Celebrating 33 Years of 'Hysteria'

All this week, Def Leppard will celebrate the 33rd anniversary of Hysteria. Today there was a listening party and online chat with Phil Collen. The celebrations will happen on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, so be sure to check all the official Def Leppard feeds. There will be contests, commentary, merch and more.

Can you feel it? Do you believe it? Celebrating 33 Years of Hysteria all week long! 🤘

Follow along the Def Leppard social channels all week long as we celebrate the album anniversary!

For more info head to https://t.co/ZYjhEkXDnt 💥#Hysteria33 pic.twitter.com/OJnGxwmNj7

— Def Leppard (@DefLeppard) August 2, 2020

The band released a Hysteria "facts" video a few hours ago. Enjoy!

Comments

[Bkallday]

Hell yeah, by far their best and most important release. Don't believe me, check the sales on that bad boy. Still love this record to this day and it has aged like a fine wine! I had to replace mine with the remastered version though cuz i had played it so many times. Absolutely no filler on this cd, unlike the rest of their catalog. Long live Hysteria, the perfect album! \m/

[crued]

@Bkllday best perfect album "Hysteria" or "Back in black"?
if any of you want to chime in... go for it!

[Basileus]

I’ll take BiB over Hysteria just cuz I have a preference for gritty, hard-edged rock n’ roll over glossy pop rock, which to Hysteria is to me (and in no way do I mean that as a criticism). Hysteria is an amazing album and the title song is just a terrific pop song. How about that Mutt Lange, though?

[Bkallday]

Damn crued, that's like asking me to choose between my kids. Lol. Anyway, since im so burnt out on Back in Black & You Shook Me, and only Pour Some Sugar on Hysteria, i'll go with Hysteria. But they are both in my top 5, with BIB right behind Hysteria at 4.Great question though! \m/

[Metalboy!]

Since when do album sales have anything to do with true greatness?

I’ll take “Pyromania” over “Hysteria” on the strength of “Photograph”, which stands head and shoulders over ANY other Def Leppard song.

I’ll also take “Highway to Hell” over “Back in Black” any day of the week.

But I would have to think about what should be designated “Best Perfect Album” of this genre and era as it’s definitely NOT any of the above ...

[bkallday]

I won't argue Pyromania, MB. At least you didn't pick one of their first two, which i find to be rather weak, and not even in the style of Pyromania or Hysteria. But your last statement makes me curious, so which cd would you find that is perfect and heads and shoulders above these? That's quite the comment. And please don't say its some band noone has ever heard of. Lol

[Him]

Great questions to ponder. I would take Pyro over Hysteria just because I prefer the fact that they sounded like they had 'figured out' the sound of their first two albums. But I certainly get why people love the Hysteria-era . . . and have sung the praises of "Gods of War" fairly recently. Personal preferences, right?

With AC/DC, I am willing to be a bit of a tosser. While I love Back in Black, I prefer a lot of the Bon-era. Hell, I will even go so far as to say that I think the disparaged albums--Flick of the Switch and Fly on the Wall--matter more to me, as a fan. Around Razor's Edge I started fading. I mean, AC/DC is AC/DC. They do/did what they do/did. Even some of the more recent releases have had spots of greatness. I am curious to hear what the new album will sound like. But, personally, I hope they bow out after that release and tour.

"Best Perfect Album"? Yikes. I am gonna stay away from that one.

[crued]

I'm gonna get crufied for this but what about "Operation Mindcrime" by Queensryche? As a perfect Album?

[Basileus]

Him, I too prefer the Bon Scott era to the Brian Johnson era but I personally think BIB is probably the band’s peak, though not by much. I place HtH a hair bellow, with Powerage just below at third, Let There Be Rock at fourth and Flick of the Switch to round out the top five. That’s 3 Bon albums to Brian’s two. Bottom line when comparing BiB to HtH is this. Both feature good-to-great songs front to back. And while I like the deep cuts a bit better on HtH i ultimately choose BiB as the better album on the strength of its four most famous songs, which are all stone cold 5 star classics. I don’t feel like HtH’s has as many songs at the same 5 star level of greatness.

[Basileus]

As for best perfect albums, here are some hard rock-heavy metal albums from bands of that era that are, if not perfect, at least top-to-bottom great:

- Sabbath, Heaven and Hell
- Iron Maiden, Peace of Mind
- Megadeth, Rust in Peace
- Ozzy, Blizzard of Ozz
- GnR, Appetite
- Motley, Shout
- Cinderella, Long Cold Winter

[Him]

Basileus, you are on fire! Great comments. I appreciate the thoughtfulness you put into your responses.

Glad to see you also appreciate Flick of the Switch. Here is a fan's question for you: what do you think about the rumors that a lot of BiB was written while Bon was still alive and features his input? I am not trying to be a conspiracy theorist, and I know that AC/DC Corp. is a fairly tightly sealed org, esp. after Bon's death. But I always thought there was something to that rumor.

And your list of BPAs is pretty hard to argue with, given that those are classic slabs. Another question: why nothing from the Ozzy era on your list? Just curious. And how do you feel about White Lion's Pride?

[Basileus]

On BIB’s songwriting, I’ve deliberately chosen not to dig into it too much or think about it too deeply. Going down rabbit holes like this with other bands has led me to develop negative views of the personalities in the band, which then has led me to develop negative feelings overall about the bands. This has happened to an extent with Van Halen in it’s fan unfriendliness, its treatment of Michael Anthony and in its refusal to remaster the catalogue or officially issue rarities and live albums from the classic era.

But to the extent I looked into it before stopping, I think there are some credible indications that Bon probably came up with some lines here and there. For instance, with Shook Me All Night Long and some of the lines, which sound like Bon lines. However, the evidence is very thin. On the other hand, there are also stories out there from third parties recounting specifics of how/ when Brian came up with some lines, such as the opening lyrics of Hells Bells. Also, some songs to me just seem like Brian lyrics, such as Give the Dog a Bone. So you have very thin evidence (And that’s being generous) of Bon’s songwriting contributions against some slightly stronger evidence that BJ did. Also, i get the feeling that BJ seems like the kind of guy who would have let slip a hint or a clue that he wasn’t totally responsible in an interview. So, my soft conclusion is that BJ For sure wrote at least some parts and probably most of it.

On Ozzy era Sabbath, I have the deluxe editions of some of those albums and I just find myself skipping over some songs. There’s some sludgy stuff that I just can’t get into. It's just a preference. I have the utmost respect for them and that era, it’s just that I think most of those albums had 1-2 flaws keeping them from reaching perfection.

[Basileus]

Lastly, i love White Lion and think Vitto was up there with the best. Musically and melodically, Pride is perfection, but that almost is marred a bit by some of the lyrics. I say its a near perfect album.

A couple in the perfect album conversation I did not mention before:

Whitesnake 87
Great White, Psycho City

[Him]

Excellent comments (again), Basileus. I certainly see your point re: BiB. And I agree that the whispers and suggestions are a bit thin. I just like to ponder things like that, though I also have learned to stop reading too much into the history of bands I loved as a 'yoot', as it has spoiled things for me with several bands/artists (VH, as you mentioned; Ozzy; etc.).

I also think you are right about Pride. I like the album cover to cover. But "When the Children Cry" is a saccharine, if catchy, song and "Don't Give Up" sounds, lyrically, like a Tony Robbins' self-help seminar!

I'd bother you more about Sabbath, as I am interested in what songs you find great from the Ozzy-era and what songs you find too sludgy. But I have been pestering you a bit too much recently. For me, the diversity of the Ozzy-era is amazing. Which is not to debit the Dio-era, given that it was fairly short, even if you factor the reunion album and H&H into the mix.

Again, thanks for the thoughtful replies.

[Metalboy!]

Just incredible repartee, boys!

I remember hearing a rumor shortly after his death, that there were (are?) actually demos of Bon Scott singing “Back In Black” tunes.

Since AC/DC is a class act, if there are such recordings, they will NEVER see the light of day.

There are some hack reimaginings on YouTube but don’t put yourselves through it, trust me ... Horrific!!!

[Metalboy!]

Perfect Albums ... Still thinking ... or still trying to figure out how to did myself out of that one!

[Metalboy!]

And, Basileus, HIM is absolutely 110% correct about you!

Total pleasure reading your great Comments!

[Basileus]

Is the first Badlands album “perfect”, “nearly perfect” or just “great”?

[Bkallday]

Ok Basileus, I agree that all those albums you mentioned are amazing albums but the Psycho City album is just average. Guessing you’re a diehard Great White fan?

[Him]

For whatever reason, I never quite 'got' Badlands. Same goes for Lynch Mob (name retired; moving on). I dunno why. And I love Lee (the man is a walking time bomb of odd) and Lynch (who can't stop to concentrate on one project).

And I have also pondered the magic and tragedy surrounding Ray Gillen. Guy had pipes, granted. And I like his demos from Sab's _Eternal Idol_ (his replacement, Tony Martin, also had/has a good voice, but the stage presence of a piece of plywood and was also forced to slog through some of the most mediocre days in Sab's career). But he, like Oni Logan, just never completely blew me away. I suppose it would have been great if he had lived and we had a chance to see him stretch out a bit. But there he is, stuck in amber. The cynic in me would say that it is because he died young that he retains such interest. However, I know that is wrong because a lot of people who I respect admire Badlands. Chalk it up to preferences again.