The classic Def Leppard song Joe Elliott says “fell together quite quickly”
When Def Leppard played an intimate gig in Sheffield’s Leadmill in May 2023, the venue had never quite heard noise like it. For such rock icons to inhabit a space so small, delivering their repertoire of stadium rock hits to a group of fans who have had the band at the forefront of their musical tastes for most of their lives; there has never been an atmosphere quite like it.
The band took to the stage and was met with a bigger roar than any other gig the venue had housed. As they walked on and pick hit string while stick hit the drum, the magnitude of their sound was more apparent than ever, reverberating off every single corner of the room, filling eardrums and packing them so tightly that they could burst at any moment. This is the power of Def Leppard decades down the line, a hard-hitting hard-rock outfit with a sound as undeniable as it is inevitable.
With such magnitude, it is hard to pick their best song, as they have such a universal audience because different tracks resonate with different people. Some have catchy choruses and are fun to dance to, some have hard-hitting lyrics, and others are expressions of musical majesty. One of the latter tracks is ‘Gods of War’, which, despite being the most complex work the band has to offer, Joe Elliott confessed was easier to write than you might expect.
The piece is one of the band’s hits that got both punter’s and musicians’ heads turning. Elliott admitted that the only note left untouched on the guitar’s fretboard is the E-flat; everything else is covered, as what is representative of jazz’s complexity remains accessible and easy to headbang to. The way the song is layered and the fact that it remains incredibly easy to listen to is genuinely astounding.
However, despite how complicated the track might sound, its development was pretty natural. “It wasn’t the most difficult song to write,” said Elliott, “All of the parts fell together quite quickly. It was inspired. It was the ‘serious song’ on the album, but it’s more than just the lyrical content… There are really clever guitars, very orchestrated guitars. It’s a very mature piece of work, probably the first time we really got it right.”
You often hear bands saying that some songs came together naturally, and more often than not, that’s because there is a catchy melody or something infectious about the track that each member can easily latch onto. ‘Gods of War’ doesn’t have that. It’s a piece famed for its complexity, as Def Leppard proved they were more than hard riffs and catchy choruses. They were one of the most exciting and musically intelligent hard rock acts out there.
Their ability to click together on a song that still baffles guitarists in its intricateness shows how close the band were and how well they could work together. It’s that unison which has led to their elongated success, and why, that night at Leadmill, packed to the rafters with fans and a cheer so loud the roof nearly caved in, they continue to deliver stellar sets that make hairs stand on end and bring tears to eyes.
