Hysteria (CD - 1987)

Additional personnel: The Bankrupt Brothers (background vocals).

Recorded at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, Holland; Windmill Lane Studio 2, Dublin, Ireland; Studio Des Dames, Paris, France.

Def Leppard: Joe Elliot (vocals); Rick Savage (bass guitar); Rick Allen (drums); Phil Collen, Steve Clark .

Personnel: Joe Elliott (vocals); Phil Collen, Steve Clark (guitar); Rick Allen (drums).

Audio Mixers: Mike Shipley; Nigel Green.

Recording information: Studio Des Dames, Paris, Fra; Windmill Lane Studio 2, Dublin, Ireland; Wisseloord Studio, Hilversum, The Netherlands.

Photographers: Ross Halfin; Laurie Lewis.

Unknown Contributor Role: Steve Clark .

Where Pyromania had set the standard for polished, catchy pop-metal, Hysteria only upped the ante. Pyromania's slick, layered Mutt Lange production turned into a painstaking obsession with dense sonic detail on Hysteria, with the result that some critics dismissed the record as a stiff, mechanized pop sell-out (perhaps due in part to Rick Allen's new, partially electronic drum kit). But Def Leppard's music had always employed big, anthemic hooks, and few of the pop-metal bands who had hit the charts in the wake of Pyromania could compete with Leppard's sense of craft; certainly none had the pop songwriting savvy to produce seven chart singles from the same album, as the stunningly consistent Hysteria did. Joe Elliott's lyrics owe an obvious debt to his obsession with T. Rex, particularly on the playfully silly anthem "Pour Some Sugar on Me," and the British glam rock tribute "Rocket," while power ballads like "Love Bites" and the title track lack the histrionics or gooey sentimentality of many similar offerings. The strong pop hooks and "perfect"-sounding production of Hysteria may not appeal to die-hard heavy metal fans, but it isn't heavy metal -- it's pop-metal, and arguably the best pop-metal ever recorded. Its blockbuster success helped pave the way for a whole new second wave of hair metal bands, while proving that the late-'80s musical climate could also be very friendly to veteran hard rock acts, a lead many would follow in the next few years. ~ Steve Huey

Four years after PYROMANIA, Def Leppard were a comparative write-off. Dismissed by critics, seemingly dogged by bad luck, with drummer Rick Allen losing an arm in a car accident, HYSTERIA had to be an album to turn heads. In retrospect, it sounded like the first true hard rock record for the CD generation. Ambitious arrangements and remixes on songs such as "Rocket" and "Armaggedon It," a crisp single in "Animal," and a dense paean to love with "Love Bites," all bets were off. Def Leppard had created an intriguing language of ideas that still speaks volumes more than a decade on. minimize