Def Leppard borrowed Queen’s songwriting process for their upcoming studio album, due to be released somewhere in early 2027. Guitarist Phil Collen revealed that each band member now adds ideas to everyone else’s tracks instead of working solo.
This shift transformed how they record. Bassist Rick Savage played a Martin 12-string acoustic for 12 hours straight until his fingers bled during their previous album. He was tracking a piece titled “This Guitar.”
“So, what Queen would do, you know, they would let Freddie Mercury take the stage and go, ‘Okay, we’re gonna put all this stuff in,'” Collen said. “You know, Roger Taylor doing all these high vocals and everyone put everything into other people’s songs, but it still had that Queen mark to it.”
They laid down roughly 18 tracks. The band will select 10 or 11 of them for the finished product. Frontman Joe Elliott claims the album contains their fastest track ever written.
“It’s like the most diverse album we’ve ever done because you’ve got such extremes on there,” Collen said.
The group released a single titled “Rejoice” this year while playing their Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace. Members tracked portions of the album in a basement studio beneath the casino during February shows.
Recording sessions stretched through summer despite relentless touring. On July 28, Collen mentioned he’d been cutting tracks that morning and would resume once he returned stateside.
This follows their 2022 release Diamond Star Halos. Collen and Elliott built that record during COVID-19 by swapping files from separate locations.
Guitarist Vivian Campbell confirmed they’ve stockpiled enough material for two complete albums. But they’re choosing to release one loaded collection.
The band will embark on a South American tour this year, with a one-off show in the US at Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL. All dates are listed on their website.