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DEF LEPPARD
Diamond Star Halos

UMC / Mercury (2022)
Rating: 6.5/10

British rockers Def Leppard are not the sort of band I’ve had a love affair with, but I’ve never had any real disagreements with them either. With each album released I’ve been welcoming, seeing them in like a friend I’ve had respect for but never really wanted to hang out with too much. So maybe it’s a blessing then that each album over the last few decades has emerged around seven years apart.

Firstly, Diamond Star Halos is a poor album title. Although paying homage to legendary glam rock superstar Marc Bolan – and there are a few T-Rex flirtations on this 15-cut opus – it just doesn’t sit right with me… but it is what it is.

The album kicks off with the hard rockin’ ‘Take What You Want’ with its robust glam riffage. The pre-chorus bridge is a tad airy but the chorus is infectious in its straight-forward groove. ‘Kick’ is another sturdy, yet glammed up stomp featuring joyous n’ glittery hand claps and overt Bolan-esque wisps, particularly in Joe Elliot’s sneer and the whole “nah nah nah nah”. It’s uncomfortable yet infectious, gloriously 70s and star-spangled… but awkward.

And that’s the theme throughout here as the generic ‘Pour Some Sugar’ styled ‘Fire It Up’ comes cascading like a lukewarm shower, while ‘Liquid Dust’ has a lazy psychedelic swirl, almost Oasis-esque circa the Manchester bands ‘The Hindu Times’ track – a syrupy plod if you will.

There’s further evidence of glam rock shenanigans on ‘Gimme A Kiss’ which features some nice bass trundles and sugary pomp circa late 80s hair metal and even some Steve Harley “ooh la la la’s”. Now, although the album is too fat it’s nice that the Lepp’s are treating us to such a barrage of big, fleshed out tunes.

‘This Guitar’, featuring Alison Krauss, smokes and stirs as a twangy ballad better suited to a Bryan Adams record, but ‘SOS Emergency’ ramps up the T-Rex-cum-Mott The Hoople glam fuzz musically before unravelling as a rather standard plodder. Meanwhile, ‘U Rok Mi’ is a typically sizzling Leppard sing-along that remains tepid throughout.

Elsewhere, ‘Goodbye For Good This Time’ gushes as a piano-lead yearning ballad, as does ‘Angels (Can’t Help You Now)’, but both are forgettable in their sweeping weepiness as is the slushy and clinical ‘Open Your Eyes’. Thank goodness (well almost) then for the rockin’ tap of ‘Unbreakable’, because the second half of the platter is all rather slow-moving and lightweight.

‘Open Your Eyes’ unravels nicely, but refuses to expand from its slushy, modernistic pop-rock stance, ‘All We Need’ is a predictable foot-tapper, ‘Lifeless’ (again featuring Krauss) runs a mediocre route, and closer ‘From Here To Eternity’ is moody without ever getting mean while hinting at a Beatles ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ vibe, particularly in the axe work.

Diamond Star Halos peters out rather quickly, the band almost refusing to rock out on an album that appears uneven in its attempts to diversify. It’s these quieter, languid moments which make the 70s-styled glam fizz seem uncharacteristic, almost as if the band had an idea to make a fiery record but got bogged down by mush and sentiment.

My on and off relationship with Def Leppard continues.

Neil Arnold

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