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 DEF LEPPARD X (Mercury)

   Release date: August 5th
   Genre: Melodic Rock
   Playing time: 47:34 min.
                                    
   Line-up: Joe Elliott (vocals) / Rick Savage (bass) / Phil Collen
   (guitars) / Vivian Campbell (guitars) / Rick Allen (drums)

   Producer: Pete Woodroffe, Marti Frederiksen, Per Aldeheim, Andreas
   Carlsson

 Tracklist:
   1. Now
   2. Unbelievable
   3. Youre So Beautiful
   4. Everyday
   5. Long Long Way To Go
   6. Four Letter Word
   7. Torn To Shreds
   8. Love Dont Lie
   9. Gravity
   10. Cry
   11. Girl Like Me
   12. Let Me Be The One
   13. Scar

I guess none of you seriously expected X would become an album in the 
style of the band's masterpieces Pyromania and Hysteria. That's good as 
the new effort sees DEF LEPPARD drifting into new and modern musical 
territories. But don't worry, the new songs sound still unmistakably like 
DEF LEPPARD and don't repeat the same mistakes the band did with their 
controversial Slang release. Let's have a detailed look at each song: 

The opener Now is the albums first single and a stylish Rock song that
masterfully combines modern elements with the classic DEF LEPPARD 
trademarks. In the beginning the song is driven by a smooth drum groove 
and accompanied by soft guitars, but at the insetting chorus, and after, 
it gets heavier with a darker edge. The solo part in the middle plays with 
some slight Indian sounds as you know them from the latest AEROSMITH 
albums. Seems that co-writer Marti Frederiksen had a lasting influence on 
the arrangements.

Unbelievable is a soft and slow-paced but endlessly beautiful Rock-Pop 
song that was composed by the songwriting trio Aldeheim, Carlsson & Martin 
who work, among others, for Pop acts like NSYNC and the BACKSTREET BOYS.

You're So Beautiful is a uplifting and brilliantly arranged mid-tempo 
rocker that could come right off the Adrenalize album. In particular the 
guitars are typical for DEF LEPPARD and the chorus is pure ear candy.

The following hookline monster Everyday is one of my personal favourites 
on X. The instrumentation shows a modern twist, but due to Joe Elliott's 
unique voice and countless layers of background vocals it is still 
recognizable as a DEF LEPPARD song.

Well, what to say about the following ballad Long Long Way To Go? Lets 
cut it short, its awesome and one of the best songs DEF LEPPARD recorded 
since the Hysteria days. Sure the laid back instrumentation is not typical 
for the band, but I am sure the beautiful melody and Joe Elliott's 
emotional vocals will take your heart by storm. At the end, the song gets 
accompanied by soft string orchestrations which make it even more moving.

Four Letter Word is pure DEF LEPPARD. Pushed forward by a cracking guitar 
riff this powerful mid-tempo rocker has everything that is great about 
their music: perfect arrangements, a catchy melody and a chorus that 
ignites instantly!

The same applies to the following Torn To Shreds, a modernly arranged 
rocker that takes some time to get used to. The verses are not very 
spectacular and the instrumentation is unobtrusive, but the chorus is pure 
dynamite. Powerful guitars, hard hitting drums and a killer hookline!

Love Don't Lie is a simply structured mid-tempo rocker that features a 
cleverly mixed accompaniment of acoustic and electric guitars as well as 
an effectual modern Rock production. I think it wasn't clever to place 
this very good song right after Torn To Shreds, as it loses a bit of its 
class in the shadow of the phenomenal predecessor.

Gravity is a powerful high-tech rocker of which powerful riffing and 
cracking chorus hit you like a fist in the face.

Cry is a surprisingly aggressive, but very modernly arranged and 
instrumentated Rock song that reminds me of the last AEROSMITH album. I 
think it is a good song but it drifts too far away from what DEF LEPPARD 
usually stand for.

Girl Like You suffers from almost the same problem. The verses are okay 
but the chorus sounds overproduced and features a strange melody that cant 
really convince me.

Let Me Be The One is a soft and mainly acoustic ballad.  Undoubtfully a 
good and beautiful song, but it doesn't move you as intensively as Long 
Long Way To Go did.

The regular album closes with the powerful rocker Scar that opens with a 
Indian flavoured guitar riff before it turns into a classic DEF LEPPARD 
song that is based on a colourful production and features a instantly 
likable chorus with multiple layers of background vocals.

Summary: Even though X has a couple of little hiccups it is still an 
excellent and up to date sounding Melodic Rock album that should grab your 
attention!

                                RATING: 90 % 
                              PRODUCTION: 97 %
                            PRESENTATION: promo