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Def Leppard > X > Reviews
Def Leppard - X

Rated X for excruciating. - 13%

hells_unicorn, January 31st, 2020
Written based on this version: 2002, CD, Bludgeon Riffola

Perhaps the only thing more frustrating than seeing an iconic rock/metal band falter and continue to flail away with zero hope of recovery is seeing one redeem themselves only to fall right back into the same rut that they had just escaped. Case and point being former NWOBHM trustees turned 80s Britain's answer to AC/DC Def Leppard, a band that arguably put out the most incoherent garbage of a pop/rock/alternative album in Slang during the apex of the post-grunge era in hopes of maintaining relevance with listeners less than half their age. As the rock wasteland that was the 1990s drew to a close and some degree of optimism was returning to the masses west of the Atlantic, this outfit seemed to come to terms with their status as a middle aged rock group that ought to be playing to their peers rather than courting teenaged trustees of 3rd wave feminism who dismissed their cynical pandering as dirty old man shenanigans, releasing a respectable return to form after the mode of Hysteria in 1999's Euphoria. Given the improved sales that resulted, to speak nothing for the renewal of credibility within older school AOR circles, one might have assumed that lessons learned would have led to a renewed commitment to stylistic consistency, and if so, one would have been dead wrong.

Thus stands X, an album that can be best described as the sort of maniacal mid-life crisis that leads one to troll the local high school for dates like a 42 year old Matthew McConaughey. Just about every decrepit variant of early 2000s pop abscess has been mixed into this cauldron of commercial pandering, dressed up with a slightly more guitar-oriented gloss, but generally about as impactful and exciting as an NSYNC concert for people twenty years past the point of said music being appropriate. Occasional flourishes of the tired, beaten into submission grunge sound that dominated Slang have made a return, though in an even lighter strain more comparable to the likes of Goo Goo Dolls and Matchbox Twenty. Sappy acoustic balladry such as "Long Long Way To Go" splits the difference between sounding like late 90s Sarah McLachlan and Backstreet Boys that one might be tempted to accuse Joe and company of being 3 years too late to pick up chicks at Lilith Fair, while half-acoustic rock flops like "Now" and "Everyday" seem to be attempting to channel a formulaic radio-oriented groove that was played out and banal when Tonic and Third Eye Blind were making their contributions to the American Pie soundtrack. The only element in any of these soulless retreads of past pop/rock mediocrity that dovetails with Def Leppard's musical identity are the massive layers of backing vocal tracks, which are themselves gimp-like and lean towards the boy band sound that was still an item in the early 2000s.

As limp-wristed and cringe-inducing of a collection of vapid pandering as this album is, somehow it manages to exhibit enough of a hard rock element to also qualify as a mockery of said style in the process. Despite being pretty heavy on the bubblegum factor and not really showcasing any sort of distinctive qualities, there is a rocking remnant to anthems like "You're So Beautiful" and "Four Letter Word", though it comes off as more of a 3rd rate retread of something that Tom Petty or AC/DC might have done a decade prior, with the latter song occasionally highlighting some semi-plagiarized riffs from Back In Black and their own late-80s smash "Armageddon It", arguably one of the better moments in an almost exclusively terrible album. Things get a tad heavier on the grooving stomper "Cry", though the principle riff is such an obvious nod to Stone Temple Pilots' mid-90s hit "Interstate Love Song" with some tidbits from an earlier hit of their's "Plush" that anyone encountering this song is bound to wonder where Scott Weiland's vocals went rather than hail it as a Def Leppard triumph. Truth be told, this album's strong points are defined more by being less horrid than the rest, with the album's closing rocker "Scar" being the only thing on here really indicative of Def Leppard's signature AOR glory days, and the only really listenable offering of the bunch.

In much the same respect as their last cynical attempt to hop over to a younger generation's music with the bottom line being the only possible motivation, X is among the most avoidable albums to ever be released by any alumni of the NWOBHM, including the largely panned Saxon pivots into AOR territory from the late 80s. One thing that is to this band's credit is that they were at least somewhat forthcoming about their intent to shift away from the nostalgia of Euphoria for more "current" mainstream fair, as Joe Elliott himself divulged during Leppard's appearance on an episode of VH1's Storytellers in promotion of said album when he noted the massive success of Aerosmith's "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" and explained Def Leppard's dismissal of ever revisiting their NWOBHM material live as being driven by monetary concerns. It's an understandable motivation to want a little more out of a career than just scraping by, which supposedly is what defined the pre-Hysteria days of their career, but even the best excuse ever imagined can not hope to cover for the insipid fluff that rounds out the lion's share of this sad little opus. It goes without saying that no metal fan with an iota of self-respect would be caught dead praising this crap, but even among shameless AOR trustees, this carries the same flavor as Mr. Tweak's home-brewed coffee; i.e. three-day old, moldy diarrhea.

When X does not mark the spot - 19%

Brainded Binky, January 5th, 2014

This is really getting obnoxious. How could a band with a lot of potential in their early days fall victim to the false promise of superstardom? How could a band with a lot of talent get rid of those talents and replace them with pure greed for more money? I feel sick to the guts whenever I think about it, I mean, I only have just one question for Def Leppard; WHY??? How could you do this to your fans? Why do you create such horrible crap that doesn't require skill to produce or play? Guess what Def Leppard, you really have betrayed your fans this time, and they were the ones who even tolerated "Adrenalize"! Come on, you should know better, Def Leppard, you really should know better!

Where do I start with this? Are there any ways to give this album a proper title other than the letter X? I think I've found a few words to add to the albums title; "X-tremely predictable", "X-tremely lame", "X-tremely pathetic", "X-tremely idiotic", "X-tremely repulsive"......man could I go on and on with this! There are just not enough words! Do I even need to say that this album is a horrific trainwreck of bubblegum-ic proportions? It's a grievous insult to the intelligence of not only metal, but also of Def Leppard's past. Could you anticipate anything good to come out of songs entitled "Cry" "You're so Beautiful", and "Let Me Be The One"? I wouldn't be too surprised if your answer was a blunt "no". Like with "Adrenalize", you don't even need to listen to the songs themselves in order to develop a bad taste in your mouth (or your ears, for that matter), all you'd have to do is look at the song titles.They're pretty basic, generic song titles that even a 2-year-old could easily come up with. They are proof that even the smallest things can enough to throw people off, especially potential buyers of this music.

Should you dare sample any of the music on "X", you're in for a world of hurt. The songs themselves sound exactly as their song titles sound, just disgusting and stupid. They're not really metal, or even rock, at all. They just sound like some sappy teenage wannabes that want to cash in on the pop-rock craze of the early 2000's. Believe me, I can't stand such cookie-cutter love songs like "You're So Beautiful", and if you heard it, you probably wouldn't either. Now, I don't listen to One Direction (nor do most people I know), but I've got a hunch that they've done that one! Come on, these are guys that wrote a song about rebuilding a mystical kingdom after a time of war ("Overture" on their "On through the Night" album). Now, their main focus is love and relationships. Why? Cos it SELLS. Seriously, it's on nearly EVERY song on "X". Here's some lyrics from "Girl Like You", "I'm on fire, and you're the flame...(etc). Look, you don't have to be Shakespeare to come up with good song lyrics, but come on, do you think there could be at least some more brain power put into writing them? Again, they should know better, but apparently they didn't, cos it's all about love, the stuff that sells the fastest, the most. Now all they gotta do is add some autotune, and boom, they'd be set!

When I thought the production quality of Def Leppard's work (I shouldn't say "work", cos they didn't really do "work" at all), was at its worst when they created "Euphoria", I was dead wrong. It's WAY worse here. I'm not listening to the magnificent NWOBHM band that Def Leppard used to be, I'm listening to utter bubblegum garbage. Possibly the worst case of this production is "Gravity", which sounds completely soulless with computer-y sounding effects in place of real instruments, like guitars and drums. Yeah, they went that far. They have officially created a pop song that only teenyboppers would be squealing over....until they find out that the artist that did this are a bunch of guys in their fifties. They've degenerated from NWOBHM gods to a bunch of sellouts that made "Adrenalize", and finally, into horrible, despicable money-grubbers. You'd only need to hear "Gravity" to get an idea of how disgraceful their recent efforts are. And then there's "Long Long Way to Go", a ballad, what a surprise. It's another song that ditches drums in place of drum machine-like noises.While it is abysmal, at least it had some REAL instruments in there, like an acoustic guitar and some violins. But still, you'd think they'd put more effort into making this song! What, did they just ditch Rick Allen in the recording process, replacing him with a drum machine they nicknamed "Bertie", and then just show Allen off as the "one-armed bandit" drummer at their live shows? This is so horrible!

Blech. I feel terrible. I have just listened to one of the worst albums ever made by the most pathetic excuse for a rock band. That's what their downward spiral all came down to, folks, a tasteless, talentless piece of junk simply entitled, "X". I can imagine Def Leppard's members as Smeagol/Gollum from "Lord of the Rings" as they are slowly being corrupted by the power of money, and then slowly degrading into insane, greedy, mindless idiots that stroke their pound bills, while saying "myyyyy preciooooouuusss..........." That's how bad Def Leppard's music has gotten. Little to no thought was put into making this, and I would say that even die-hard Def Leppard fans that even like "Hysteria" should avoid the album like the plague at all costs. Okay, I know I sound heartless when I slam this album but consider this. What do you think Def Leppard would care about more? Putting effort into making music and giving everything they got, or just simply flying around in private jets and hobnobbing with the 1% and living the good life? You tell me.

Bryan Adams? Backstreet Boys? - 90%

HealthySonicDiet, April 13th, 2004

So sue me. I said in my most recent review(before I realized that Rush has more reviews than Def Leppard), which was of Rush's Vapor Trails, that it bothers me that so many people are writing reviews for these hair bands that have been recently admitted to the archives, and people are tossing more talented bands like Rush to the curb. Well, I saw this album at the library, and wanting to have more metal albums to review, I picked it up.(for free!)

Anyway, I have a casual interest in Def Leppard's old singles I've heard on the radio several times in the past and I wanted to see if any of the songs on this album could be on par to any of their earlier songs.

I must say that none of the tunes here can really compare to any of their old radio singles, but this is still an enjoyable album. Actually, it's more like a guilty pleasure, at least for me. You see, Def Leppard's vocalist(I believe the band uses several extra vocalists and so forth) sounds amazingly similar to Bryan Adams and The Backstreet Boys and possibly some others at times, and it makes me feel like a little pussy when I find myself tapping my feet to the music. Listening to this album gives me unwelcome memories of when I did, in fact, listen to stuff like The Backstreet Boys and Bryan Adams.(I want to make the note that I DID NOT buy any Backstreet Boys albums. That was my brother. Also, I kinda like and respect Adams because I believe he's a guitarist and "Everything I Do" has a timeless appeal.)

Despite the fact this album makes me think about my horrible musical past and the fact that the overall sound of the band is pop-oriented, there are some genuinely nice riffs here. These riffs aren't too technical or heavy, but they have their own individuality to them. The guitarist uses different idiosyncratic guitar effects and some of the soloing just sounds a little atypical, which is refreshing and uncanny for a band that I've always lumped together with all the other hair acts of the 80s. The fact that this album is heavier than Bryan Adams and that Def Leppard writes their own music makes this album and the band far greater than either of the two aforementioned acts could ever hope to be.

I think what Def Leppard seems to do best are ballads. The vocalist is well-suited to them and the guitars work well as an accessory. In a way, most of the songs on X sound like ballads, only sped up a little with solos here and there. The Leps sure aren't adept at writing aggressive metal tunes, so I imagine it's natural for most of their songs to be more mellow. Track 5, Long Long Way to Go, is perhaps the catchiest and most emotional ballad here.

They sure threw me for a loop on one of the songs, though. I can't remember which one, but one song in the middle is a really down-and-dirty bluesy rock type of tune and is an excellent change of pace. My friend likes to say that contrast provokes emotion, and this statement very well holds true in this scenario.

Overall, pretty average and unoriginal, but good. It's been said that if it ain't broke, don't fix it, and I think Def Leppard hasn't strayed much from their original formula, at least from their Pyromania days. The change certainly wasn't as drastic as the change from thrash Metallica to nu-Metallica was.

X....Well, Thats what's on the cover??? - 80%

Pringle, April 4th, 2004

Wow!, Okay!, No-One's touched this one, I'm The First Hehe.

I'm not going to do the track by track thing, Mainly cause there is thirteen tracks on this album (If you don't include the bonus track?) and I'm not wanting to write essay.

The album itself is good, With the new the new song writting team, Including Marti Fredrickson, Per Aldeheim and Andreas Carlsson, Yeah they wrote for The likes of Britney Spears, But don't dispair, All is not lost, They simply just repackaged Def Leppard, The guitars and drums are still there, Though they have decided, That a minimalist approach is better it seems.....In Other words, Don't expect High'N'Dry, Pyromania Or Hysteria type sounds.

Then there's the famous vocals, Well they're still here and in full force, Making you sing along, Though they've dispensed With the "Party" lyrics, The ballads still flow.....Big juicey ballads, I think I counted three of them?, Along with some nice (But sometimes not great!) mid paced rockers, Covering the usual relationship stuff and a alternative type track or two.

With "X", Def leppard actually do sound like they're interested again, Some songs give a slight glimpse into the past, Some just sound Ultra-Modern and the band has generally avoided the "Nu-Metal" appraoch.

Overall a solid record, It's certainly not Classic Def Leppard, But if your the type of person, Who's walking around wondering What happened to that band, With the one armed drummer?....I think you may be suprised?