Diamond Star Halos

by Def Leppard

Overview

Def Leppard count upon a fair portion of their audience recognizing the title Diamond Star Halos as a nod to a lyric from T. Rex, the glam titans who served as an eternal inspiration for the pop-metal bad. Glam has served as a primary motivator for Def Leppard before -- witness their fine 2006 album Yeah!, where they covered T. Rex's "20th Century Boy," along with Sweet, David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, and Roxy Music -- so it would appear that Diamond Star Halos would once again find the group returning to the glittering well. That's not necessarily the case. If Diamond Star Halos is a throwback, it's to the golden age of the CD, an era when Leppard thrived delivering albums that pushed the running length of a compact disc. Like Hysteria, this 2022 record runs well over an hour; its individual moments may not be excessive -- the grand closer creeps toward six minutes, but otherwise all the songs clock in around three or four minutes, the ideal length for a pop song -- yet the cumulative effect is almost overwhelming, especially as Def Leppard gives it their all in each cut. Leppard crank up the hooks, melodies, and amplifiers, adding little bits of distinctive flair along the way. "Liquid Dust" thrums to a heavy bass rhythm, the harmonies on "Angels (Can't Help You Now)" have an ethereal shimmer, while "This Guitar" feels as if it was mellowed in the sunlight, its country undertones accentuated by duet partner Alison Krauss, who performs a similar function on "Lifeless." These moments help put the craft of the rest of Diamond Star Halos into perspective, as the departures point out that Def Leppard can deliver big, silly arena rock like "U Rok Mi" with aplomb and enthusiasm. Taken as a series of moments, the album is pretty compelling -- so compelling, in fact, that when they're assembled together, they are almost too much to take in one setting. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	05/27/2022
Label:	Emi Records / Ume
UPC:	0602438945184
Rank:	55766

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Take What You Want
2. Kick
3. Fire It Up
4. This Guitar
5. SOS Emergency
6. Liquid Dust
7. U Rok Mi
8. Goodbye For Good

Disc 2

9. All We Need
10. Open Your Eyes
11. Gimme A Kiss
12. Angels
13. Lifeless
14. Unbreakable
15. From Here To Eternity

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Def Leppard   Primary Artist
Alison Krauss   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Vivian Campbell   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Phil Collen   Guitar,Ukulele,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Ronan McHugh   Strings
Mike Garson   Piano
Joe Elliott   Lead,Guitar,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Rick Savage   Guitar,Guitar (Bass),Vocals (Background),Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
Dave Bassett   Vocals (Background)
Debbie Blackwell Cook   Vocals (Background)
Rick Allen   Drums

Technical Credits

Eric Gorfain   Arranger
Def Leppard   Producer
Vivian Campbell   Engineer,Group Member
Phil Collen   Composer,Engineer,Group Member
Ronan McHugh   Mixing,Editing,Engineer,Producer,Drum Programming
Ross Hogarth   Recording
Joe Elliott   Composer,Engineer,Group Member
Anton Corbijn   Photography
Simon Hopkins   Management
Sam Hollander   Composer
Rick Savage   Composer,Engineer,Group Member
Dave Bassett   Composer
Neil Davies   Design
Rick Allen   Group Member
Joe LaPorta   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Marjan Malakpour   Stylist
C.J. Vanston   Composer
Todd Kamelhar   Management
Mike Kobayashi   Management
Tracey Myall   Management
Stacie Surabian   Management
Oliver Munden   Artwork
Nina Schollnick   Management
Kaylie Norris   Management
Joshua Munden   Artwork
Jeff Kaye   Management
Helen Spiers   Management
Emilie Fabiani   Management