Hard Radio with Rick Allen

"I'm in the hills of Malibu. My closest neighbor is a coyote (laughs). It's pretty remote but it's nice. I like being up here. I'm far enough from so-called civilization to feel like I get some privacy, but not too far away where I can't go into town, just check out what's going on, for shows or concerts or whatever."

Ah yes, to be a rock star. That is the fate of Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, who is getting set to tour the band's shockingly poppy new album X, a record that has tongues wagging as to the lack of teeth this time 'round.

The burning question went something like this (although the answer didn't burn quite as much as I would have liked): Looking at this new album, are there closet metalheads in the camp that wanted it to be heavier, or did you all agree to this direction immediately?

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