DEF LEPPARD — High 'N' Dry (review)

DEF LEPPARD — High 'N' Dry album cover Album · 1981 · NWoBHM Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Unitron
Def Leppard's 1980 debut album On Through the Night fits right in with the NWoBHM sound, with that raw charm shared by many of their contemporaries such as Diamond Head and Di'Anno-era Iron Maiden. It's an excellent album and all, but Def Leppard was a band that couldn't stay underground, as their 1981 follow-up High and Dry shows. Gargantuan drums, infectious vocal hooks, roaring guitars, and flashy solos. This was perhaps the real beginning of what many refer to as the arena rock sound. Though while the album has a massive sounding production, which makes it sound like far-cry from the raw garage band sound of the previous album, the music itself is still screaming with heavy metal of the NWoBHM variety.

While not as well-known as the band's following two albums, High and Dry does come with their first radio hit in the form of "Bringin' on the Heartbreak". It's a good song on it's own, but works even better in the album as a whole as it segues into the instrumental of 'Switch 625' which ranks as one of metal's best instrumentals. Many of the songs could've been hits though, especially the great 'Lady Strange'. From the explosive opener of 'Let It Go' to the almost as excellent closer of 'No No No', this is an album that will bring the sound of the 80's rock arena right to your stereo.
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