Def Leppard are releasing their new LP Diamond Star Halos on May 27th, and you can hear leadoff single “Kick” right now.
Diamond Star Halos is the band’s first collection of new songs since 2015’s Def Leppard. They recorded it throughout the two-year pandemic with frontman Joe Elliott in Ireland, bassist Rick Savage in England and guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell in England, and drummer Rick Allen in the United States. “Without the pressure of timelines or a fixed schedule,” reads a press release, “they poured all of their energy into crafting 15 meaningful tracks with a mixture of classic spirit meets modern fire.”
The band also enlisted Alison Krauss (“This Guitar,” “Lifeless,”) and David Bowie pianist Mike Garson (“Goodbye For Good This Time,” “Angels (Can’t Help You Now)”) for the new album.
Def Leppard haven’t played live since November 2019, but they’re finally returning to the road this summer where they’ll play American stadiums alongside Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett. The tour was originally booked for 2020, and they confirmed in February that it was finally happening this year.
In a 2019 interview with Rolling Stone, Elliott explained what fans can expect from the tour. “This kind of tour is a celebration, so we’re not going to be digging into deep tracks, album cuts, and obscure B-sides like we tended to do when we did the Vegas residencies,” he said. “You don’t get out of the building alive if you don’t play ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’ and ‘Photograph’ and stuff like that. But there is a little bit of room for movement in the middle that will set it apart from your average gig.”
Diamond Star Halos Track Listing
1. Take What You Want
2. Kick
3. Fire It Up
4. This Guitar [feat. Alison Krauss]
5. SOS Emergency
6. Liquid Dust
7. U Rok Mi
8. Goodbye For Good This Time
9. All We Need
10. Open Your Eyes
11. Gimme A Kiss
12. Angels (Can’t Help You Now)
13. Lifeless [feat. Alison Krauss]
14. Unbreakable
15. From Here To Eternity
From Rolling Stone US
