Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 06/23/2009
While
Def Leppard had obviously wanted to write big-sounding anthems on their previous records,
Pyromania was where the band's vision coalesced and gelled into something more. More than ever before, the band's songs on
Pyromania are driven by catchy, shiny melodic hooks instead of heavy guitar riffs, although the latter do pop up once in a while. But it wasn't just this newly intensified focus on melody and consistent songwriting (and heavy
MTV exposure) that made
Pyromania a massive success -- and the catalyst for the '80s
pop-metal movement.
Robert John "Mutt" Lange's buffed-to-a-sheen production -- polished drum and guitar sounds, multi-tracked layers of vocal harmonies, a general sanding of any and all musical rough edges, and a perfectionistic attention to detail -- set the style for much of the melodic
hard rock that followed. It wasn't a raw or spontaneous sound, but the performances were still energetic and committed.
Leppard's quest for huge, transcendent
hard rock perfection on
Pyromania was surprisingly successful; their reach never exceeded their grasp, which makes the album an enduring (and massively influential) classic. [The Deluxe Edition of the album released in 2009 adds a bonus disc made up of a live show from 1983 recorded in L.A.]
~Steve Huey, All Music Guide
;)
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