ION INDIE MAGAZINE December 2015, Volume 19 | Page 36

Review by Leslie Hadaway
Photography by ION Photojournalist Mark Myers
Imagine, if you will, standing on a great precipice, waiting on your most favorite band to
decide on releasing yet another album…will they or won’t they? Every time they come to
your town the lead singer says, “See you next time--and there will be a next time. Don’t
forget us and we won’t forget you!” You look up at the jumbo tron and there you see it…a
release date for the new album in October 2015. Disappointment begins to set in as you
realize that it’s only July, so you wait…4 months you wait…
October is here! It’s finally here! Joe Elliott does an interview in Rolling Stone magazine
and releases the first single “Let’s Go” off of the new album, simply titled Def Leppard. The
full album is released a few short weeks later on October 30th. I’ve been waiting for this
album to drop for 4 months, but in truth, I’ve been waiting a whole lot longer than that.
I’ve been waiting for an album like this since their 1987 “Hysteria” release.
DEF LEPPARD has truly gotten back to themselves--and then some! Don’t get me
wrong…the albums in between were good--with the exception of Slang, where it felt like
they were trying to be a bit more “grunge”. I liked their greatest hits album The Vault, but
their latest release is their best yet.
Everyone who has loved this group since their inception, knows Def Leppard’s history. This
group has been through all kinds of storms--from Rick Allen loosing his arm in 1984, the
death of Steve Clark, and Vivian’s cancer returning. To say Def Leppard has tenacity is a
huge understatement.
The track “We Belong” is nothing short of an anthem for the band—proclaiming “We
belong on the world stage as a band!” Each member of the band sings 2 lines each on this
track. If you need a reason to get this album, this track is reason enough.