclusive cover story that runs over 12 pages in the new issue of the magazine “They might bang them all together on an album two years later. Other people were just doing EPs. Maybe for a younger generation, an album isn’t important, because they didn’t grow up when it was. But we did. We grew up in the era of Ziggy Stardust, Dark Side Of The Moon, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - the greatest double album of all time in my humble opinion. That’s where we come from. You can’t unscramble an egg. We invested in laying on the bed and looking at the sleeve, reading every word.”
Hotten also interviews Rick Savage for Rock Candy Mag and finds that the Leppard bassist is particularly excited about the fact that Leppard’s new music on Diamond Star Halos takes him back to his youth.
“There’s still a feeling of the early ’70s to the new album for me, when you’re just approaching teenage years and everything’s great,” he tells Hotten. “It’s fresh, it’s new. For us that’s anywhere between 1971 and ’74, when colour TVs were coming into homes, bands were getting more outrageous with their clothes, songs were getting more produced, sounding better. We were gravitating toward the pop side of it - Eagles, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac… For me there’s a lot of that type of ’70s in the new record. A lot of it has such a nice flavour of our teenage years.”
The band will begin a US stadium tour with Mötley Crüe in Atlanta on June 16, but don’t expect Leppard to be playing lots of songs from the new album at the expense of Leppard classics.
“I don’t think many legacy artists perform new music,” says Joe. “We do. We play new stuff, but it’s horses for courses. Leppard fans want ‘Photograph’. They want ‘Pour Some Sugar…’ Only a fool goes, ‘I’m gonna play you my entire new album.’ Anyone who goes, ‘Here are 12 songs from my new album’ is going to clear the dance floor. Don’t batter people with the new sh*t. If it’s good enough, let it become part of the set further down the road.”
Read this 12-page Def Leppard feature and many other fascinating stories including YES, KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer, and The Greatest Double Live Albums Of The ’70s in issue 32 of Rock Candy Mag.
Def Leppard's twelfth full-length album, Diamond Star Halos, is out now. Listen to the album here, and below:
The artwork for Diamond Star Halos is art in itself. The design follows pedigree with their instantly recognizable album covers from their celebrated past. With images by world renowned photographer and director Anton Corbijn, styling concepts by Maryam Malakpour and graphics by the UK based Munden Brothers, the design truly follows the band’s influence through their eyes today.
Written by the band over the past two years it features 15 tracks including the anthemic, stadium-ready singles “Kick” and “Fire It Up”, with guest vocals from Alison Krauss on “This Guitar” and “Lifeless”. The album title references T. Rex’s “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” with nods to T.Rex, David Bowie and Mott The Hoople across the album, which mixes the sound of their classic spirit with modern fire.
Diamond Star Halos can be ordered in multiple configurations, including a Deluxe Edition, 2LP Vinyl, Digital formats and more. Exclusive bundles including newly designed album merch have also launched. Order at the band’s official store, here.
Tracklisting:
"Take What You Want"
"Kick"
"Fire It Up"
"This Guitar" (featuring Alison Krauss)
"SOS Emergency"
"Liquid Dust"
"U Rok Mi"
"Goodbye For Good This Time"
"All We Need"
"Open Your Eyes"
"Gimme A Kiss"
"Angels (Can't Help You Now)"
"Lifeless" (featuring Alison Krauss)
"Unbreakable"
"From Here To Eternity"
"Fire It Up" video:
"Take What You Want" lyric video:
"Kick" video:
"Kick" bloopers:
Def Leppard performed a set of classics on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on May 25. Footage of the band performing “Rock Of Ages”, “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me” can be viewed below:
(Photo - Anton Corbijn)
