The history of rock ’n’ roll is full of interesting “What if?” moments, and looking back on his unsuccessful Def Leppard audition, Adrian Smith has thrown up another one.

In the early 1990s, the British glam rock giants were looking to replace Steve Clarke, whose alcoholism struggles had already seen him take a leave of absence to focus on his recovery, as the group worked on their fifth LP, Adrenalize.

Though Vivian Campbell – the man who still holds the position to this day – would eventually get the job, the Iron Maiden guitarist has confirmed he was in the running for the prestigious gig.

“I went over to L.A. for a couple of days,” Smith nods (via Blabbermouth). “Phil [Collen, the band’s other guitarist] phoned me up and said, ‘Would you be interested in coming over?’”

Smith had recently left Iron Maiden, citing clashes with chief songwriter Steve Harris as the trigger. Sensing the opportunity, Collen and co. included him on a shortlist of players – alongside former Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake great John Sykes.

“I went to L.A. I played with him for a couple of days,” Smith develops. “I sat down with Phil. We went through some songs. It sounded good, and they're a great bunch of guys. But it didn't work out.

“Plus, my album with Psycho Motel [the band he formed after his Iron Maiden departure] was just about to come out. But who knows? It was worth pursuing. They did okay without me.”

In a 2023 interview, Collen said Dio’s former foil, Campbell, “fit in straight away,” while also confirming Sykes, who passed in 2024, also auditioned.

“With Adrian,” Collen added, “he played in context with what we were doing when we were rehearsing. We weren't doing Iron Maiden songs, we weren't doing Dio songs. So, whoever comes into our house has to play by the same rules.”

In more Adrian Smith news, the guitar player has recalled the time he got to spend an afternoon with the infamous “Greeny” Les Paul.

In our recent interview with Phil Collen, the Def Leppard stalwart waxed lyrical about the enduring appeal of Pyromania, working with Tom Morello, and most intriguingly, his custom Jackson Tele-type, which he has dubbed his “new favourite guitar”.

The model is most notable for having “the fattest neck Jackson has ever made”. With that in mind, we sought out Jackson Master Builder Joe Williams to get the lowdown on the building of the guitar – and how that enormous neck came to be…

Phil isn’t known for T-style guitars, so what brought this on?

“He had an old Fender Telecaster he brought in and [master builder] Mike Shannon had made a new neck for him because he wanted it a little bigger and fatter like other necks he liked. I did that for him a while back, but he wanted to venture into something new.

“[This build] had been on the books for a while and Phil was very patient; he must have had the order together for a year. It started out as a roasted two-piece body, but I went with a one-piece ash body. Phil is about sustainability, and whenever we do one we try to find ways to get more sustain acoustically. So the one piece of ash helped with that.”

And how about the bridge?

“Originally, Phil wanted a Hipshot, a hardtail with a hard mass directly mounted to the body. We decided to go with a higher-mass bridge that looks more like a traditional Telecaster, which ended up being a Gotoh TB-0031-010 with the pickup mounted inside the bridge itself.”

Phil mentioned that this is the largest neck Jackson has made.

“That was one big change, obviously, the giant neck. It was like, ‘Let’s see how big we can go; let’s go for a record-breaker and see if we can hit that ceiling for him’ [laughs]. If we had gone any bigger, it probably would have messed with the balance of the body or caused neck dive, but it didn’t.

“The neck is essentially twice the thickness of many standard necks. It is nearly twice as thick and feels as such, but is a ¼-inch shy of actually being double. 90 per cent of bolt-on style necks start at one-inch thick stock, so going beyond that took some custom trickery. I didn’t want to volute the neck or make the body thicker than normal, so making the neck functional with the hardware while keeping a traditional look was a fun challenge.”

Considering how big and heavy this guitar is, how does it play?

“If you sit down long enough, you get used to it [laughs]. It’ll throw you off if you’re used to normal, standard Jackson neck specs. But I know that Nocasters have those wider necks, so if anybody is used to those, it’s not such a wild change. The fingerboard plays and feels great; it’s just getting used to that thickness of the neck.”

Did Phil mention why he wanted it so much thicker than typical spec?

“Most of us are taught to put thumbs behind the neck, but Phil hangs his thumb over the neck. He likes not to have that gap between the curve of his hand and the neck; he wants to fill that gap because it makes it more comfortable. I think he gets a little fatigued if he has to clamp the neck to fill the gap. I’ve heard that from other players, too.”

Seeing as this is a prototype, are there any planned refinements?

“Phil said this is the best-sounding guitar acoustically, and the tuning stability is great. The neck hasn’t moved, and he hasn’t had to adjust the truss rod, which is no surprise since the thing is so thick. He talked about gold hardware and a maple fingerboard, so I’m doing another one, but I’m sticking with chrome because it adds brightness because of the plating.

“We’ll do a red one with chrome hardware and a maple fingerboard and see how it comes to the one with the ebony fingerboard. As for a run of them, that’s out of my wheelhouse. But I wouldn’t be surprised… if there’s a lot of demand, it’s not uncommon for sales, marketing and the product team to want to do a run.”

He may have spent over four decades in the biz, but Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen is still just as excited about playing guitar in a rock ’n’ roll band as in 1983 when the band dropped its landmark album, Pyromania. And why shouldn’t he be?

Not only is Def Leppard still packing stadiums – and not only was their last record, 2022’s Diamond Star Halos, a smash hit – but now they’ve got another hit on their hands in single Just Like 73, an outtake from the Diamond Star Halos sessions and featuring Tom Morello.

To this, Collen beams, telling Guitarist: “It’s just constantly ongoing. I love the fact that we’re so excited and passionate about it. It kind of takes you to another place, so when people say, ‘Why do you still do it?’ Well, it’s because we love it.”

He adds: “It’s so exciting. You kind of get little-boy enthusiasm, and we’re both two guys over 60 and we can still get really excited. So I can’t wait until we get out on tour. We’re going to record some stuff on tour as well.”

The tour Collen speaks of is Def Leppard’s latest mega-jaunt across the States this summer, which will see the band dropping musical dimes in the form of classic Pyromania cuts, such as Photograph, Foolin’ and Rock Of Ages.

For Collen, memories of Pyromania are particularly sweet, as it was his first record with Def Leppard and is beloved by fans.

Looking back, he recalls: “It was the first time I’d done it… my first gig with Def Leppard was at the Marquee Club and that was it. We were playing half-empty theatres around England and during that tour it blew up.”

It’s hard to fathom a Def Leppard show that doesn’t include a typically shirtless Collen with a Jackson Dinky slung low, waving his fist in the air out front of hordes of adoring fans. But before Pyromania blew the lid off the thing, that’s exactly how it was.

“You had MTV, which was kind of in its infancy,” Collen says. “But it became a very serious medium for people to hear and see music. That was really important.”

As for why Pyromania resonated the way it did, Collen explains: “It was the right time. We’re a hard rock band, but you could sing along to the songs, including the solos – that was the really important part. I’ve always stressed that you can really mess a song up by playing the wrong solo; you can put people off. So it’s important that when you do a solo, it has an emotional feel and melody that’s really captivating.”

Right on through to today, Collen has continued to heed his own warning. But without the lessons learned during his inaugural Pyromania sessions, that might not be the case.

“It’s about enhancing every detail,” he says of what he learned. “It wasn’t just playing guitar; it’s actually way more of an important role. If you’ve got great songs, then you enhance them, make them sound better and add richness, complexity, the nuances of the song – and even all the lyrics pop out more.

“So that’s what I learned, and when I go back and listen to that type of stuff, it’s like, ‘Whoa, this is incredible.’ It still just blows me away.”

Def Leppard has a new track featuring Tom Morello called Just Like 73. How did that come about?

“When we were doing Diamond Star Halos, we were basing it on the music that really changed the world for us. I remember seeing David Bowie and Marc Bolan, so we basically came up with a list of songs while just writing for each other as fans. And then we realised we had an album – and this was during Covid.

“We always refer to that era as ‘hubcap Diamond Star Halos,’ a line from a T.Rex song [Bang A Gong (Get It On)]. It summed up the feeling and vibe. Anyway, we’d done all this stuff and all these songs as tributes to our heroes, and we had so much fun doing it, but there were some songs we didn’t finish…”

Was Just Like 73 one of those unfinished songs?

“Yeah, it was based on sounds we would have heard in ’72 or ’73, but we never finished the song off. Brian Monaco, the president of Sony Music, played the demo to Tom Morello, who is a big Def Leppard fan, and he’s like, ‘This is awesome.’ Brian asked us, ‘Would you like to have Tom play on it?’ We said, ‘Absolutely.’

“You know, I love Rage Against the Machine and I love his vibe. So that was as easy as that. I had a few phone calls with him and I met him, I think, for the first time in 2022 when we went out with Mötley Crüe. We had a blast.

“The hybrid guitar/hip-hop thing, it’s just so real. It was a pleasure to have Tom onboard. He understands the whole Diamond Star Halo thing because he grew up listening to everything that affects us, so that was it in a nutshell.”

Def Leppard hit the road with Journey in North America this summer. When you’re putting your rig together, what pieces of gear prove to be essential?

“I use the Fractal [Axe-Fx] now. I’d use the Fractal on my chorus and delay stuff on stage, and I remember when I was on the G3 tour, John Petrucci had the Fractal Axe-Fx, and he said, ‘Oh, you gotta check this thing out.’ And now, since 2018, me and Vivian [Campbell] have used it.

“They’re really good about upgrading the software and it really makes a difference. My tech, John Zocco, is great because it leaves me in the dust a bit, but he’s into it and technical, so he’s able to make changes, like putting the compressor in the front of all this stuff and all that real geek stuff. My tech thrives with the stuff and is an amazing player as well.”

You’ve got a nifty new Jackson T-style, too.

“I just recently got my new favourite guitar! Jackson made me a ‘Telecaster’[-style model] that’s just amazing. It’s got a [DiMarzio] Super Distortion in the neck position, no whammy bar or Sustainer, and it’s got the fattest neck Jackson has ever made. Joe Williams, who is a luthier at Jackson, said, ‘I’ve kind of made it really big and tried it out…’ I said, ‘Okay, am I going to be able to play this thing?’

“It’s a beast. I love it. It’s easy to play and the tone is just ridiculous. It’s an ash body with a cut-out like a regular Telecaster, but there’s a bit more wood involved because the neck is so heavy and big.

“It’s a prototype, this one, and my tech had to put a couple of bars that are actually old blocks that we took out when we put the titanium ones in, so we have a couple of them to balance this thing out because it’s so big.

“The tone on it is crazy! We recently recorded a live thing for Sirius XM in LA. It’s one of my favourite and best-sounding guitars, and it kind of freaked me out. They’re actually building me another one; I’ll be using that on tour for sure.”

Are there any guitars you’ve had forever that you can’t imagine hitting the road without?

“The Bela Lugosi one [1986 Jackson Dinky]. A lot of people go, ‘You’re crazy for taking that out; it’s from 1986!’ It was in a bunch of our videos: Animal and Armageddon. It’s got massive frets, it’s been refretted, and it’s got a skinny neck because it was from the ’80s. And it’s got the old Jackson pointy headstock with the paint that still glows in the dark, you know, the Bela Lugosi thing.

“It’s a pretty exciting artefact that still sounds amazing. It really is true with old guitars – as the moisture leaves the body, the whole thing actually does make a difference in the sound. The thing really sounds great, even with all that paint on it.”

For the uninitiated, what’s the story behind that guitar?

“It’s gotten better with age; it’s literally one of those stories. Before I lived in California, Grover Jackson said, ‘You know, we can paint anything.’ They’d been at all these different factories and there was this one place and I went down there with a photo of Bela Lugosi from this Forbidden Planet comic store, and they said, ‘We can do a version of that with this paint.’

“What’s really funny is that there was a bat that got into the workshop, so there were drawings of all the specs and everything on the table – and above it there was a bat. They said, ‘It’s a vampire bat,’ which was kind of rare in California. Anyway, that was the story of that.”

What makes it special beyond its looks?

“It went through some changes. It used to have a Kahler [vibrato] on it, but we swapped it out for a Floyd Rose. I usually change the parts, like titanium saddles, and it’s got a DiMarzio Super 3 in it – two of them, actually. It’s got a coil tap… It was all incremental.

“It was all of these geeky little things that we do, and as long as it makes it play, sound and respond better… that’s really what you want with all those upgrades. It’s incrementally gone a lot further without messing up the aesthetic and keeping the original spirit.”

Before your relationship with Jackson, you were very into Ibanez and Japanese shred guitars, right?

“Classically, it was the Ibanez Destroyer, which I actually used to record the Pyromania album. All the solos I did – specifically, Photograph and Rock Of Ages – were done on a Destroyer with three pickups. That guitar was a custom one for me.

“It was kind of like the Peter Frampton or Ace Frehley Les Pauls, you know, the three-pickup DiMarzio Super Distortion thing. So it had that and then it had a Kahler on it, and it sounded great. It’s the one that was in all the videos.

“I love the Ibanez stuff. I’ve even got a knock-off Ibanez V; the thing is a monster. It’s got a beautiful sound and tone to it. Just incredible.

“It’s a wonderful guitar. When we did the Taylor Hawkins benefit at the LA Forum it made an appearance. And Pat Smear, the guitarist in the Foo Fighters, he originally got [a Destroyer] because he’d seen me play one at the LA Forum in ’83.

“Mine was at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland [Ohio], so I got them to send it back, and I didn’t tell Pat, but he played it all night when we played together at the Taylor tribute. That was a lovely thing.

“Jackson made me a version of it. It’s got a sustainer, a kill switch, and it’s made of basswood, so it’s kind of light. Again, the neck is so chunky on that thing. I got that in 2017 and it comes out all the time. It’s my tip of the hat to that era. Everyone has their thing, but, for me personally, I like the Jackson, especially some of the stuff they do for me with the giant necks.”

Pyromania turned 40 last year and features some incredible tones, as always. What were the keys to your sound back then?

“With my favourite guitar players, I’d really get excited about their vibrato – Michael Schenker and Eddie Van Halen early on. That’s why I got a 50-watt head because of Schenker. It wasn’t the master volume one; it was one that you’d have to crank up. I had one in my old band, Girl, and this thing was just beautiful.

“A lot of these old tube amps, for whatever reason, one would be great and one would suck, even though they’d be the same model. Mine was great. And the Def Leppard guys mic’d all these things up with 4x12s and spent ages trying all these different amplifiers.

“But I literally came in, put my 50-watt head on, plugged in and that’s how it sounded. That was it; I never used pedals at all. Even now, it’s all done through the Fractal, so if there are effects, that’s where they come in, from the internal of the Fractal.”

As you recorded Pyromania, was there a particular guitar moment that immediately stood out?

“I guess the first one I did was Stagefright. Mutt Lange, our producer, said, ‘Take this cassette home and see if you can come up with something for this song.’ This was my first recording with the band and I literally plugged the Destroyer straight into the Marshall. It was the only first take on the album. I just plugged in and that’s what came out.

“That was really exciting. I mean, I used my Les Paul on the solo Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop) because there’s a slightly different feel and sound. And again, the one constant was the DiMarzio Super Distortion; I’ve used them on all the models I have forever.”

How did Pyromania change you as a player in a way that’s still present today?

“Mutt Lange taught me that there’s a rule… A lot of rock guitar players don’t really listen to the rest of the band, which is a very self-absorbed approach, so what I learned from him was how to play in time with the rest of the band. You can place your focus anywhere on the beat, but Mutt’s whole thing was to delay it a bit, which gives more groove and makes it more sexy.

“I really brought that aboard to my playing. And just the melodic strategy and how important it is to have something that enhances the storyline or the narrative. If you’ve got backing vocals supporting the lead vocals, the guitar also does that. It’s all about promoting your song and making it the best it can be.”

Beyond the tour and single promotion, what’s next for Def Leppard?

“The most exciting thing is that we’ve got a brand-new stage set, so there will be a lot of running around – it’s massive. It reminds me of when we played in the round. There’s so much there with the production, the screens and all the content. Anyone who has seen us in the last 10 years knows this is going to be different. It’s going to be way more exciting.

“Beyond all that, we’ve got a bunch of things coming up. There are some European things we’ve got to do. And there’s talk of us doing a Vegas residency with an orchestra. We’ve done the thing with symphonies before [Drastic Symphonies]. That was No 1 for 11 weeks on the crossover classical charts, which was so weird. We never thought we’d be on the classical chart, but there it was. So that’s what we’ve got to do.”

Diamond Star Halos came out two years ago. Is there a new Def Leppard record in the works?

“We’re feverishly working on new music. Joe [Elliott] and me were going back and forth this past Sunday, kind of like we did during Diamond Star Halos, where I’m getting excited about this new song, and then there’s another, and we want to make it better, put backing vocals in the right place and find the right sound.”

• Just Like 73 is out now via Mercury.

Throughout his time with Def Leppard, Phil Collen has most commonly been associated with Stratocaster-style electric guitars. They’ve appeared in various forms over the years, but the double-cut design has always been Collen’s preferred axe of choice.

However, that looks like it’s all about to change after Collen took delivery of a rather special custom shop creation that he says is his “new favourite guitar” – and, in what will come as a surprise to many, it’s inspired by the Fender Telecaster.

In the new issue of Guitarist, Collen and Jackson Master Builder Joe Williams discussed the creation of the relic'd, blue-finished, single-cut six-string, with the guitarist revealing this particular build is the first prototype of many.

“I just recently got my new favourite guitar!” he says when asked about the model, which he’s been snapped playing live in recent months.

“Jackson made me a ‘Telecaster’[-style model] that’s just amazing. It’s got a [DiMarzio] Super Distortion in the neck position, no whammy bar or sustainer, and it’s got the fattest neck Jackson has ever made.

“Joe Williams, who is a luthier at Jackson, said, ‘I’ve kind of made it really big and tried it out...’ I said, ‘Okay, am I going to be able to play this thing?’”

Well, he was able to play the thing, and now he can’t seem to put it down. In fact, he’s got more on the way, and he fully intends on taking them all on tour with him when they’re ready.

“It’s a beast. I love it. It’s easy to play and the tone is just ridiculous,” he continues. “It’s an ash body with a cut-out like a regular Telecaster, but there’s a bit more wood involved because the neck is so heavy and big.

“It’s a prototype, this one, and my tech had to put a couple of bars that are actually old blocks that we took out when we put the titanium ones in, so we have a couple of them to balance this thing out because it’s so big.

“The tone on it is crazy! We recently recorded a live thing for Sirius XM in LA. It was one of my favourite and best-sounding guitars, and it kind of freaked me out. They’re actually building me another one; I’ll be using that on tour for sure.”

As for how the project first began, Williams reveals Collen once brought an old Fender Tele into the Jackson Custom in search of equipping it with a fatter neck. Soon, an entirely new creation was in the works.

Specs-wise, it features a pickup-mounted Gotoh bridge, a one-piece ash body, and a reverse headstock – oh, and the largest neck of any of Collen’s guitars. In fact, the two collaborators set about setting a record with the neck.

“That was one big change, obviously, the giant neck,” Williams recalls. “It was like, ‘Let’s see how big we can go; let’s go for a record-breaker and see if we can hit that ceiling for him’ [laughs].

“If we had gone any bigger, it probably would have messed with the balance of the body or caused neck dive, but it didn’t. The neck is essentially twice the thickness of many standard necks.”

Williams confirms more Collen custom shops are in the pipeline – “We’ll do a red one with chrome hardware and a maple fingerboard” – but also teases a standard run may also be a possibility.

“As for a run of them, that’s out of my wheelhouse. But I wouldn’t be surprised,” he adds. “If there’s a lot of demand, it’s not uncommon for sales, marketing and the product team to want to do a run.”

Visit Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitarist, which features the full interview with Phil Collen, during which he also recalls recording the solo to Stagefright in one take.

In 1982, Phil Collen was appointed Def Leppard’s newest electric guitar player following the departure of Pete Willis. That same year, he was put straight to the test as the English rock icons set about recording their third studio album, Pyromania.

Widely considered one of Def Leppard’s finest albums, the diamond-certified LP is seen as a turning point in the band’s discography, and one that would allow them conquer the US. It has also been tipped by some as one of the greatest guitar albums of all time.

That is in part thanks to Collen and his starring guitar work, which can be heard in the form of blinding guitar solos on Photograph, Rock of Ages, and Stagefright.

Indeed, the lead effort that Collen contributed to Stagefright is one of the virtuoso’s most famous guitar solos – but it turns out it was also the first thing he ever recorded for Def Leppard. Not only that, he did it all in one take.

Discussing his standout guitar moments in Pyromania in the new issue of Guitarist, Collen recalls. “The first one I did was Stagefright. Mutt Lange, our producer, said, ‘Take this cassette home and see if you can come up with something for this song.’

“This was my first recording with the band and I literally plugged the [Ibanez] Destroyer straight into the Marshall. It was the only first take on the album. I just plugged in and that’s what came out. That was really exciting.”

Collen’s Stagefright turn is well-documented. In Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard (via MusicRadar), singer Joe Elliott recalled how it was at that exact moment that he and the rest of the band “felt like we’d found our Eddie Van Halen.”

Though it was a trial by fire, Pyromania was a huge learning experience for Collen, and it ended up changing his outlook as a guitar player.

“Mutt Lange taught me that there’s a rule,” he reflects. “A lot of rock guitar players don’t really listen to the rest of the band, which is a very self-absorbed approach, so what I learned from him was how to play in time with the rest of the band.

“You can place your focus anywhere on the beat, but Mutt’s whole thing was to delay it a bit, which gives more groove and makes it more sexy. I really brought that aboard to my playing.”

Visit Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitarist, which features the full interview with Collen.

Every guitarist has been told that rhythm guitar is the most important skill, because no one gets a gig playing only solos. But when Phil Collen got the call to play on Def Leppard’s third album Pyromania, it was to do exactly that. “The painting was finished,” he recalls now. “I just threw an extra layer over it.”

The band’s first two albums had been recorded with the guitar team of Pete Willis and Steve Clark, but when Willis was dramatically fired late in the Pyromania sessions, Phil was drafted to provide the solos on songs that would become hit singles and deathless rock anthems: Photograph, Rock Of Ages, and Foolin’. It was the gig of a lifetime.

Pete Willis made a huge contribution to Pyromania, co-writing four of the songs and laying down rhythm parts that singer Joe Elliott called “phenomenal”. Producer Mutt Lange had relied on Willis for his Malcolm Young-like ability to play on the beat. But on a personal level, there was a disconnect between Willis and the rest of the band. Phil Collen, of London glam rock band Girl, was the perfect replacement.

When Leppard began work on Pyromania in 1982, the sound of the decade was still emerging. There were benchmarks – Van Halen, Boston and AC/DC – but no one had yet made the record to define rock in the ’80s. 

Despite their relatively modest success to date, Leppard fancied their chances. In their corner they had Lange, still hot from AC/DC’s Back In Black, plus a pile of new technology no rock band had yet exploited, and a shitload of confidence.

As it turned out, that confidence was warranted. Released in January 1983, Pyromania went platinum in the US within three months, en route to 10 million sales. In its wake, record companies scrambled to sign bands aping the Pyromania formula of AC/DC’s crunch, Journey’s melody and Queen’s harmonies. 

Leppard and Mutt Lange had cleverly employed synths and drum machines to make Pyromania larger-than-life without softening its attack or masking the guitars. While bands fought to match Leppard’s big riffs and bigger hooks, their producers struggled to replicate Lange’s jaw-dropping sonics.

As a 40th anniversary deluxe edition of Pyromania is released this month – albeit a year late – Phil Collen looks back on the making of a masterpiece and his role in it…

Getting the tones

To record their orchestrated guitars, Leppard needed a guitar tone that would play nicely alongside the synths and vocal harmonies. Engineer Mike Shipley, who died in 2013, described the nightmare of this process: “Because of the nature of the way that band played, and the inversions they used, it was very hard to get the right tone, what Mutt had in his head as ‘commercial distortion.’ 

“We had hundreds of amps and cabinets in that studio, from AC/DC amps to little combos. Everything you could think of. After a while you get so fatigued that nothing ever sounds good enough.”

The main Pyromania amp was a 100-watt Marshall head borrowed from session guitarist Mike Slamer, whose band City Boy had a minor hit with the Lange-produced 5-7-0-5. 

“Now you could get the sounds that they were trying to get with stuff like Fractals,” Phil says. “Back then it was it wasn’t so easy. Those Marshalls would be so different from each other. You’d have to add things to an amp or get it modded, but occasionally you’d just get a beauty that for whatever reason just sings.”

Phil thinks Slamer’s amp was probably unmodified. “They just plugged it in and were like, ‘Oh, this has a different thing.’”

Phil wanted his own tone for the solos, so he brought his amp, a non-master volume Marshall JMP he’d bought in 1979 or 1980. “They’d spent months mic’ing this cabinet up. We literally just plugged my 50-watt Marshall in and it sounded great. It was a very different sound to what they’d been using.”

The one-take solo

The band gave Phil a tape with a rough mix of the song Stagefright. For his Def Leppard audition, Phil had to write a solo for it. He composed his solo overnight and recorded it in one take the next day. 

“It was all my Ibanez Destroyer on that one,” he says. “It started on the bridge pickup. For the fast run, I click it over to the neck pickup. That was the Al Di Meola influence, because he would kick it into the neck pick up and just get a smoothness that would just glide.”

The remaining solos were worked out in the control room, with Phil improvising a take and Mutt Lange making suggestions for changes. Collen also played various overdubs. “It was mostly ‘vibe’ parts,” he says. “Root note things, powerchords and stuff. Little bits of solo stuff.” 

Phil used three guitars: a black Japanese Stratocaster with a big headstock that would become the main guitar on the band’s next album Hysteria, the wine red Les Paul Custom he had used with his last band Girl, and the black Ibanez Destroyer that is synonymous with early Leppard thanks to its use in the Pyromania videos. The studio also had various Strats and Teles used for overdubbing, as well as Steve Clark’s Les Pauls. 

In the end, Phil played solos on half the tracks, with Clark supplying the remainder. Each guitarist had a distinct role in the recording process. 

“Pete had done a lot of the really very concise, strict rhythm,” Phil explains. “He was a really good player for that kind of stuff. And then Steve would do all the jangles over the top of it. I’d just come in and mess it all up with leads and powerchords, scrapes and feedback!” 

Bassist Rick Savage also played clean guitar overdubs. “Sav’s really good at getting a very precise, clean jangle,” Phil says.

The solo that talks

For the solo in Rock Of Ages, Phil tried to emulate one of his heroes. "I thought I’d make the notes count, like Jeff Beck,” he says. “It doesn’t sound anything like Jeff, but that was the intention going in. You could hang on the note a little bit longer, and it would actually talk to you.”

The lick that opens the solo is a conscious quote from the “I’m burnin’, burnin’” vocal melody in verse two. 

“The solos were worked out with the vocal in mind and the rhythm of the song,” he says. “I think you can really mess up a song by doing the wrong guitar solo. You follow the narrative that comes from the vocal and the lyric.”

The Johnny Thunders vibe

Phil’s solo on Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop) has a noticeably cleaner tone than the other solos, all of which came from the Ibanez Destroyer. He used the same amp settings for everything, though. 

“For Rock! Rock!, I used the Les Paul. It just definitely has a cleaner sound,” Phil says, even though all his guitars were fitted with the same DiMarzio Super Distortion pickups. Although the solo begins with a Chuck Berry lick beloved by Eddie Van Halen and Angus Young, Phil didn’t actually have any of those players in mind. 

“I was thinking more in the tradition of Johnny Thunders. There’s a punkiness. I love Angus and Eddie, but we always try and get the Johnny Thunders vibe in because it’s a bit more aggressive and violent. 

“For the ride-out solo, there was a Hamer guitar just sitting around. I don’t know what model it was or who it belonged to. I remember picking that up, and that’s what I used.”

Recording one string at a time

In an interview with Leppard biographer David Fricke, Mutt Lange explained how the Pyromania guitar tones were created. Referring to the album’s final track Billy’s Got A Gun, Lange said: 

“That big orchestral riff is in C, which is a really ball-less key. But the riff only sounded good in C, so we couldn’t move it. In order to get a good, cutting sound and still keep the bottom end nice and fat, we had to work on the sound in stages. 

“We’d get a powerful sound with a lot of attack on one string. Then we’d set up a clean harmony on a lower one. After that, we could cut the exact same riff on those strings with a more honky sound to get a solid mid-range. Then we’d do the same riff a third time to get a real booming sound down below. That would be one guitar, three weeks later!”

As Phil now explains: “People say, ‘Oh Def Leppard record one string at a time!’ Yeah, we did that, but only when you want to get clarity. On Too Late For Love, that middle riff section, a lot of the distortion would fuzz up some of the clarity of the notes. Mutt would say, ‘Let’s separate the riff.’ Usually it was just two parts, two strings, and then you mix that in with the distorted riff.” 

This approach meant you could hear the individual notes even in complex chords, but as Phil says: “It still has that rock energy.”

Jangle and feedback

The arpeggiated chorus in Photograph had been recorded with the cleanest possible guitar tone. “The jangle part is country clean,” Phil says. “It’s actually a Stratocaster, and it’s just so clean. It need something to bolster it up so it just didn’t sound too country.” 

Mutt suggested Phil overdub the root note of each arpeggio with a dirty tone. “It was probably a Boss pedal. It was just the root note with a with a kind of a fuzzy sound.” In context, a sonic miracle occurs: the fuzzed-out root notes and the clean arpeggios merge into one clean-yet-dirty tone. 

For the solo, Phil wanted to create a dramatic entrance with feedback, so he stood next to his amp in the live room. “I always want to do feedback bits on songs. I always loved the way Mick Ronson hit the root note and it turns into feedback. It’s one of my favourite things.” 

The last-minute panic

The band and their producer had headed into the sessions knowing they wanted to make an album that had never been done before. It turned out they very nearly couldn’t. For one thing, their ears were fried. 

“We were singing a semitone sharp,” Mutt said. “Our ears would get tired and we couldn’t hear the bass anymore. We watched Elton John on Top Of The Pops one night and he sounded really out of tune.” 

Rick Savage’s bass parts had been recorded first, and where his tuning had drifted, the guitars had to be retuned to match. When it came time to record backing vocals, the band were horrified to discover some of the guitars were also out of tune. 

There was no time to recut them, so engineer Mike Shipley put them through a harmoniser, whose chorusing effect masked the tuning errors. The popularity of harmonised guitars for the rest of the decade was partly inspired by this happy accident.

To make things worse, technology began to fail them. In recording so many overdubs, the multitrack tapes had been rewound so many times that the oxide began falling off in two-inch chunks, leaving the tape almost see-through and robbing the guitar tracks of some of their original high end. 

The drums and other samples were run on the Fairlight CMI, an early digital sampler and sequencer, which somehow had to be kept in sync with the analogue recordings. By the time they reached the mix stage, Mike Shipley had fallen asleep at the desk twice, and Lange had to finish the sessions with assistance from Nigel Green (who would later fall asleep at the desk during the making of Hysteria). 

Feel the burn!

By the time Pyromania was completed, the band needed to sell a million copies to break even. Neither of their first two albums had shifted even half that amount. But they needn’t have worried. Photograph was an immediate smash on radio and MTV, and the album was soon selling 100,000 copies per week. 

As well as changing the sound of the ’80s, Pyromania has had a long-lasting influence. As System Of A Down’s Daron Malakion told VH-1, “Pyromania was a big part of our childhood so it has to play some kind of role in our music.” 

In 2008, Taylor Swift performed a Crossroads concert with Def Leppard, duetting with Joe Elliott on Photograph and a selection of other Leppard and Swift hits. 

And after all these years, Phil Collen still can’t believe his luck. “It’s crazy,” he laughs. “The first time I heard it I thought it was the best rock album I’d ever heard in my life. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

• Pyromania 40th Anniversary Edition is out now via Island Records.

“Jeff Beck has always been one of my idols because he’s unique. No-one sounds like him, no-one plays like him, and you’ve got to respect that more than anything else. Everyone else you ever play with, there’s always a tip of the hat to the archetype they learned from. Beck is an archetype, like Jimi Hendrix is an archetype. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. No-one was able to get anywhere close to that.

“All your idols, you think they’re gonna last forever. When Bowie went, when Prince went, I’m like, ‘What do you mean they’re not here?’ This was like that. When my dad died, he was 81 and he had a good 15 years left in him. He was just getting going. Jeff Beck was like that. There was so much life in him, in his playing and in him personally.”

Jamming with Jeff

“I was fortunate enough to play with him and hang out with him at the Classic Rock Awards in 2016, and he was like a young guy, with all this wealth of experience and uniqueness. We were actually honouring Jimmy Page. 

“Jeff’s amp blew up and his pedalboard didn’t work, so they just brought in another Marshall, and he sounded exactly the same. He didn’t even flinch. I’ve seen some guitar players throw their guitars or get really flustered. Jeff was like, ‘Yeah? Bring it on!’ To me, that was just great.”

More jamming with Jeff

“He was doing a bunch of songs. Robert DeLeo [of Stone Temple Pilots] was playing bass. He goes, ‘Phil, he wants to do Superstition, do you want to sing it?’ I’m like, ‘Absolutely!’ So I sang and played guitar and then Jeff goes, ‘Well, you’ve got to stay up and do Beck’s Bolero.’ I said, ‘But I only know the lead part!’ He goes, ‘Just come in on the heavy part.’ 

“When you’re having this conversation on stage, you go, ‘Fuck, it’s Jeff Beck!’ Ray Luzier [Korn] was on drums. Dean DeLeo [also of Stone Temple Pilots] was playing guitar as well, and he just shouted the chords out for me and we got around it. Robert DeLeo goes, ‘Jeff, please just play a bit of Freeway Jam!‘

“Jeff said, ‘What?!’ This is real Jeff Beck geekdom – there’s a live album with Jan Hammer and Jeff where they’re jamming, making car noises. I went into making car noises, and Jeff just went into the Freeway Jam. It was so cool actually hearing that live with the guy playing it, an incredible thing to be part of.”

Flying solo

“I’ve been listening to Beck since the ’60s. I’m from London and he was always floating around. First it was The Yardbirds, then later on he went off on a tangent like no-one else. I love all the fusion stuff with Stanley Clarke, all of his solo albums, especially Blow By Blow and There & Back, which is just amazing. 

“I always thought that the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart on vocals could have been a huge band. They were supposed to play Woodstock, but Jeff had to fly home, so they never got to do it. 

“Then Jeff launched a solo career. It was all instrumental, which was way better. It highlighted his guitar playing. And then we got Rod Stewart in the Faces, so everyone gained from them not doing Woodstock, even though if they’d done it they could’ve been as big as Led Zeppelin.”

That vibrato

“Blow By Blow was the first time he really shone. The songs were beautiful, the playing was unlike anything I’d ever heard. It was just gorgeous. You can tell a guitar player from their vibrato, and no-one has successfully copied Jeff Beck’s vibrato. That album to me really kicked it off. Because I’m from London, I got to see everyone: Deep Purple, Bowie with Mick Ronson, Zeppelin, Rory Gallagher, but Blow By Blow stood out.” 

The Strat and the Les Paul

“I got my first Les Paul in 1976. I saw Jeff with Beck, Bogert & Appice at the Rainbow Theatre. He was playing a Les Paul there but he would switch to a Strat sometimes. It’s like, why not? I got a Strat and I would switch between them, and then I ended up playing the Jackson PC-1 which is like the ultimate hybrid.”

Bend it like Beck

“When we did the G3 tour, my guitar tech, John Zucker, goes up to Joe Satriani and asks, ‘How you can do this double stop country bend [with a Floyd Rose] and it doesn’t go out of tune?’ Joe said, ‘That’s palming.’ Say you’ve got your little finger on the E string and you bend the B string, you push down on the bridge so it doesn’t go out of tune. I think that came from Jeff Beck because he’s been doing that for years.”

The tribute

“When I recorded Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers [for the 1995 tribute album Jeffology], I knew it in my head. I knew the vibrato, the bends, and all of that stuff, so when I had to apply it, it became easier. I’ve always only worked out little parts of songs, just a lick or a verse, but I knew how it was supposed to feel. 

“If you want to do a really killer drum fill or a guitar fill, it should only last for a bar or you’re taking away from the thing you’re trying to convey. So for the most part it’s the same as what Jeff was playing but occasionally I just throw a little bit of me in there, but not long enough for it to detract from what the song’s supposed to be.”

Jeff Leppard!

“I play Beck licks all the time in Def Leppard. I actually do some of the vibrato things and whammy bar things. I was listening to Jeff’s version of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat the other day and I’m going, ‘Oh, shit!’ There’s something I do constantly in there, and that’s where it comes from. I constantly play them. 

“I’m really a fusion fan. I love Stanley Clarke on his own and Stanley with Jeff Beck. There’s a great track called Hello Jeff from a Stanley Clarke album and I’m constantly playing like that.”

A different beat

“When Beck collaborated with [EDM producers] Apollo 440 I totally applauded that. I think that the more tools you have to experiment with, the better you can express yourself. I do it all the time. I’m always using different beats and even some music trends that I’m not a fan of, I still kind of incorporate. There’s great stuff all the all the way around. So when Jeff Beck did that, it’s absolutely what you’re supposed to do.”

Jeff and Jagger

“When we were recording Hysteria in Holland, Mick Jagger was doing his second solo album with Simon Phillips on drums and Jeff Beck on guitar. You can’t hear fuck all through a studio door but I’m still trying to listen because I know they’re in there! Then the door opens and it’s Jagger.

“He goes, 'Hey man, come on in!' So me and [Leppard drummer] Rick Allen went in. We’re sitting in the control room with Mick Jagger doing a live vocal, and there’s Jeff Beck and Simon Phillips playing live with Doug Wimbish on bass. It was completely surreal.”

The pursuit of happiness

“Some people just express themselves in a beautiful way. That’s why Beck was Beck. I think the integrity of your actions makes you happy. He could have been in the Stones, but he had his own stuff to say. Some artists want to be famous above everything else. That’s not the Beck way. He kept his integrity and that’s really rare – I think he was completely happy with choosing that.”

It wouldn’t exactly be an understatement to say that the Covid pandemic threw a king-sized monkey wrench into Def Leppard’s plans. 

In June 2020, with just two weeks before the band was about to embark on a 30-date stadium tour that would also feature Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, the group was forced to reschedule the entire run for the following summer. 

Nearly a year later, however, with Covid cases continuing unabated, the band announced that the rebooted tour was postponed yet again and would commence this year.

“Let’s face it – no band likes to cancel concerts,” says guitarist Phil Collen, “and obviously, Covid has been a shitty time for people all over the world. On that level, it is what it is. But to be honest, this is a band that’s been through a few situations that derailed us for a bit. We’ve learned how to handle those times and persevere. No matter what, we press on.”

Fellow guitarist Vivian Campbell echoes Collen’s sentiments: “It was very disappointing when we had to postpone those tours, but here we are now. We’ve got the places booked, and we’re ready to go. We’re definitely playing this time.” 

He adds, “There was something positive that came from it. The time off led to an opportunity for us to make a great album, so now we’re in a position to do a huge tour with a fantastic record to go with it. So it’s all good.”

The album Campbell refers to is Diamond Star Halos, Def Leppard’s 12th studio recording and their first in seven years. As the title suggests – it’s a pluralization of a lyric from T. Rex’s Bang a Gong (Get It On) – many of the songs contained in the set draw inspiration from the band’s early musical influences.

To be sure, there’s an unmistakable Seventies glam-rock spirit on power rockers such as Kick, Fire It Up and Gimme a Kiss, and for good measure the band even enlisted David Bowie’s legendary Spiders from Mars keyboardist, Mike Garson, to perform on a pair of stirring ballads, Goodbye for Good This Time and Angels (Can’t Help You Now).

Notably, there are a couple of detours to modern-day Nashville – Alison Krauss turns up to duet with singer Joe Elliot on the country-laced poppers Lifeless and This Guitar – that don’t quite fit the sonic narrative, but they’re sparky pinwheels of hooks and standout cuts in their own right.

All in all, the album is the spunkiest and most vibrant sounding record the band has made in some time, a feat made even more remarkable considering the fact that it was recorded remotely during the high point of Covid lockdowns.

It was a trans-Atlantic endeavor, too, with longtime co-producer Ronan McHugh monitoring the flow of tracks coming in from various time zones: In the States, there were Collen, Campbell and drummer Rick Allen, while Elliot and bassist Rick Savage beamed their parts in from Ireland and the U.K., respectively.

“It really wasn’t as complicated or as difficult as it sounds,” Collen says. “We’ve made lots of records without us being in the same room at the same time.”

Recording separately is one thing; rehearsing for a tour is a different matter entirely. Unsurprisingly, the band is chomping at the bit to get going.

“We can’t wait,” Campbell says. “To tell you the truth, we’ve never left that headspace of being a touring band. We’ve got a lot of rehearsal time scheduled, but I have a feeling that after a few days, we’ll all be like, ‘Oh, yeah, here we go.’ It’s just like riding a bike, really.”

Let’s start with the T. Rex influence on Diamond Star Halos. As a guitarist, what did Marc Bolan mean to you guys growing up?

Vivian Campbell: “He started the ball rolling for me. It wasn’t Marc Bolan the guitar player per se; rather, it was the whole thing – his sound and image. He really was the grandfather of the glam rock movement; he had the hair and the androgyny, and of course, he made music that was such infectious ear candy. 

“I was about nine years old when I first saw him on Top of the Pops. It was such a lightbulb moment where I went, ‘That’s what I want to do. I want to wear my sister’s clothes. I want to blow my hair and play guitar and make a living doing it.’”

You wanted to be that guy on the cover of Electric Warrior.

Campbell: “Yeah, exactly! He looked so great with his long hair and that Les Paul. That started me on the path. He just had the whole package, but the music was there. Out of that grew the different people who actually did influence me as a guitarist, like Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore. But I have to say, it was Marc Bolan who set me on my way to discovering them.”

Phil, how about you?

Phil Collen: “Oh, I thought Marc Bolan was amazing, but for me, it might have been more David Bowie, who was from the same time period. I saw Bowie on Top of the Pops with Mick Ronson playing his Les Paul. The way he held that thing, I was like, ‘My God, this guy is so fucking cool.’ 

“I was 14 and I was trying to identify myself. I’d already gotten into Deep Purple, Zeppelin and Hendrix, but then came Bowie, Bolan, Roxy Music, the Faces, but especially Bowie. That was the music that spoke to me.” 

I was going to bring up Mick Ronson. How did he impact you?

Collen: “The thing about him was... well, there’s his solos. They were phenomenal and they were different, and you could hum them. Great tone and melody. He was the perfect foil for Bowie. He was also a great producer. Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed – that’s Bowie and Ronson producing. Mick Ronson had the whole thing as an artist; it wasn’t simply as a guitar player. As an entity, he was amazing.” 

There’s a thread here: Bolan and Bowie... and you use Mike Garson on a couple of tracks. Did you ever think about Tony Visconti as a producer? He’s the guy everybody has in common.

Collen: “Not really, especially when we know exactly what we want ourselves. And to be quite honest, if we’d have brought in a producer, he would have just gotten in the way. Ronan McHugh is like part of the band. Anyone else would fuck it all up. We know exactly what we want. If we brought in anybody else, they just wouldn’t get it.”

Phil, I understand that you wrote Kick late in the record-making process. Turns out, it’s the album’s first single. Did you think the record needed that one sure-fire song?

Collen: “Actually, that song and Fire It Up weren’t written for Def Leppard. Fire It Up was one of the first songs I wrote, and Kick was the last. The co-writer on Kick is a guy named Dave Bassett. I programmed a drum pattern because I wanted to write a rock anthem, something you can sing in a stadium. Same with Fire It Up. 

“The funny thing is, rock anthems sound easy, but they’re really hard to write. Anyway, I wrote them and I played them for Joe. I told him I was going to give them to other people to record, and to each one he said, ‘That’s a Def Leppard song.‘ The other guys felt the same way.”

Who were you thinking of giving the songs to?

Collen: “Anyone from Lady Gaga to Miley Cyrus – you know, somebody who had a different thing. These songs are hard because they can come out corny if they’re not done a certain way. They work as rock anthems. They’re meant for stadiums.” 

It’s interesting that you would think of giving them away. I would assume you’d want to save your best stuff for the band.

Collen: “Yeah, but see, I never go, ‘Am I writing the best stuff?’ I always try to write the best stuff, every time. If it’s not there, it gets left by the roadside somewhere. I’ve got a million things on my phone that’s not the best stuff. Nobody gets to hear it. [Laughs]”

We’ve talked about the glam rock influence on the album, but you’ve got some country-tinged tracks that you did with Alison Krauss.

Collen: “Yeah, our manager was talking to Alison’s manager, and he mentioned that we had these two tracks. We said that we’d love to have her sing on the record and she could choose which song. She listened to them and said, ‘I love them both. Can I do both of them?’

“I wrote This Guitar with CJ Vanston 17 years ago. He’s one of the top piano session players in Chicago. Joe’s been a champion of that song for years. Every five years or so, he goes, ‘We should do This Guitar’. It never felt like the right time, though, but on this album we thought that we’d give it a go. 

“Sav plays 12-string acoustic on it. He’s really precise with his jangles. He sat there all day doing it till his fingers bled. And Viv’s got the tastiest playing I ever heard on it. All these little licks throughout, he’s like Clapton or Gilmour. It’s that kind of thing.”

Vivian, that’s some high praise. Did you play the pedal steel parts on the song? 

Campbell: “I’m definitely not playing pedal steel. I don’t even know where to begin with one of those things.

Collen: “That’s Ronan McHugh playing a keyboard with a pedal steel sound. But Vivan did play a traditional slide on the song.”

Campbell: “They always ask me to play the slide parts, and I don’t know why because I’m a shit slide guitar player, in my opinion.”

I don’t know about that. You sound great.

Campbell: “Thanks. I’m getting better, but I would never say I’m good at it. You have to recalibrate your playing to get on top of the frets instead of in-between. I’m always like, ‘Come on, come on. Just get up there...’”

The song U Rok Mi features a section in which you guys trade solos.”

Collen: “That’s right. I think I do the first, Viv does the second, and then I do the third and we both finish it off. We do a two-part harmony at the end.”

You two have recorded together while in different rooms of a studio, but is there some slight psychological difference to not even being in the same building – or for that matter, the same city?”

Campbell: “Nah. Phil and I have enough miles under our treads to know how to manage that. The only thing that’s challenging about recording at home is the technical stuff. I’m still a complete Luddite with technology. However, once I get a good signal into the box, then I have the luxury of working on my own schedule. 

“I can get a cup of coffee, I can call my sister in Europe, and then I can get back to soloing. It’s a lot easier when you don’t have the pressure of people looking at you going, ‘Come on. Get it done already.’”

Collen: “I’ve been using Guitar Rig since 2011, and I’ve had the same preset on it for my Man Raze albums and Def Leppard albums. That’s my go-to. Live, we play through Fractals. When I do small gigs, I use Blackstar stuff, combos and what not. It’s different, but it sounds exactly the same.”

Campbell: “For me, this was my first time working with Guitar Rig. It’s funny – that dropdown menu just keeps going. You find something and go, ‘OK, that’s interesting. Hmm, that’s cool. Maybe I’ll come back to that.’ You just keep scrolling till you find something inspiring.”

Now, you guys have a lot of guitars, but if you could boil things down, what were your main instruments for this album?

Collen: “For me personally, it was a natural Jackson PC1. I’ve had it since 2007, and it’s the one. I use it on a lot of the solos and things because it just sounds right. I do like my red Jackson PC Supreme – it’s got the fattest neck they’ve ever made.

“It sounds great, but for some reason I didn’t use it all over the album, and I should have. But I kept coming back to the PC1. There were also a couple of Telecasters. I used Squier Telecaster on the solo on This Guitar, and there’s a Squier Starcaster for the lick at the beginning.”

Viv, how about you?

Campbell: “Mostly Les Pauls. I used my Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul and my original Dio “Holy Diver” Les Paul. I also used a ’66 Telecaster. It’s been refretted with jumbo frets so I can actually bend on it. And I used my original Tom Anderson Strat for when I needed some shimmer or a little front pickup action. Those were the four that I used.” 

Last question: Do you ever turn on the radio and hear one of your songs – maybe a big hit – and you think, “Man, I wish I could do it over. There’s something about it that’s not right”?

Collen: ”Yeah, but the thing is, every song is a reference point, and you grow from it. Maybe there’s something on the track that’s a little naïve from a guitar playing standpoint, or lyrically there’s something that makes you cringe. But you get past it and move on. 

“It’s like, one time the crew brought me a video of me playing with my old group Girl on The Old Grey Whistle Test. It was the Eighties and I was wearing spandex; you cringe and go, ‘Oh, my God. That’s so embarrassing.’ On the other hand, that was then and it was really cool.”

Campbell: “I used to get that, but you have to remember everything is a snapshot in time. You hear a song and it’s what happened in the studio that day. It’s pretty amazing, these little throwbacks. It’s like looking in a diary.”

• Diamond Star Halos is out now via UMe.

Phil Collen was recently asked to name an artist that Def Leppard could “pass the baton” to after he and his bandmates called it a day. He was unable to provide any suggestions, and he believes today’s rock bands lack the “star power” of older groups.

Collen’s comments came while he was in conversation with Listen Next!, with the Def Leppard electric guitar star revealing he’s still waiting to hear a band that he believes matches the caliber of his contemporaries.

And, during his observation, Collen hypothesized that the “problem” is partially down to the “TikTok and YouTube crowd”.

“I don't know,” Collen said in response to the original question. “I'm still waiting, actually. You hear a lot of stuff out there, but it's few and far between. There's a problem, I think, and I think it's the TikTok and YouTube crowd.

“When bands or artists would write before,” he continued, “it would be because they wanted to be an artist and wanted to express themselves, and write songs and share them and go, 'Wow. Check this out,' as opposed to, 'Wow. Look at me. Please love me.’

“I don't wanna sound like an old dude, but that's what I noticed. And I'm still waiting for someone like Prince or [Led] Zeppelin or something that has a bit more something to it. There's very little stuff.”

Collen didn’t reserve his praise for Prince and Led Zeppelin, though, and went on to laud the “star power” of bands like Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Sex Pistols, Nirvana and Foo Fighters.

He continued, “Metallica’s great; when you see them, there's a big difference. Guns N' Roses are awesome. I don't see that anymore. I don't see that star power. I don't see that kind of thing. So, that's what I'm waiting for. 

“There hasn't been any of that. Nirvana was… Obviously, Foo Fighters is an offshoot of Nirvana. And I love the Foo Fighters; I think they're great. But when Nirvana came out, I was, like, 'Woah, this is amazing.' The Sex Pistols: amazing. But I'm just waiting.”

Collen also went on to discuss what this means for future rock festival headliners, suggesting that the music scene is currently lacking “inspired” music and instead filled with “derivative stuff”.

“That question comes up quite a bit,” Collen commented. “People go, 'What about this?' And I don't hear anything. I hear derivative stuff and stuff that's not inspired. 

“You wanna get inspired,” he added. “It's like in every genre of music. You listen to the old R&B – you listen to Stevie Wonder, you listen to Marvin Gaye and stuff like that – nothing is like that anymore. 

“I think we've kind of comfortably got into something else that doesn't really demand that kind of excellence. It's rare that that kind of talent comes along.”

Earlier this year, Def Leppard released Diamond Star Halos, their first studio album in seven years. The band is currently in the midst of a co-headlining tour with Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts.

Only four British bands have had two 10-million selling albums in America. The first three – The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. And the fourth? No, not The Rolling Stones. Not The Who. Not Queen. It’s Def Leppard.

Formed in Sheffield in 1977, the band rose to fame in the ‘80s with the two blockbuster albums that sealed their place in that exclusive club – 1983’s Pyromania and 1987’s Hysteria. 

And the key to this success is their mastery of the rock anthem – as illustrated in hit songs such as Pour Some Sugar On Me, Animal, Photograph, Rocket, Rock Of Ages and Let’s Get Rocked.

This summer, they head out at last for the twice-postponed Stadium Tour in the US with Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett. But while Leppard could easily tour for the rest of their lives off their back catalogue, the urge to make new music is still strong within them. “A lot of artists stop growing and creating,” says guitarist Phil Collen. “We haven’t.” 

The making of new album Diamond Star Halos was a first for the band – as they worked remotely from their homes, recording song ideas and individual parts on laptops, sharing material via Dropbox, which was then collated into finished tracks by the band’s long-serving producer Ronan McHugh. But the band’s signature sound remains very much intact on an album packed with new anthems in the classic Leppard tradition.

The first single, Kick, nods to their glam rock heroes from the early ’70s. Even the album’s title is taken from the lyrics to the T.Rex glam classic Get It On. And throughout the album, Phil Collen’s partnership with Irish guitarist Vivian Campbell, is as strong as it’s ever been – something that’s evident from the get-go with the blazing trade-off solos in the opening track Take What You Want.

These guys have been playing together for 30 years now. Phil joined the band in 1982 during the making of Pyromania. Vivian joined 10 years later following the death of the band’s original member Steve Clark.

Creating stadium rock bangers is Def Leppard’s speciality, and here, Phil and Viv present their guide to how it’s done...

1. The song is king

Vivian: “The real reason why Def Leppard is so different to so many other bands is we know – it’s not about us, it’s about the songs. It’s not about how well I can play guitar or how well Phil can play guitar. It’s about the fucking song. You do your guitar parts as best as you can but at the end of the day the song is going to outlive all of us.”

Phil: “You’ve got to listen to what the vocal’s doing. You have to respect that main melody, and then you can alter stuff around it. It has to be within the vocal structure, because you can fuck something up.”

2. Know when to let rip

Phil: “The reason we’ve played safe in the past is because you’re respecting the song maybe too much. With this one, because we recorded remotely and there was no-one else in the room it’s like, ‘Fuck it.’ You can overthink and play too safe. You’re like, ‘I don’t want to tread on anything.’ 

“With this one, I was like ‘Well, I’m going to experiment. I feel this should be like this,’ and go off. I’d send it to everyone then if no-one says, ‘That’s a bit over the top!’ then you’re fine.”

Vivian: “I do feel that my playing is better than ever and certainly more comfortable. I have a lot less anxiety about it, probably because I’m doing it so much since I started Last In Line (the group he formed in 2012 with fellow ex-members of Dio – the band in which he made his name in the early ‘80s). 

“The passion was reignited and I’ve definitely built upon it. When it came time to do guitar solos I didn’t have the pressure of other people in the room. You know, ‘Lunch is coming up. When is he going to do this?’”

3. Leave a gap for the snare

In the past, Leppard learned so much from Mutt Lange, the producer of Pyromania and Hysteria, they even called him the ‘sixth member’ of the band. 

Many of Lange’s hits have riffs that pause for the snare drum – check out AC/DC’s Highway To Hell and Back In Black or The Cars’ You Might Think. The same is true for Leppard’s new single.

Phil: “With Kick, I think I had the chorus and then it broke down to the verse. I wanted something with gaps, like Pour Some Sugar On Me. When we did that my original riff was a bit like White Lines by Grandmaster Flash, a continuous thing. Mutt was like, ‘Oh no, man, you got to leave a gap for the snare!’ That just brought it to life. I wanted to do that for the verse of Kick.”

4. Playing matters more than gear

Vivian: “I moved from Los Angeles to New Hampshire, so I don’t have many guitars at home. Most of my guitars are in Def Leppard’s locker in southern California. It’s probably just as well because there’s enough choice in the drop-down menu in Guitar Rig without auditioning every Les Paul again. 

“I don’t want to get into the weeds too much. It’s about the performance more than the guitar, the preset or anything. To be honest, a lot of my choice came down to which guitar has the freshest strings!”

Phil: “On this album, I used a Squier Tele Thinline on the solo of This Guitar. It was just a standard thing I bought years ago in Dublin and it’s just great. It’s a Squier Starcaster at the beginning. And for the solo on Gimme A Kiss, I actually used a Squier Super-Sonic with a wah.

Vivian: “Do I have any more signature gear planned? God no. I want less gear, not more. How you play guitar begins and ends with your hands. The rest is just shit to get in the way and shit that’s gonna go wrong.”

Phil: “Everything is recorded with Guitar Rig. I’ve been using the same main preset since 2011. I made some presets for Guitar Rig 6 but I didn’t want to update my computer because I was scared it wouldn’t work anymore. 

“Sometimes I’d send Ronan [McHugh, producer] the unamped sound so he can reamp it, but with a lot of this stuff the main demo sound is what’s on the record. Live we use Fractals, and whenever I do solo gigs I use a Blackstar Silverline. There’s subtle differences obviously, but it all sounds like me – it sounds exactly the same!”

Vivian: “Because your tone is in your hands it doesn’t really matter. Phil can pick up my Les Paul, and it sounds like Phil through my gear. I’ve played solos before with his Jackson, like the solo in the song Paper Sun [from 1999’s Euphoria]. You can hear because I forgot to turn the sustainer off and you can hear there’s one point where it goes into feedback. So tone is 100 per cent in your hands.”

5. Perfection sucks!

Phil: “The intro to Kick was from my demo. You can hear this ringing that sounds like someone hit a jar or something. It’s the guitar just overloading and peaking. We left it on because it sounds cool. The solo was a total guide, mistakes all over the place. I’m like, ‘Fuck it, sounds great!’ I love it just the way it is, so we left it on. 

“Normally we do 30 tracks of a vocal harmony. On this one, some of the stuff is just me doing eight tracks. I would do a guide vocal in my echoey front room. Grab a [Shure] SM58 and just sing, like, ‘I’ll do it properly later on but this is how it goes.’ Ronan would go ‘That’s great! Just use that,’ and someone else would harmonise. You can actually hear everyone’s voice. 

“Joe [Elliott, vocalist] was fucking spectacular. He was doing stuff in Dublin on his laptop with a little shitty mic that he does his radio show on, and that’s some of the stuff that ended up on the album. That’s Mutt Lange’s thing. You’d say, ‘It has to be perfect.’ He’s like ‘F*ck no, I hate perfect!’ He said it just has to sound and feel right.”

6. Work with people who are better than you

Phil: “It really helps me as a songwriter to write with someone who’s better than me, or different to me. The speed that they do things is a little intimidating sometimes but it’s just great to be around. I was writing with Sam Hollander, who wrote High Hopes for Panic! At The Disco. He’s just awesome. It was really inspiring working with him because he’s so quick firing.  

“You know he’s just writing away and just bouncing whole ideas. We had the whole thing done in an afternoon. You want to be around someone who’s gonna do that. When I did the G3 tour with Satriani and Petrucci. We were doing Highway Star and from the first rehearsal I was like ‘Fuck, I’m gonna have to practice a lot more because I’m just gonna get left behind by these guys.’ 

“They’re just it’s so far over the top. John goes, ‘Well, if I do this harmony, Phil, you can do this.’ It was further than I’d ever stretched on anything I’d ever done. I love someone giving you a helping hand and pushing you at the same time.”

7. Create hooks everywhere

Phil: “I always go back to Killer Queen [a number 2 UK hit for Queen in 1974]. There’s a hook almost like every two bars or something!

Vivian: “In Def Leppard world, we wouldn’t be very excited about just power chords. Normally we’d be looking for a jangle to go on top. The jangle is what starts to elevate it to something other than the ordinary. That’s not just a chord thing. We’re looking for a part to go on top of that.

Phil: “You can even do lead parts around the vocal, but you have to have that bedrock there. On the title track from Hysteria we had the vocal melody beforehand and Steve [Clark] would come up with something different. Again, it’s got to respect the melody. As Keith Richards so eloquently put it, weaving sonic tapestries.”

Total Guitar says: ‘The jangle’ can be distorted arpeggios (Let’s Get Rocked), clean arpeggios (Photograph), or jamming on a ringing open string (Pour Some Sugar On Me). Check out Love Bites, Hysteria and Animal for lead guitar hooks that fit around the vocal. 

Our tab example shows how Leppard write lead parts around chord progressions. One note changes on each repeat to fit the chord changes, but that note isn’t necessarily a root note. Over the E chord, the lick starts on G# (the major 3rd) and moves smoothly up one fret to A when the chord changes to A major.

8. Layer your chords… 

Vivian: “In a really good Def Leppard song, Phil and I are never playing the same parts. In the hard rock world, there’s this school of thought that you have two guitar parts playing the same thing to make it sound heavier. If I get a demo from Phil, I would never play the chords in the same register he’s put them down already. I just try inversions. 

“There’s countless ways you can play a chord up the guitar neck. But the bridge section in Hysteria where the notes were recorded one at a time for the chord – we’ve never done anything like that since. I think that’s too much work!”

Phil: “If you want to make it broader, if someone’s playing a powerchord or a barre chord, and the other one’s doing an open version, that sounds great. If you’re playing a D you could add an A chord, you know the first and the fifth. You put the parts in different octaves and also you do a different rhythm.”

Total Guitar says: In Pour Some Sugar On Me, the chorus has the chords E, A, and B split across multiple guitar tracks. It is possible to play all those notes on one guitar, but with distortion they can sound muddy and out of tune. 

Harmonised chords sound clearer, just as a Thin Lizzy-style twin guitar solo sounds clearer than playing doublestops on one distorted guitar. You can get more ambitious by layering these E and A shapes over each other. 

Animal begins with an F5 powerchord layered over a Bb5 to create a big Bbsus2. The riff in Photograph includes a partial D5 chord layered with an A5, which makes Asus4. To hear parts in different octaves and with counter rhythms as Phil describes, listen to the chorus of Hysteria with headphones on. 

Joe Satriani surprised many guitarists by picking Def Leppard’s Phil Collen for the 2018 G3 tour – not least Phil himself. But Collen says the most lasting impact from the run came from John Petrucci, whose touring rig was based around the Fractal Axe-Fx.

“Petrucci had the the first one and he said, ‘Check this out!’ It sounded great,” Collen says. “That’s why I got it, and then I said to the rest of guys, ‘I’m getting rid of my rack!’ [Co-guitarist] Vivian Campbell heard it once and said, ‘I’m in!’ and [bassist] Rick Savage trusted me from day one.”

Def Leppard are known for their love of technology. Multi-million-selling album smash Hysteria was at the cutting edge of recording techniques, and drummer Rick Allen was an early adopter of electric drums after the car crash that claimed his left arm.

Despite that, their live guitar rigs were resolutely old-school before Petrucci brought them into the 21st century. The setups had been rack-based, with Marshall JMP-1 tube preamps and EL34 100/100 power amps, along with the discontinued JFX-1 rack effects unit.

Collen’s tech John Zucker replicated this sound using the Axe-Fx Tone Match feature. Says Phil of the old rig, “It was just too much to power. You had a power amp and a rack and then effects and stuff like that. Now it all works in one. On stage I use the Atomic powered speaker.”

Besides the gear revolution, the G3 experience also pushed Collen as a player. “We were doing Highway Star and from the first rehearsal I was like ‘Fuck, I’m gonna have to practice a lot more because I’m just gonna get left behind by these guys,’” he recalls. 

“They’re just so far over the top. John goes, ‘Well, if I do this harmony, Phil, you can do this.’ It was further than I’d ever stretched on anything I’d ever done! I love that idea of someone giving you a helping hand and pushing you at the same time.”

Guitar-wise, Phil has been playing new versions of his signature Jackson PC1 with hotter X2N bridge pickups.

“What I’m shocked about with the X2N is I can turn it down!” he laughs. “I don’t really have clean tones on tour. I just turn the guitar down and that cleans up perfectly, even with the Fractal.

“My new PC1 has a walnut top. It’s got a skinny neck on it which bugged me but the thing sounded so good I used it on some of the solos on our new album [Diamond Star Halos]. I used it on Open Your Eyes and From Here To Eternity. It’s got an X2N, Sugar Chakra, and a Sustainer. This one’s got an ebony fingerboard so it’s a harsher sound than the maple, which is a bit more classy – on a PC1, anyway.”

The Sugar Chakra is Phil’s signature DiMarzio Strat-sized humbucker. “I’ve been using that on the songs All We Need and Lifeless,” he explains. “Right at the end I use the Sugar Chakra and an X2N together on a clean setting.

“You’d think, ‘Really? How’s that gonna sound?!’ Fucking unique! With the sustainer on, it was just a really unique sound. The Sugar Chakra would be the middle pickup, and obviously the X2N, which is fucking bombastic, being the bridge position.”

Comparing the Sugar Chakra to the full-sized Super 3 humbucker he has used for years, Phil notes its subtle refinement.

“It’s a little less powerful,  but you couldn’t really tell the difference listening to it,” he says. “If you raise it up a little bit then it sounds similar, but it kind of retains some of the Strat-iness. I’ve even got a Telecaster with a Sugar Chakra on it and same deal: it retains its Telecaster-ness as well, so you can get that perfect blend.”

Welcome to our 1980s guitar extravaganza. The aim of this lesson is to take inspiration from the key guitar styles of some of the 1980s’ biggest-selling artists. 

Both rhythm and lead guitar ideas are covered, and we’ve notated each of these in the 14 stylistic examples. There are also four mini performance pieces to learn, and by the end of working with these, your ’80s guitar trick bag should be fully topped up. 

The 1980s was a decade of excess. Big shoulder pads, power dressing and expensive production values were to the fore. The ’ 80s also ushered in the MTV era and music became even more consumable, with multiple formats available including the introduction of the CD, in addition to vinyl records, cassettes and VHS video. 

Various advances in technology led to the advent of more convenient digital effects processors, so the classic ’ 80s production values and guitar sounds are often drenched in chorus, compression and ambience. The decade was also synonymous with other advances in music production technology, such as the introduction of drum machines, and a range of great keyboard synthesisers. 

The harmony in ’80s pop music often had a fusion flavour. Sus and slash chords were very much in vogue and it wasn’t uncommon for chart topping hits to feature complex chords and arrangements. Unlike today it was also commonplace for even the most mainstream of songs to feature a guitar, harmonica, synth or sax solo. 

The sights and sounds of the ’80s have made a huge comeback in recent years. Styles like ‘Synth Wave’ have copied the production values of the ’80s with titillating precision, adding new compositions for fans of the decade to enjoy. 

In fact many modern pop artists have adopted aspects of the ’ 80s sound into their arrangements with great success (Katy Perry, The Weeknd, The Midnight, Taylor Swift etc). Also reboots of classic films (Blade Runner, Ghostbusters, Robocop) and TV series (Cobra Kai, Magnum PI) have become all the rage. 

To get our studies going we have recorded seven clean guitar examples in the styles of some of the most popular ’80s genres. Guitar effects such as chorus, compression and ambience are suitably overused. We have also recorded seven overdriven examples using the same over-the-top ‘more is more’ ethos so prevalent at the time. 

Our four performance pieces provide an opportunity to put many of the individual examples into musical context. The first is in the style of the classic ’80s rock ballad. This was usually a heartfelt ditty that was often also tied into a major Hollywood movie or two. This type of rock ballad also tended to stay at the top of the singles charts across the the world, for most of the year. 

The second is in the style of top 40-synth pop. A huge wave of new romantic bands such as Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Ultravox emerged, fusing together drum machines, synthesisers, funky rock guitar – and designer suits – to great effect. 

The third is a fist pumping mid-tempo rock track featuring lots of palm muting technique (think big hair, make-up and spandex pants!) 

To top off our studies we end with the classic up-tempo boogie. Artists as diverse as ZZ Top and Steely Dan through to Joe Satriani achieved great success with this style of chugging boogie stomper. 

As usual you will find the notation and performance notes for all the tracks here. There are also backing tracks provided so you can play along. Hopefully you can find inspiration for your own playing or songs. 

’80s Sounds

The use of effects and production techniques can really help to bring a track to life. For this article I used period correct hardware and recorded the parts in a similar way to that of the 1980s. 

My 1989 Ibanez RG750 guitar was useful as a main axe of choice. For the clean examples I recorded this electric guitar direct into my Universal Audio preamp. This sounds the same as plugging the instrument straight into a recording console in the studio. Recording direct with no amp creates a super hi-fi tone that is precise and sounds very specific to the era. 

This clean tone can then be teamed up with heavy compression and lush chorus. Reverb and ambience effects were also heavily abused in the 1980s so these can be added liberally to drums, guitars and vocals. For the synth parts I used my Roland Juno keyboard and for the drum programming a gated reverb perfectly fitted the bill (think Phil Collins!).

Get the tone

Amp settings: Gain 5, Bass 7, Middle 6, Treble 8, Reverb 4

Although the whole gamut of ‘80s guitar sounds is covered here, from rock to pop to funk and more, it would be impractical to use a bunch of different instruments. So select bridge pickup on one guitar, set the amp quite clean (as above) then add effects as notated at the start of each piece. 

Generally more is more if you are looking for that  ’80s sound. When playing in any style it is important to have a suitable tone, so study the tab/notation and use your ears.

Clean guitar examples

Example 1. Clean funky chords with chorus

This first example combines snappy 16th-note rhythms with an ’ 80s’style chorus effect. We have notated the strumming pattern for the chords. The chords are answered by bass note popping. You may find it easiest to use the thumb of the fretting hand to hook over the top of the fretboard and play the low C on the 8th fret. 

Example 2. Def Leppard-style volume swells

This example adds a volume swell effect (violining). The swell can be achieved with the guitar’s volume control or a volume pedal. The trick here is to strum the chord slightly early and then swell the volume so the chord is heard in time. Volume swells sound most effective with lots of ambience and compression.

Example 3. Andy Summers-style Add9 chords

Our next example highlights the trademark add9 chord fingerings as used by The Police’s Andy Summers (first finger hops over from the sixth to third string). A little bit of slap-back echo is most effective here. This effect is augmented by the addition of a light palm mute, which adds attack to the notes and accentuates the rhythmic quality of the delay.  

Example 4. Johnny Marr-style harmonics

In The Smiths, the acknowledged maestro of jangly guitars also used natural harmonics to great effect. Simply place your fingers on the strings lightly over the fret indicated in the tab. As soon as you strike the string lift your finger off to release the harmonic. 

Example 5. The Edge S-style Delay

U2 guitarist The Edge made his use of rhythmic delays a trademark sound. Simply set your delay to a dotted eighth-note (many modern delay pedals have this very function, which will be a great boon here).

With this setting engaged and the level turned up, a syncopated delay repeat is added in to fortify the part. The delay also helps with locking into the beat. You can experiment with striking the strings with a dimple grip pick (Herdim Pick) or a coin as this will increase the attack and accentuate the rhythmic effect. 

Example 6. Alan Murphy-style sustaining compression

Alan Murphy was a legendary ‘80s session guitarist who played with Kate Bush, Haircut 100, Go West and others. Here we are using compression for a synth pad effect. Strum hard, to provide plenty of level for the compressor to cut or boost. 

Example 7. David Williams-style funky popping

David Williams was a master of pop session guitar and his work on hit albums such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller is legendary. To play this popping line keep the fretting hand in contact with the string and only fret the notes when required. 

Distorted guitar examples

Example 1. Whitesnake-style palm-muted rock rhythm 

This example uses the classic combination of palm muting and the powerchord. Lifting the palm off the strings provides the accents and with a bit of practice these can be included at any point in the bar. Use down picking throughout. 

Example 2. Joe Satriani-style divebombs

Whammy bar divebombs provide a dramatic, ear-grabbing sound. Here harmonics on the third and second strings are alternated with the classic sixth-string divebomb. To create the high-pitched Satch-style random squealers, use the fretting hand to lightly touch the strings over the pickups. 

Example 3. Steve Stevens-style whammy bar aided melody 

Steve Stevens is a master of majestic rock melodies, and uses the whammy bar can to augment them and provide a vocal effect. The end of this phrase may take practice, as all the pitches are created by manipulating the whammy bar. 

Example 4. Billy Gibbons-style pinch harmonics

The pinch harmonic is a cool way to add harmonics to a fretted note. Simply use the flesh of the fretting-hand thumb to touch the string at the same moment as you pick. It’s worth using the pickups as a visual marker for where the harmonics are, so you can begin to be less random with the harmonics. 

Example 5. Van Halen-style natural harmonics 

The way EVH uses natural harmonics to punctuate riffs is another of his trademarks and has become widely imitated. This example uses the same natural harmonics technique as we looked at in the Johnny Marr example. 

Example 6. Ty Tabor (Kings X)-style drop D tuning

For this example, simply drop the sixth string a tone (two frets) to D. On a fixed bridge this should be straightforward, but the change in tension on a floating vibrato bridge may require a little more trial and error to get the tuning right. 

Example 7. Metallica-style use of the diminished 5 in riffs 

For convenience, we continue with drop D tuning (D-A-D-G-B-E). The b5 (here, Ab) works great for heavy riffs and bands like Metalica have cashed in on the dark and menacing sound of the dissonant intervals like the b5 and b2. 

Piece 1. Ballad rock

Verse [Bars 1-8] These intro chords are relatively easy to play and sound a whole lot more ’80s with a bit of chorus added. In bar 7 a lead line is introduced and this can be brought to life with a bit of whammy bar wobble. 

Chorus [Bars 9-17] The solo starts with a scoop of the whammy bar to create an upward glissando. The ascending Minor Pentatonic (R-b3-4-5-b7)run in bar 13 will benefit from a light palm mute at the start.

Piece 2. Top 40 synth-pop

Chorus 1 [Bars 1-8] Our synth jam provides an opportunity to put some of our clean examples into context. It starts with a slightly changed version of Ex 1. 

Verse [Bars 9-16] This section places the David Williams style popping idea we looked at in Example 7 into groovy musical context. 

Bridge [Bars 17-24] Here we have added in a new breakdown section, where a palm mute is used to chug on a C note. The picking velocity can be increased and the palm mute removed to create a dynamic shift back into the final chorus. 

Chorus 2 [Bars 25-33] The chorus is repeated to end the track.

Piece 3. Mid-tempo rocker

Verse [Bars 1-8] To kick things off we use the palm muting technique we looked at in Example 1 of the distorted examples. The open strings in bars 7-9 can be strummed and allowed to ring alongside the powerchords. 

Guitar solo [Bars 9-16] It’s time for a rock guitar wig-out! For the solo the scale of choice is the C# Blues scale (C#-E-F#-G-G#-B); however it sounds good to pick out the B Major arpeggio (B-D#-F#) over the B5 chord in bar 13.

Piece 4. Uptempo swing boogie rocker

To finish, we have a fast-paced boogie rocker. Keep the feel loose and dig in with the pick. To save space we’ve used sectional pointers; Dal Segno Al Coda means go back to the ‘squiggle’ sign, play the music again until the bar marked al Coda, then jump to the coda (circle with a cross in it at bar 17).

Such was the influence of Eddie Van Halen – and such was his experience in tinkering with his own instruments – that if the late electric guitar legend gave you advice on how to modify your own instrument, you’d listen. No questions asked.

Phil Collen has had such an experience. In a recent conversation with MusicRadar, he recalled a brief encounter he had with Van Halen before Def Leppard had formed, and said the wise guitar master bestowed upon him some crucial advice that would heavily shape the band’s 1987 album, Hysteria.

“When I first met Eddie,” began Collen, “it was on Van Halen’s first British headline tour at the Rainbow in Finsbury Park, London. He was so humble, considering he was such a monster player.

“We were talking about guitars and I had this Strat that my mum had gotten me for my 21st birthday. It was the main guitar I used later on the Hysteria stuff – whenever you hear anything on that record, it’s probably that.

“When I told him I had this beautiful Strat that I loved, he actually said, ‘You know, you won’t be happy until you’ve taken that pickup out and carved out space for a humbucker!’

So, what did Collen do? Well, he ripped out the single-coil, carved out room for a humbucker, and put in a DiMarzio, of course. To be fair, if Van Halen told us to take off our electric guitar strings and replace them with shoelaces, we’d probably do it.

“I thought, ‘Fuck!’” Collen continued. “But I did it because Eddie told me to do it! We put a DiMarzio in there and yeah, whenever you hear Animal or any of those tracks on the radio, that’s what you’re hearing!”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Collen went on to discuss the impact Van Halen had on the wider guitar world, saying he was “the most important rock player after Jimi Hendrix”.

“Everyone at the time had this sound in their head but they couldn’t really do it,” he continued. “Jimi could, and very naturally. I still don’t think anyone’s come close to Hendrix ever since.

“But Eddie has to come next – he changed guitar in a similar way. It was the purity of his style. Sure, the shredding was great and the tapping was unique – I’d never heard it before – but the vibrato was truly amazing.

“He could make his guitar sing. It was all very natural. The main difference between them was that Hendrix was a singer and that meant he had a different approach to it.” 

During the recent Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association’s annual Beastly Ball fundraiser, which took place on Saturday June 5, electric guitar greats Slash and Phil Collen teamed up with bass guitar supremo Robert DeLeo for a fierce cover of Jimi Hendrix’s 1967 track, Fire.

With Collen donning his signature Jackson guitar and Slash wielding his "Victoria" Les Paul Standard Goldtop, the pair traded wah-drenched licks and blistering pentatonic runs, staying true to the track’s blues-infused rock ‘n’ roll roots.

The Guns N' Roses guitar guru was on hand to layer Collen’s vocals with a bed of decorative flourishes, and took first dibs on an extended six-string solo, reeling off a combination of Hendrix-inspired licks and Slash-style scale lines.

Both guitar players were given free reign to let loose on a series of quasi-improvised melodic fills by Stone Temple Pilots four-string maestro DeLeo, who was joined in the rhythm section by Delta Deep drummer Forrest Robinson. Their performance, which you can watch in full, begins at 41:50 in the video below.

On Instagram, Robert Deleo wrote, “It was a very memorable day… I spent the day with Slash, Phil Collen and Forrest Robinson recording and filming our version of Fire by Jimi Hendrix for The Los Angeles Zoo’s Beastly Ball at Gold Diggers Studio.

“This was a very emotional day for me with my friends Gold Diggers,” he continued. “This is now where my beloved 1974 Neve 8014 console resides. Lot of great music and memories have passed through this board and I know it has gone to a great home.”

Last weekend’s event was the 51st edition of the Beastly Ball, and saw the four-piece lineup alongside a stellar list of musical special guests, including Weezer, who performed Toto’s Africa, and REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin.

Each year, the Ball aims to raise money for the Los Angeles Zoo, with GLAZA president Tom Jacobson saying, “With conversation at the core of what we do, this fundraiser supports GLAZA’s efforts to fund a myriad of programs, including conservation, animal care, animal health, and education programs.”

Is it true there’s a Tele on every track of Hysteria? 

“Pretty much. We always used Telecasters to track stuff. On Pyromania you had a Les Paul and a Tele playing the same part to give you the full range. On the latest Def Leppard stuff I’ll use a Tele and a Jackson and blend the two.“   

During the making of Pyromania, you played a Les Paul and an Ibanez Destroyer, while Steve Clark also favoured a Les Paul. What led you to use Teles? 

“We were always searching for this sound, a basic bedrock sound, especially when we were working with [producer] Mutt Lange. We had to compromise, and we’d use a Les Paul and a Tele, or a Strat and a Les Paul. I put a DiMarzio Super Distortion T in about four of my Teles and got the sound we’d been trying to get for years. You’ve got clarity and chime, but you’ve also got firepower and balls!“  

So it was it Mutt’s idea to use Telecasters? 

“I think he got it from working with AC/DC. A lot of rock players get the wrong idea. They think it’s all this distorted humbucker thing. Malcolm [Young, AC/DC guitarist] used his Gretsch really kinda clean. The blending of the Gretsch and the SG from Angus [Young, lead guitarist] was amazing. 

“It’s like vocals – tenors and baritones blending together. Guitars do the same thing. AC/DC didn’t use Telecasters, but it’s where Mutt got the idea for the clarity. A lot of rock bands were just a wall of fuzz. You want it to breathe and be a bit cooler. That’s where the Telecaster comes in.“

Which Def Leppard songs have obvious Telecaster parts?

“We did a song with [US country star] Tim McGraw, Nine Lives. I used it all the way through that. The intro to Rock of Ages was a Tele. That was recorded before I joined the band. The main riff to Hysteria is another one. It’s actually [bassist] Rick Savage playing that, on a black Tele with a Kahler. When we were making Pyromania and Hysteria, we had a black Strat and a black Tele floating around as band guitars.“ 

Do you modify your Telecasters at all? 

“I’ve got this beautiful blonde Telecaster I got in Dublin when we were rehearsing for Hysteria. I changed the bridge. I’m not a fan of the classic Tele bridge. I like a six-saddle. We’re so meticulous and we track up so many things, so you need it bang in tune.“ 

How do you set up your Teles? 

“I use really heavy strings anyway. I have 13s on my Jacksons. With a Tele I can sometimes go a bit higher and harder. At the moment I have 14-56. You can really thrash it, and it gets rid of some nasty frequencies to make it easier for recording.“ 

And what do you use Teles for on tour? 

“Live I sometimes use a Tele on Love Bites, Too Late For Love, or Armageddon It. I change it up, stuff that’s a bit clearer or where I’m not playing the solo. But having said that, now I’ve got the DiMarzio in there I can play a solo and it sounds killer anyway.“

• Def Leppard's The CD Boxset: Volume 3  is out June 11th via UMC. 

When discussing the lead greats of the guitar world, Def Leppard's Phil Collen really deserves a seat at the table. Not only has he demonstrated his elite chops over the course of 11 studio albums spanning three decades, he also made a show-stopping appearance at Joe Satriani’s shred-heavy G3 in 2018.

Now, the seasoned six-string slinger has returned with a new mind-bending playthrough of the 1973 jazz-rock-fusion classic Quadrant 4 – a high-octane rendition that demonstrates how Collen has no problem keeping up with his contemporaries.

Armed with, quite literally, nothing but a Jackson electric guitar, Collen puts on a fierce six-string display that showcases how his formidable-as-ever soloing skills have aged like a fine wine. 

In the almost-four-minute video, the Def Leppard legend deploys every trick in the book, listing off lightning-fast lead licks and blink-and-you’ll-miss-them fretboard-spanning lines.

After a minute of elite non-stop scale runs accompanied only by the drums of Forrest Robinson, Collen ups the ante and ushers in the latter half of the track with a high-gain A chord, which in turn introduces the bass guitar and gets the ball rolling on another whistle-stop tour of his seriously impressive shred skills.

“I recruited drummer Forrest Robinson and bass player Craig Martini to accompany me on this track,” commented Collen. “We did a shred guitar, hard-rock update of the 1973 jazz rock fusion classic Quadrant 4.

“I’ve always loved the version from Billy Cobham’s Spectrum album that featured Tommy Bolin on guitar. We (Delta Deep) opened up our set with this song every night on Joe Satriani’s G3 tour in 2018, and it was always a breakneck blast.

“I also wanted to let everyone know about some of the stuff I’ve been doing during Covid,” Collen continued, before teasing, “This is just one of the amazing compositions I’ve recorded. More to come…”

Earlier this week we reported on Joe Satriani’s new Stripped x Three release, a collection of backing tracks comprised of the full listings of three Satch albums – Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, Is There Love in Space? and 2020's Shapeshifting.

Now, Steve Vai and Phil Collen have released electric guitar playthroughs of their attempts to shred like Joe.

Vai’s clip finds him taking on the ballad Teardrops, from Satch’s recent Shapeshifting, employing his new Ibanez Pia, an Ibanez acoustic and a custom Ernie Ball seven-string with a 13-string harp for the proceedings.

Collen, meanwhile, shreds through Satch’s Nineteen Eighty, also from Shapeshifting, using one of his Jackson PC1s signature models in Matte Blue Frost.

“Great, give me an easy one Joe!” Collen jokes.

You can preorder Stripped x Three now, with an anticipated delivery of November.

UK five-piece Def Leppard burst out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene in the late '70s and released their debut album, On Through the Night, in 1980. They quickly followed up with 1981’s High ‘n’ Dry. 

By the time the band released their commercial breakthrough, Pyromania, in 1983, founding guitarist Pete Willis had been fired and replaced by Phil Collen.

Hysteria, which followed in 1987, brought the band worldwide commercial success and etched them forever into the annals of rock history. Forty years on, the band are enjoying a busy 2020; projects include the recently released box set, The Early Years 79-81. 

Spanning five discs, it contains remastered editions of On Through the Night and High ‘n’ Dry, a newly unearthed Live at the Oxford New Theatre, recorded on their 1980 UK tour, along with a collection of B-sides, remixes, further live cuts and more. 

We recently caught up with Joe Elliott and Phil Collen to discuss the early years of the band.

The new box set includes an unreleased and much rawer-sounding version of Rock Brigade, originally produced by Nick Tauber. Why wasn’t it ever released?

Joe Elliott: "It was raw in the wrong sense, as to us it sounded flat. It was literally recorded live, but we overdubbed the guitar solo, the lead and backing vocals in a day or two.

"We did four songs, Wasted, Rock Brigade, Hello America and Glad I’m Alive. Nick had worked with, oddly enough, a bunch of pop bands previously where he did add a lot of energy to it, and he had also done Whiskey in a Jar by Thin Lizzy, which was the only thing we were aware of at the time that he had done. 

"It’s great to say it had a rawness, but it just wasn’t well-produced rawness. It sounded weedy. If you listen to the guitar sound on Wasted, it literally sounds like the might of an acoustic! And that wasn’t who we were. We didn’t fight for our corner hard enough during those early sessions. 

"When we later got into the studio with [producer] Tom Allom, one of the few things we said to him was, 'Don’t make us sound weedy.' In comparison to the single that Nick did, some people may argue that On Through the Night is over-produced. 

"But down the road people will then say it’s completely raw compared to Hysteria or something like that. Now with hindsight, I’ve no issues at all with it being released because it is a historical document now, so people can agree with what I’ve just said - or disagree."

How did the songwriting process work with Steve [Clark] and Pete? Did they come up with riffs that later evolved into songs, or was it more of a collaborative band effort?

Elliott: "We had a rehearsal room in Sheffield and one of them would walk in and say, 'I have this idea' and would play us a riff. We’d listen and then we’d jam it out, flesh the thing out. Like, for example, Answer to the Master - there was this guitar lick run that Pete came up with, and that was all he had.

"But I couldn’t sing over that, so we put together this four-chord, like, turnaround for the verse where I could sing over and then it went back to that bit that Pete came in with, which is the chorus, and I just sung the title over the lick. So whoever came in with an idea, we’d turn it into a song. 

"I don’t think we rejected many songs. Steve came in with Wasted and it was pretty much finished musically. I just had to come up with the words and we had a song written in an hour."

Steve and Pete were two very different guitarists stylistically, yet at the same time they seemed to perfectly complement each other.

Elliott: "Pete was very schooled and very stoic. His two big heroes were Pat Travers and Michael Schenker; Travers more for the rhythm, songs and riffs and Schenker more for the guitar solos and the style of them. He wasn’t really into the stuff that Steve was into.

"Steve was into Jimmy Page, who was a little more sloppy than the German guitar player, but Steve was extremely artistic in his approach and his songwriting was to die for. He was also into a guitarist called Zal Cleminson from the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and also Alex Lifeson from Rush. 

"And both Steve and Pete were big fans of Brian May. Steve was also massively into Brian Robertson but more for the image - the wah pedal, the tight jeans and the perm. Steve just totally ripped that off . But he did like Robertson’s playing too and it did leak into Steve’s playing."

Phil Collen: "Steve’s stuff in particular was a bit more unique. He was a very unique player; I don’t think he gets enough credit for the stuff he was doing. Most guitar players follow a pattern. Even with shredders like Yngwie and the like, there’s a pattern and a thread to their playing. But every now and then you get someone who just does things differently where they’ll bring a different kind of flavor to it. That was Steve"

"Pete was a really good player, but it was more of a standard approach like Pat Travers. He’d bring in all this kind of stuff , but you’d have heard it before. It was just an interpretation of it."

That contrast in styles and technique worked tremendously well.

Collen: "There was definitely a dynamic between the two of them. I had first met the guys when I went down to the band’s rehearsals when they were doing the High ‘n’ Dry album. Later, when I first joined the band it was just to play solos. 

"Mutt Lange [producer] asked me to play lead guitar. The beds had already been recorded and a lot of the cool rhythm stuff was actually Pete, but Steve had written a lot of it. 

"So you had this kind of dual thing going on where Pete was this amazing rhythm player and Steve was this great ideas man."

Do you remember much about the gear they used on those first two albums?

Elliott: "I know that Steve had a 2x12 Marshall combo [amp]while Pete had a Hiwatt at first, then a 4x12. When we got to do On Through the Night, I don’t remember exactly what amps they used. Right up to when we signed the record deal, everybody was still on the same guitars. Steve used to play an Ibanez Les Paul copy and Pete had this green thing that he had made by some guy. 

"It was typical of Pete as he wanted something that was just non-standard. He had to have his own thing. He wasn’t just going to pick up a Strat. He wanted something a bit more unique. 

"Pete also had a Les Paul Junior and an SG. By the time we had gone into the studio to do High ‘n’ Dry there would have been Marshalls because Mutt would have had a lot to say about that."

Mutt played a major role in helping to shape the band’s sound and identity.

Elliott: "Mutt had in-house amps at the studio that he’d used with AC/DC and City Boy and every other act he had produced at that studio. He was comfortable with that amp. He would twiddle with the dials and filter out some of the distortion. He’d make it more powerful by taking the distortion away because the natural sound was coming through it rather than with a pedal. 

"Mutt had this great trick that he used not for the guitars but for the drums. He did it with Rick on High ‘n’ Dry and he did it with Phil Rudd on all three of the AC/DC albums he produced. 

"He’d record the drums and then he would put a PA into the big room and he’d play the drums back through the PA and then mic up the PA and re-record the drums back onto the multi-track. When you’re hearing the beginning of For Those About to Rock, for example, that sound is pretty impossible to achieve by just putting a microphone on a drum. 

"There was a lot of work that went into that sound, just as a lot of work went into the guitar sound."

Collen: "Credit must go to Mutt because he was constantly pushing everyone. The first Def Leppard album was really cool, and it had real promise. The second one was a step up, but it was still discovering its sound. 

"I think with Pyromania it had a different sound you never really heard before. It didn’t sound like anyone else. Whereas bits of High ‘n’ Dry would kind of be reminiscent of AC/DC and even to me, early Aerosmith. When I first heard Bringin’ on the Heartbreak, it kind of reminded me stylistically of Dream On by Aerosmith."

Sticking an instrumental track, Switch 625, on High ‘n’ Dry was a very unusual thing to do at the time.

Elliott: "Initially Mutt wanted me to write some lyrics, but I said that was crazy because it didn’t need anything else. It was a fantastic piece of music without me on it. It had so much going on that, what was I going to do over it except maybe clutter it up? 

"I suggested we should drop it on the end of Bringin’ on the Heartbreak and turn it into something like Layla where it is this long song and then it’s got this instrumental section at the end of it."

So, is there a new Def Leppard album in the works?

Collen: "We will be doing a new record. I’ve been recording loads of stuff over the last two years as have Joe and Sav, and we will meet up in Dublin before we start rehearsing... to see if we can get the thing on the go."

There are a lot of things to think about when it comes to guitar – your axe, your amp, your pedals, and so on. But do you ever think about the chair you’re sitting in while you practice or play?

Def Leppard electric guitar player Phil Collen apparently does, and he’s come out and endorsed the Sonus as his chair of choice.

Touted as ergonomically designed to support musicians for the "ultimate guitar playing experience", the Sonus has a low back that allows arms and shoulders “the freedom to move while the forward pitch of the seat enables better breathing and healthy circulation.”

“This chair is incredible. It’s stunningly gorgeous and really comfortable. I use it where I do all of my recording, so I’m there for quite long periods,” said Collen.

“You really do forget you’re sitting on a wooden chair. It’s hard to describe the comfort."

The Sonus, developed by chairmaker Brian Boggs in 2010, is constructed from premium wood as well as sustainably-sourced Honduran mahogany.

“I feel honored to have a member of rock ‘n’ roll royalty endorse the Sonus chair on the tenth anniversary of its existence,” Boggs said about Collen.

For more information, head to Brian Boggs Chairmakers.

DiMarzio has announced the Sugar Chakra DP427 pickup, developed for Def Leppard’s Phil Collen.

A DiMarzio user for more than 40 years, Collen desired a single-coil-sized pickup that retains clarity, but packs the weight and attack of a full-sized humbucker,

The Sugar Chakra is intended as a bridge position pickup, and boasts ceramic magnets and four conductor wiring. DiMarzio describes it as a “thick, creamy pickup with crunchy mids, designed to feel like a full-sized humbucker in single-coil form. The top end is smooth with mids that bite just enough to cut through the mix.”

“It’s just really clear and precise but it’s got all the balls and the fire power,” said Collen, who road-tested the Sugar Chakra on the G3 tour with Joe Satriani and John Petrucci. “It’s gonna be awesome as a new addition to the DiMarzio family.”

The Sugar Chakra is available for $95.99 at DiMarzio.com.

Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen recently sat down with Jackson to show off his newest collaboration with the company, the USA Signature Limited Edition Phil Collen PC1 Claro Walnut model. You can check out the video, in which Collen points out some of the new guitar’s unique specs, above.

The new PC1 boasts a caramelized mahogany body with a claro walnut top and bolt-on two-piece quartersawn caramelized flame maple neck with graphite reinforcement, a scarf joint, a hand-rubbed urethane finish on the back and a heel-mount truss rod adjustment wheel. There’s also a compound radius caramelized maple fingerboard with rolled edges and 24 jumbo stainless steel frets.

The S/S/S configuration features a custom DiMarzio DP427 bridge pickup, which Collen calls “super-powered,” and a custom DiMarzio Fast Track 1 middle pickup. There’s also a PC1 Sustainer Driver neck pickup for infinite sustain. Additionally, there’s a Floyd Rose Original double-locking tremolo bridge with titanium saddles and Jackson sealed die-cast tuners.

For more information on the USA Signature Limited Edition Phil Collen PC1 Claro Walnut, which has an MSRP of $8,163.25, head over to JacksonGuitars.com.

Tesla have shared a new track, “California Summer Song,” from their forthcoming album, Shock. You can check it out below.

Shock, Tesla’s eight studio effort, is due March 8 via UMC. The album was produced and co-written by Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen.

Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon spoke to Billboard about working with Collen: "This is the first time that we've really allowed another person, a producer to really be involved to the extent that Phil Collen was, like a sixth band member," he said. "We weren't really gonna make a new album; After (2014's) Simplicity, it didn't seem like there was any point. But Phil really motivated us. We're definitely kindred spirits with Def Leppard, and (Collen) brought in a lot of production techniques and a lot of organization that they learned from Mutt Lange.

"And (Collen) would help us orchestrate and organize all the pieces. He helped us write lyrics. He helped us arrange. He would work with each guy individually and help them bring out their ideas, and then really put the finishing touches on the songs with his input."

Check out the album art and track list for Shock below, and pre-order the album here.

Shock track list:

01. You Won't Take Me Alive 

02. Taste Like 

03. We Can Rule The World 

04. Shock 

05. Love Is A Fire 

06. California Summer Song 

07. Forever Loving You 

08. The Mission 

09. Tied To The Tracks 

10. Afterlife 

11. I Want Everything 

12. Comfort Zone

Tesla have shared a new song, "Taste Like." The track comes off their eighth studio album, Shock, due March 8 via UMC.

As previously reported, Shock was produced by and co-written with Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen.

Said Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon of working with Collen, “He took our song ideas and really produced them to the max, and I think people are really going to be blown away by the album. The sound, the production and the songs are taken to a new level for us. He taught us that you can be productive on the road.”

Hannon continued: “I'll be honest, Tesla may not have made another album because we were stuck in these ways of thinking [of], You can't do this. You can't do that. You can't write songs on the road. Phil proved us wrong and taught us that we can do it.”

Check out the cover art and track list for Shock below, and pre-order the album here.

Shock track list:

01. You Won't Take Me Alive 

02. Taste Like 

03. We Can Rule The World 

04. Shock 

05. Love Is A Fire 

06. California Summer Song 

07. Forever Loving You 

08. The Mission 

09. Tied To The Tracks 

10. Afterlife 

11. I Want Everything 

12. Comfort Zone

Tesla have announced their eighth studio album, Shock. Due March 8 via UMC, the effort was produced and co-written by Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen.

Said Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon of working with Collen, “He took our song ideas and really produced them to the max, and I think people are really going to be blown away by the album. The sound, the production and the songs are taken to a new level for us. He taught us that you can be productive on the road.”

Hannon continued: “I'll be honest, Tesla may not have made another album because we were stuck in these ways of thinking [of], You can't do this. You can't do that. You can't write songs on the road. Phil proved us wrong and taught us that we can do it.”

Check out the album art and track list for Shock below, and pre-order the album here.

Shock track list:

01. You Won't Take Me Alive 

02. Taste Like 

03. We Can Rule The World 

04. Shock 

05. Love Is A Fire 

06. California Summer Song 

07. Forever Loving You 

08. The Mission 

09. Tied To The Tracks 

10. Afterlife 

11. I Want Everything 

12. Comfort Zone

Phil Collen went backstage during a stop on the 2018 Def Leppard / Journey tour to give a video run-through of his Jackson guitars.

In the clip above, Collen tells the story behind everything from his 1986 silver crackle Soloist—“it’s in the ‘Women’ video and I played it on the record with ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me,’” he says—to the newer X-Stroyer and his PC-1 signature models.

Check out the video for more Collen guitars.

As previously reported, Def Leppard were recently nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band have shared a new holiday-themed single, an acoustic ballad titled "We All Need Christmas,” as well as announced two new releases for November 30. 

The first, The Story So Far—The Best Of, will be offered in multiple configurations, is available for pre-order here.

Additionally, on the same day Def Leppard will release Hysteria: The Singles, a limited-edition, 10-disc vinyl box set featuring all of the seven-inch singles from their 1987 smash, Hysteria. It can be pre-ordered here.

For more information, head over to DefLeppard.com.

Last year, Joe Satriani hosted the 2017 G4 Experience—a four-day instructional/performance camp—at Asilomar Center in Pacific Grove, California.

Satch's special guests at the event—which honored the 30th anniversary of his landmark 1987 album, Surfing with the Alien—included Paul Gilbert, Def Leppard's Phil Collen, acoustic master Tommy Emmanuel and Ratt's Warren DeMartini.

Below, be sure to watch our exclusive video of a jam session featuring Satch, Emmanuel and Collen.

It even features Emmanuel on electric guitar (a fine-looking Tele)—a fairly rare sight these days. In the clip, the band tackles a fun I-IV-V blues-rocker in E, and there are plenty of fretwork fireworks to go around. And yes, that's Stu Hamm on bass.

For more information about the G4 Experience, visit G4Experience.com.

Def Leppard have announced Volume One, a box set collecting the band's first four studio albums, plus a disc of rarities and a live set called Live at the LA Forum 1983. The set is the first in a planned four-volume, career-spanning box set series.

In total, Volume One contains the band's first four albums—1980's On Through The Night, 1981's High ’N’ Dry, 1983's Pyromania and their blockbuster 1987 album, Hysteria—in addition to Rarities Volume 1, a compilation of rare B-sides and early recordings hand-selected by frontman Joe Elliot, a live set called Live at the LA Forum 1983 and the band's original, self-titled EP on a three-inch CD.

Every album in the box set was mastered by longtime band producer Ronan McHugh and cut by Greg Moore. It will be available as an 8CD set, or a 7LP, limited edition set. The set will also feature a hardback book with rare photos of the group.

Volume One will be available June 1 via Bludgeon Riffola/Mercury/UMe. You can preorder it right here.

Def Leppard are set to embark on a massive, co-headlining tour with Journey in May. You can see a full list of dates below.

Journey / Def Leppard 2018 Tour Dates
5/21 – Hartford, CT, XL Center
5/23 – Albany, NY, Times Union Center
5/25 – Hershey, PA, Hersheypark Stadium
5/26 – Buffalo, NY, KeyBank Center
5/28 – Cleveland, OH, Quicken Loans Arena
5/30 – Cincinnati, OH, U.S. Bank Arena
6/1 – Toronto, ON, Rogers Centre
6/2 – Pittsburgh, PA, PPG Paints Arena
6/5 – Raleigh, NC, PNC Arena
6/6 – Knoxville, TN, Thompson-Boling Arena
6/8 – Bristow, VA, Jiffy Lube Live
6/9 – Charlotte, NC, Spectrum Center
6/11 – Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Center
6/13 – New York, NY, Madison Square Garden
6/15 – Newark, NJ, Prudential Center
6/16 – Baltimore, MD, Royal Farms Arena
7/1 – Atlanta, GA, SunTrust Park
7/3 – Noblesville, IN, Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
7/4 – Milwaukee, WI, Summerfest
7/6 – Memphis, TN, FedExForum
7/7 – North Little Rock, AR, Verizon Arena
7/9 – Tulsa, OK, BOK Center
7/11 – Louisville, KY, KFC Yum! Center
7/13 – Detroit, MI, Comerica Park
7/14 – Chicago, IL, Wrigley Field
7/16 – Wichita, KS, INTRUST Bank Arena
7/18 – Sioux Falls, SD, Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
7/19 – Lincoln, NE, Pinnacle Bank Arena
7/21 – Denver, CO, Coors Field
7/23 – Des Moines, IA, Wells Fargo Arena
7/25 – Kansas City, MO, Sprint Center
7/27 – Minneapolis, MN, Target Field
7/28 – Fargo, ND, Fargodome
8/11 – Boston, MA, Fenway Park
8/13 – Virginia Beach, VA, Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
8/15 – Columbia, SC, Colonial Life Arena
8/17 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL, BB&T Center
8/18 – Tampa, FL, Amalie Arena
8/20 – Birmingham, AL, Legacy Arena @ The BJCC
8/22 – Columbus, OH, Schottenstein Center
8/24 – St. Louis, MO, Busch Stadium
8/25 – Nashville, TN, Bridgestone Arena
8/27 – New Orleans, LA, Smoothie King Center
8/29 – Dallas, TX, American Airlines Center
8/31 – San Antonio, TX, AT&T Center
9/1 – Houston, TX, Toyota Center
9/5 – Albuquerque, NM, Isleta Amphitheater
9/7 – Phoenix, AZ, Talking Stick Resort Arena
9/8 – Las Vegas, NV, T-Mobile Arena
9/21 – San Francisco, CA, AT&T Park
9/23 – San Diego, CA, Petco Park
9/25 – Salt Lake City, UT, Vivint Smart Home Arena
9/26 – Nampa, ID, Ford Idaho Center Arena
9/28 – Portland, OR, Moda Center
9/29 – Seattle, WA, Gorge Amphitheatre
10/1 – Vancouver, BC, Rogers Arena
10/4 – Sacramento, CA, Golden 1 Center
10/6 – Los Angeles, CA, The Forum

BackStory Events and Guitar World invite you to join us for the live stream of our exclusive interview with Joe Satriani, John Petrucci and Phil Collen of the G3 Tour. The interview will take place at 6:00 p.m. EST on February 7, live from the Cutting Room in New York City.

We’ll talk about the new G3 Tour, Joe’s new album, What Happens Next, and much more. The event will feature a long-form interview and the opportunity for audience questions.

The trio will be interviewed by author and journalist Brad Tolinski. The event is part of the BackStory Events online series and will be live streamed by Guitar World.

To find out more, visit satriani.com/G3 or backstoryevents.com.

The video will appear below once we go live.

Delta Deep—the bluesy side project from Def Leppard's Phil Collen, Stone Temple Pilot's Robert DeLeo, frontwoman Debbi Blackwell-Cook and drummer Forrest Robinson—just released a new live album, East Coast Live. To celebrate, the band teamed up with Guitar World to premiere the video for one of the album's best tracks, "Whiskey." You can watch it above.

"I originally came up with this chord sequence about forty years ago, when I learnt all of these cool jazz chords," Collen said of "Whiskey." "However, it didn't really have any relevance until we started writing the first Delta Deep album then I just started singing 'I found me this place, where the whiskey drinks the blues' and Debbi Blackwell-Cook just saw the whole story of the song totally mapped out for her, as she'd just lost her son to gun violence, and it wrote itself for her."

"On the original album version I used a 1954 Gibson 175 and a 1963 Gibson 330, the solo was my natural Jackson PC1," Collen continued. "The live version is my rootbeer Jackson PC1 going through a Blackstar ID60 combo with a direct out and a mic."

East Coast Live is available now, you can pick it up for yourself here.

For more on Delta Deep, follow along on Facebook.

Though Joe Satriani's 2018 G3 Tour, with John Petrucci and Phil Collen, only started two weeks ago, it has already seen a couple of all-star jams for the ages.

Last week, at the Fox Theater in Oakland, the trio was joined by Journey's Neal Schon for a rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." Those who attended the G3 show at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles Friday night hoping to see another star-studded jam certainly did not come away disappointed.

Satriani, Petrucci and Collen were joined onstage by Glenn Hughes and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith for a searing version of Deep Purple's "Highway Star." You can see some fan-filmed footage of the performance above.

Seeing Hughes and Smith rocking out with Satriani is not a huge surprise, seeing as they served as the backing band—Hughes on bass, Smith on drums—on Satriani's new album, What Happens Next. The guitarist hand-picked the duo specifically to help him move away from the more progressive, twisty elements of his recent albums and toward a more basic, hard-rock sound.

“I said to Chad in an early text, ‘No odd time signatures, no progressive stuff, pure rock and soul,’" Satriani said. "The last two records really showed that I was enjoying playing with progressive elements, and when I reached the end of Shockwave Supernova, I said, ‘I think I’ve done it. For some reason, I don’t feel like going back over that anymore’.”

Be sure to look for more coverage of Satriani and What Happens Next in the brand-new, March 2018 issue of Guitar World!

Joe Satriani released his stellar new album, What Happens Next, earlier this month (via Sony/Legacy Recordings). If one thing's for sure, it's that after writing and recording 15 solo albums (not to mention countless other projects) over the course of three decades, Satch is far from lacking in inspiration or ideas.

Make no mistake—What Happens Next isn't a question. It's an emphatic statement of musical direction from one of the finest melodic guitar players ever to pick up the instrument.

No better is that realized than at one of Satch's live performances, and with the 2018 G3 tour under way with a new lineup, Joe took the time to chat with Guitar Interactive Magazine about the new record and world tour. He also hinted at some players that might be joining him onstage in years to come.

Around the 26:30 mark of the audio clip below, Satriani says:

"I've asked Eddie Van Halen several times to come out. I’m a big Eddie fan, and I think the audience will just go absolutely crazy to see him step out of his band and show everybody all the other things he can do, because he’s an amazing musician. I'd love at some point to get Jeff Beck, Billy Gibbons, Brian May and work my way through all these players. They are basically my heroes."

Since its debut in 1996, Joe's G3 tours have consistently featured the world’s greatest guitarists, including Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Steve Lukather, Robert Fripp, Guthrie Govan and many more. The 2018 edition is no exception, with Dream Theater’s John Petrucci and Def Leppard's Phil Collen joining Satch on the road.

The G3 tour kicked off January 11 in Seattle and continues across the U.S. before winding up February 25 in Milwaukee. The tour then makes its way to Europe in March with Uli Jon Roth taking the place of Phil Collen.

Journey and Def Leppard have confirmed the news they have been teasing for quite a while now: they're going on tour together. And, by the looks of it, it's gonna be epic.

The two bands will split headlining duties evenly across the 58-city tour, which will run from May 21—when it opens with a show at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut—to October 6, when the tour will close with a show at the Forum in Los Angeles.

The full itinerary, which you can see for yourself below, includes shows at New York's Madison Square Garden and Boston's Fenway Park and touches just about every corner of the U.S., with a couple of stops in Canada.

For tickets and more information, stop by journeymusic.com.

Journey / Def Leppard 2018 Tour Dates
5/21 – Hartford, CT, XL Center
5/23 – Albany, NY, Times Union Center
5/25 – Hershey, PA, Hersheypark Stadium
5/26 – Buffalo, NY, KeyBank Center
5/28 – Cleveland, OH, Quicken Loans Arena
5/30 – Cincinnati, OH, U.S. Bank Arena
6/1 – Toronto, ON, Rogers Centre
6/2 – Pittsburgh, PA, PPG Paints Arena
6/5 – Raleigh, NC, PNC Arena
6/6 – Knoxville, TN, Thompson-Boling Arena
6/8 – Bristow, VA, Jiffy Lube Live
6/9 – Charlotte, NC, Spectrum Center
6/11 – Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Center
6/13 – New York, NY, Madison Square Garden
6/15 – Newark, NJ, Prudential Center
6/16 – Baltimore, MD, Royal Farms Arena
7/1 – Atlanta, GA, SunTrust Park
7/3 – Noblesville, IN, Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
7/4 – Milwaukee, WI, Summerfest
7/6 – Memphis, TN, FedExForum
7/7 – North Little Rock, AR, Verizon Arena
7/9 – Tulsa, OK, BOK Center
7/11 – Louisville, KY, KFC Yum! Center
7/13 – Detroit, MI, Comerica Park
7/14 – Chicago, IL, Wrigley Field
7/16 – Wichita, KS, INTRUST Bank Arena
7/18 – Sioux Falls, SD, Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
7/19 – Lincoln, NE, Pinnacle Bank Arena
7/21 – Denver, CO, Coors Field
7/23 – Des Moines, IA, Wells Fargo Arena
7/25 – Kansas City, MO, Sprint Center
7/27 – Minneapolis, MN, Target Field
7/28 – Fargo, ND, Fargodome
8/11 – Boston, MA, Fenway Park
8/13 – Virginia Beach, VA, Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
8/15 – Columbia, SC, Colonial Life Arena
8/17 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL, BB&T Center
8/18 – Tampa, FL, Amalie Arena
8/20 – Birmingham, AL, Legacy Arena @ The BJCC
8/22 – Columbus, OH, Schottenstein Center
8/24 – St. Louis, MO, Busch Stadium
8/25 – Nashville, TN, Bridgestone Arena
8/27 – New Orleans, LA, Smoothie King Center
8/29 – Dallas, TX, American Airlines Center
8/31 – San Antonio, TX, AT&T Center
9/1 – Houston, TX, Toyota Center
9/5 – Albuquerque, NM, Isleta Amphitheater
9/7 – Phoenix, AZ, Talking Stick Resort Arena
9/8 – Las Vegas, NV, T-Mobile Arena
9/21 – San Francisco, CA, AT&T Park
9/23 – San Diego, CA, Petco Park
9/25 – Salt Lake City, UT, Vivint Smart Home Arena
9/26 – Nampa, ID, Ford Idaho Center Arena
9/28 – Portland, OR, Moda Center
9/29 – Seattle, WA, Gorge Amphitheatre
10/1 – Vancouver, BC, Rogers Arena
10/4 – Sacramento, CA, Golden 1 Center
10/6 – Los Angeles, CA, The Forum

Last fall, Joe Satriani announced the 2018 iteration of his G3 tour, featuring Dream Theater's John Petrucci and Def Leppard's Phil Collen. Sunday night, the tour stopped by the Fox Theater in Oakland, where the trio was joined by a special guest.

Above, you can watch the trio jam on Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" with another six-string legend, Journey's Neal Schon.

Debbi Blackwell-Cook—lead singer of Delta Deep, Collen's blues-based side project with Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo and drummer Forrest Robinson—also joined the trio to lend her considerable vocal talents to the performance.

Below, you can check out the full G3 tour itinerary and—for good measure—another fan-shot video of the performance.

G3 Tour, Featuring Joe Satriani, John Petrucci and Phil Collen

• January 16 Delta Hall at Eccles Theater Salt Lake City, UT *
• January 17 Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, NV
• January 18 Mesa Arts Center Mesa, AZ *
• January 19 Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, CA
• January 20 Balboa Theatre San Diego, CA
• January 21 Fox Tucson Theatre Tucson, AZ *
• January 24 Historic Paramount Theatre Denver, CO
• January 26 The Pavillion at The Toyota Music Factory Irving, TX *
• January 27 Austin City Limits - Moody Theater Austin, TX
• January 28 Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Houston, TX *
• January 30 Hard Rock Live Orlando, FL *
• January 31 Florida Theatre Jacksonville, FL *
• February 1 Pompano Beach Amphitheatre Pompano Beach, FL*
• February 2 Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall Fort Myers, FL *
• February 3 Mahaffey Theater St. Petersberg, FL *
• February 6 Raleigh Memorial Auditorium Raleigh, NC
• February 8 Toyota Presents Oakdale Wallingford, CT *
• February 9 Landmark Theatre Syracuse, NY *
• February 10 Palace Theatre Albany, NY *
• February 11 The Palace Theatre Greensburg, PA *
• February 14 Warner Theatre Washington, DC *
• February 15 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA
• February 16 Beacon Theatre New York, NY *
• February 17 Merriam Theater Philadelphia, PA
• February 18 New Jersey Performing Arts Center Newark, NJ *
• February 20 Auditorium Theatre Rochester, NY *
• February 21 Massey Hall Toronto, ONT
• February 22 Hard Rock Live Northfield, OH
• February 23 Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL *
• February 24 State Theatre Minneapolis, MN
• February 25 Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI

Break out your spandex and hairspray, because it’s time to head back to the Eighties. To many, the Eighties was the single most iconic era for rock guitar, as it produced so many legendary players.

In this new lesson video, Robert Baker kicks off the new year like it’s 1986, bringing you five iconic metal riffs for beginners. Rock out to riffs from Dokken, Def Leppard, and even Whitesnake.

You can grab the tabs for the lesson down below.

For more of Robert’s lessons, stop by his YouTube channel.

Back in September, Joe Satriani announced What Happens Next, his 16th studio album.

The following week, we got our first taste of the album when Guitar World premiered its first single, the hard-charging "Energy." Now, Satriani has given us another of the album's singles, with "Thunder High on the Mountain."

Like "Energy" before it, "Thunder High on the Mountain" showcases the raw power of the trio—Satriani, Glenn Hughes on bass and Chad Smith on drums—that recorded What Happens Next.

Satriani saw What Happens Next—before he began recording it—as a chance to move away from the high-concept, sci-fi-influenced themes he's known for.

“I said to Chad [Smith] in an early text, ‘No odd time signatures, no progressive stuff, pure rock and soul,’" Satriani said. "The last two records really showed that I was enjoying playing with progressive elements, and when I reached the end of Shockwave Supernova, I said, ‘I think I’ve done it. For some reason, I don’t feel like going back over that anymore’.”

You can hear "Thunder High on the Mountain" for yourself below.

When Joe Satriani—in addition to announcing his 16th solo album—What Happens Next—announced a G3 Tour featuring John Petrucci and Phil Collen, many (including many a Guitar World reader) scratched their heads at the choice of Collen, best known as the six-string ace for Def Leppard. Satriani recently—when speaking to Eddie Trunk—defended his choice of Collen, calling him a "total virtuoso."

"It's an interesting little thing about musicianship," Satriani said. "There are players that are known for being crazy and outstanding, but maybe you wouldn't want them in a band like AC/DC, or something like that, where you depend on certain rock attitude and performance."

Discussing how dynamics change when a star guitarist is part of a larger ensemble, he added that (referring to his time as the guitarist for Sammy Hagar-fronted Chickenfoot) "You can't go too crazy because you are part of a support team."

Focusing the discussion on Collen, Satriani said "I can tell by my ear that the guy [Collen] is a total virtuoso, but he's holding back because he's in a different kind of band. But when we got on stage during rehearsal at the G4 Experience, I was pleasantly surprised. But in a way I wasn't too surprised because I always knew that behind Def Leppard stuff was a lot more."

"And there it was. He could just go crazy and shred," he said. "We were up there, me, Tommy Emmanuel, and Phil, just making stuff up in front of an audience. And Phil's got that ability to go right to the edge and jump off."

"But he's also got that special something. Maybe it's years, decades, of being in a super stadium playing rock band. He knows how to keep it together and still put on a great show, even while he's trying something he's never done before."

You can watch the full interview, and check out the full itinerary of the upcoming G3 tour, below.

2018 G3 Tour featuring Joe Satriani, John Petrucci & Phil Collen itinerary:

• January 11 The Moore Theatre Seattle, WA
• January 12 Historic Elsinore Theatre Salem, OR
• January 13 Grand Sierra Theatre Reno, NV
• January 14 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
• January 16 Delta Hall at Eccles Theater Salt Lake City, UT *
• January 17 Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, NV
• January 18 Mesa Arts Center Mesa, AZ *
• January 19 Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, CA
• January 20 Balboa Theatre San Diego, CA
• January 21 Fox Tucson Theatre Tucson, AZ *
• January 24 Historic Paramount Theatre Denver, CO
• January 26 The Pavillion at The Toyota Music Factory Irving, TX *
• January 27 Austin City Limits - Moody Theater Austin, TX
• January 28 Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Houston, TX *
• January 30 Hard Rock Live Orlando, FL *
• January 31 Florida Theatre Jacksonville, FL *
• February 1 Pompano Beach Amphitheatre Pompano Beach, FL*
• February 2 Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall Fort Myers, FL *
• February 3 Mahaffey Theater St. Petersberg, FL *
• February 6 Raleigh Memorial Auditorium Raleigh, NC
• February 8 Toyota Presents Oakdale Wallingford, CT *
• February 9 Landmark Theatre Syracuse, NY *
• February 10 Palace Theatre Albany, NY *
• February 11 The Palace Theatre Greensburg, PA *
• February 14 Warner Theatre Washington, DC *
• February 15 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA
• February 16 Beacon Theatre New York, NY *
• February 17 Merriam Theater Philadelphia, PA
• February 18 New Jersey Performing Arts Center Newark, NJ *
• February 20 Auditorium Theatre Rochester, NY *
• February 21 Massey Hall Toronto, ONT
• February 22 Hard Rock Live Northfield, OH
• February 23 Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL *
• February 24 State Theatre Minneapolis, MN
• February 25 Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI

Over the past couple of months, we've brought you a couple of previews of Ronnie Montrose's final album, 10X10. There was "Color Blind" (featuring Steve Lukather and Sammy Hagar on vocals) and "Still Singin' With the Band" (featuring Glenn Hughes and Phil Collen). Today, 10X10 is finally available in its entirety.

Before Montrose's untimely death in 2012, he had an ambitious idea: record 10 songs with 10 different singers and call the album 10X10. Though he never lived to see its completion, bassist Ricky Phillips (Styx, Bad English)—who Montrose collaborated with on the project—made it his mission to complete it by enlising a small army of Montrose's friends to appear on it.

Other guests include Joe Bonamassa—who showcases his guitar talents on the track “The Kingdom’s Come Undone”—Edgar Winter—who stops by on “Love Is An Art”—and Tommy Shaw, who appears on “Strong Enough.”

“It’s valuable to have 10X10 be seen as Ronnie’s last work, rather than going and digging up some stuff from his past," Hagar said of the album. "This was something he truly had a vision for.”

You can check out the tracklist for 10X10below, and pick up a copy for yourself here.

Track Listing:

• 1. “Heavy Traffic” Feat. Eric Martin & Dave Meniketti
• 2. “Love Is An Art” Feat. Edgar Winter & Rick Derringer
• 3. “Color Blind” Feat. Sammy Hagar & Steve Lukather
• 4. “Still Singin’ With The Band” Feat. Glenn Hughes, Phil Collen & Jimmy “Z” Zavala
• 5. “Strong Enough” Feat. Tommy Shaw
• 6. “Any Minute” Feat. Mark Farner & Ricky Phillips
• 7. “The Kingdom’s Come Undone” Feat. Ricky Phillips & Joe Bonamassa
• 8. “One Good Reason” Feat. Bruce Turgon & Brad Whitford
• 9. “Head On Straight” Feat. Davey Pattison & Marc Bonilla
• 10. “I’m Not Lying” Feat. Gregg Rolie, Tom Gimbel & Lawrence Gowan

Joe Satriani is back in the game.

The legendary guitarist has announced his 16th solo album, What Happens Next, and the 2018 iteration of his G3 Tour, which will feature Dream Theater's John Petrucci and Def Leppard's Phil Collen.

What Happens Next was recorded with a remarkable power trio: Satriani on guitar, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple/Black Country Communion) on bass and drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), the latter reuniting with Satriani for the first time since their work in the supergroup Chickenfoot.

For the album, Satriani was once again joined by producer/engineer/mixer Mike Fraser, his frequent collaborator over the last 20 years.

What Happens Next is set for a January 12 release.

The G3 tour—featuring Petrucci and Collen—launches on January 11 in Seattle, WA and continues across the U.S. before winding up on February 25 in Milwaukee, WI.

“I could say that I’m surprised at the durability of G3 and how much it’s grown, but in a way I’m not,” Satriani said of the tour. “I think part of its charm and its mojo is in the chemistry of having three top guitarists share what they do on stage. It’s fun, it’s unpredictable, it’s wild, it’s everything you could want in a show.”

On top of all this, a new documentary—Beyond the Supernova—shot by Satriani's filmmaker son, ZZ, will make its debut at the Mill Valley Film Festival this October. The tour documentary chronicles Joe, along with his band and crew, on their last Shockwave Supernova tour throughout Europe and Asia.

There is a special tour pre-sale promotion giving fans the opportunity to buy concert tickets with the new album as well as VIP packages. Click here for more information, pre-sale opportunities and specific market pre-sale and on-sale dates.

You can check out the tracklist for What Happens Next, and the full itinerary of Satriani's 2018 G3 tour below.

What Happens Next Track Listing:

• 1 – Energy
• 2 – Catbot
• 3 - Thunder High On The Mountain
• 4 - Cherry Blossoms
• 5 – Righteous
• 6 - Smooth Soul
• 7 - Headrush
• 8 - Looper
• 9 - What Happens Next
• 10 - Super Funky Badass
• 11 - Invisible
• 12 - Forever And Ever

2018 G3 Tour featuring Joe Satriani, John Petrucci & Phil Collen itinerary:

January 11 The Moore Theatre Seattle, WA
January 12 Historic Elsinore Theatre Salem, OR
January 13 Grand Sierra Theatre Reno, NV
January 14 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
January 16 Delta Hall at Eccles Theater Salt Lake City, UT *
January 17 Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, NV
January 18 Mesa Arts Center Mesa, AZ *
January 19 Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, CA
January 20 Balboa Theatre San Diego, CA
January 21 Fox Tucson Theatre Tucson, AZ *
January 24 Historic Paramount Theatre Denver, CO
January 26 The Pavillion at The Toyota Music Factory Irving, TX *
January 27 Austin City Limits - Moody Theater Austin, TX
January 28 Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Houston, TX *
January 30 Hard Rock Live Orlando, FL *
January 31 Florida Theatre Jacksonville, FL *
February 1 Pompano Beach Amphitheatre Pompano Beach, FL*
February 2 Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall Fort Myers, FL *
February 3 Mahaffey Theater St. Petersberg, FL *
February 6 Raleigh Memorial Auditorium Raleigh, NC
February 8 Toyota Presents Oakdale Wallingford, CT *
February 9 Landmark Theatre Syracuse, NY *
February 10 Palace Theatre Albany, NY *
February 11 The Palace Theatre Greensburg, PA *
February 14 Warner Theatre Washington, DC *
February 15 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA
February 16 Beacon Theatre New York, NY *
February 17 Merriam Theater Philadelphia, PA
February 18 New Jersey Performing Arts Center Newark, NJ *
February 20 Auditorium Theatre Rochester, NY *
February 21 Massey Hall Toronto, ONT
February 22 Hard Rock Live Northfield, OH
February 23 Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL *
February 24 State Theatre Minneapolis, MN
February 25 Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI

(All dates on sale September 22nd except * on-sale October 6)

Before his death in 2012, guitarist Ronnie Montrose began recording an album with bassist Ricky Phillips (Styx, Bad English) and drummer Eric Singer (Kiss, Alice Cooper). The idea was to record 10 songs with 10 singers and call the album10X10.

Unfortunately, Montrose was unable to see the final product during his lifetime.

However, Phillips made it his mission to finish the songs; he enlisted a small army of Montrose's friends to record the vocals and guitar solos for each song—and he actually completed the album. In fact, it'll be released September 29 via Rhino.

Earlier this month, we premiered the album's first single, "Color Blind," featuring Sammy Hagar and Steve Lukather. Today we present the exclusive premiere of another song, "Still Singin' with the Band," which features Glenn Hughes, Def Leppard's Phil Collen and Jimmy "Z" Zavala. You can hear it below.

Besides the star-studded crew named above, the disc also features appearances by Joe Bonamassa ("The Kingdom's Come Undone"), Edgar Winter ("Love Is an Art") and Tommy Shaw ("Strong Enough"). Several artists heard on10X10recorded with Montrose during his career, including Winter, who invited the guitarist to play on his 1972 album,They Only Come Out at Night.

"It's valuable to have10X10be seen as Ronnie's last work, rather than going and digging up some stuff from his past," says Hagar, who recorded two albums with Montrose in the Seventies. "This was something he truly had a vision for."

"His songs still have the fire and angst of a young rebel, but with some added wisdom and foresight voiced in his own unique language of 'guitar-speak'," Phillips adds.

Below, check out "Still Singin' with the Band," the complete track listing, cover art and a whole lot more.

For more information, visit ronniemontrose.com.

RONNIE MONTROSE:10X10
1. "Heavy Traffic," Eric Martin and Dave Meniketti
2. "Love Is an Art," Edgar Winter andRick Derringer
3. "Color Blind," Sammy Hagar andSteve Lukather
4. "Still Singin' with the Band," Glenn Hughes, Phil Collen andJimmy "Z" Zavala
5. "Strong Enough," Tommy Shaw
6. "Any Minute," Mark Farner andRicky Phillips
7. "The Kingdom's Come Undone," Ricky Phillips andJoe Bonamassa
8. "One Good Reason," Bruce Turgon andBrad Whitford
9. "Head on Straight," Davey Pattison andMarc Bonilla
10. "I'm Not Lying," Gregg Rolie, Tom Gimbel andLawrence Gowan

But wait, there's more....
A few weeks after10X10is released, Rhino will introduce Deluxe Editions ofMontrose(1973) andPaper Money(1974). Each double-disc set includes a newly remastered version of the original album, plus a bonus disc of unreleased demos, studio recordings and live performances. Each collection will be available October 13. That same day, vinyl and digital versions will be released. These double LPs include the remastered version of the original album along with a selection of bonus recordings.

MONTROSE: DELUXE EDITION
Disc One: Original Album Remastered
1. "Rock The Nation"
2. "Bad Motor Scooter"
3. "Space Station #5"
4. "I Don't Want It"
5. "Good Rockin' Tonight"
6. "Rock Candy"
7. "One Thing On My Mind"
8. "Make It Last"

Disc Two: Bonus Tracks
1. "One Thing On My Mind" - Demo *
2. "Shoot Us Down" - Demo *
3. "Rock Candy" - Demo *
4. "Good Rockin' Tonight" - Demo *
5. "I Don't Want It" - Demo *
6. "Make It Last" - Demo *
7. "Intro: Tom Donahue" - Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973 *
8. "Good Rockin' Tonight" - Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973 *
9. "Rock Candy" -Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973 *
10. "Bad Motor Scooter" -Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973 *
11. "Shoot Us Down" - Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973 *
12. "One Thing On My Mind" - Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973 *
13. "Rock The Nation" - Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973 *
14. "Make It Last" - Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973 *
15. "You're Out Of Time" - Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973 *
16. "Roll Over Beethoven" - Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973 *
17. "I Don't Want It" - Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973 *

PAPER MONEY: DELUXE EDITION
Disc One: Original Album Remastered
1. "Underground"
2. "Connection"
3. "The Dreamer"
4. "Starliner"
5. "I Got The Fire"
6. "Spaceage Sacrifice"
7. "We're Going Home"
8. "Paper Money"

A lot of celebrity-owned guitars come through the doors of World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. Sometimes the celebrities who owned the axes—or their family members, friends or employees—drop by as well.

If the pawn shop's name sounds familiar, that's because it has been famously featured on the History channel's Pawn Stars for years.

Recently (hey, last summer is "recently," right?), a woman brought in an artist-proof copy of a Jackson Phil Collen signature guitar, hoping to score $10,000, which is no small sum. The brain trust behind the show then turned to an expert for advice. That expert called in a reliable source to authenticate the instrument: Phil Collen himself—he of Def Leppard and Man Raze fame.

You can check out the entire scene below. It includes a nice bit of shredding by Collen.

You can view more Pawn Stars episodes on the show’s YouTube channel and stream episodes and exclusive videos on its action-packed website.

In this new clip from DiMarzio, Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen demos the Super 3, HS-2 and Super Distortion S pickups.

Collen also jams with keyboardist CJ Vanston on "Inside/Outside.”

“I’ve been playing DiMarzio pickups for at least forty years,” Collen says. “They’re all over our records. I put them in every guitar.”

DiMarzio’s Super 3 humbucker is a workhorse for heavy metal players. The top end is very dark (especially for a high-output pickup), but the low end isn't real muddy, so players can turn both bass and treble controls up on the amp to get great scream and crunch.

The HS-2 is known for two distinct qualities: in humbucking mode, it’s got a solid, natural sound that’s cleaner and brighter than a conventional humbucker, while single-coil mode creates great vintage tones.

The Super Distortion S offers the performance of DiMarzio’s famous Super Distortion in a humbucking Strat bridge direct replacement-size pickup. DiMarzio built in the same blend of power and tone that made the original Super Distortion the worldwide standard for high-output humbuckers.

For more information, visit dimarzio.com.

Joe Satriani recently announced the 2017 G4 Experience: Surfing with the Alien 30th Anniversary, with special guests Paul Gilbert, Def Leppard's Phil Collen and Ratt's Warren DeMartini. The event is scheduled for July 24 to 28 at Asilomar Center in Carmel, California.

In the exclusive video below, Satriani discusses some of the finer points of this year's camp.

“I’m thrilled to have Phil Collen and Warren DeMartini joining Paul Gilbert and myself for this year's G4 camp," Satriani says. "What an incredible lineup! Phil, Warren and Paul are virtuosos with a wide range of professional experience in the music world. Together, we look forward to sharing all of our musical knowledge with this year’s G4 campers.”

Phil Collen echoes that sentiment, saying, "I'm thrilled and honored to be joining Joe on the G4 experience and I'm stoked to get to play with him and to share some of my experiences with all the attendees."

For its fourth installment, the G4 Experience enjoys a game-changing and historic first. The camp will celebrate the writing, recording and performance of Satriani’s seminal Grammy–nominated, platinum-selling 1987 album, Surfing with the Alien—one of the most successful instrumental guitar albums ever made. Recognizing the record’s 30th anniversary, campers will enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pull back the curtain on the album with the visionaries behind the music.

Satriani will be joined by longtime co-conspirator and Surfing with the Alien co-producer John Cuniberti in addition to other special guests. His original live band during the record’s tour cycle, Stu Hamm and Jonathan Mover, will return for the first time since 1995 for the evening’s performances.

For more information on G4, visit G4Experience.com.

Def Leppard's new concert film, And There Will Be a Next Time: Live from Detroit, captures the power and raw energy of one of rock’s most dynamic and celebrated bands.

The disc, which was filmed at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, includes a gaggle of hits from across the band's 40-year career, including highlights from their monster albums—Pyromania and Hysteria—straight on through to their self-titled 2015 release.

I recently spoke with guitarist Phil Collen about Live from Detroit, the 30th anniversary of Hysteria, gear and more. You can check out the interview below.

And There Will Be a Next Time: Live from Detroit will be out February 10—and the band will be hitting the road again this spring. Check out all the dates right here.

What made the band decide to do a live project?
During this last tour, everyone—including the band—was saying this was the best they had ever heard Def Leppard. We knew we had to document it. We had also done Live: In the Round, In Your Face back in 1987 and knew we needed to update it. It was a no-brainer. But there was no real concept voyage behind it.

The first real sellout on the last tour was in Detroit, which has always been a brilliant market for the band. So we said, let’s record the most ravenous audience on that tour and the first sellout and update the whole thing, since it was all going so well. That was it.

Are there any extra nerves going into recording a live show, knowing there are no second chances?
Not so much nerves, but I do remember going over to the side and seeing a drone camera floating around by my head, filming me and taking photos. You get distracted and go, “This is not normal!” [laughs]. All of these kinds of things happen, but it’s all part of a live performance. There’s also going to be mistakes in live things, but it just shows that you’re human and it makes the record even more live.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Hysteria. What was your biggest challenge when making that album?
The biggest challenge was that we had been working with Mutt Lange and then he had to go off and finish a prior commitment, which was the Cars' album [Heartbeat City]. So we fended for ourselves for a while and it just wasn’t happening. Then when he came back into the fold, he had a vision of what it was going to sound like, and that’s when it really started clicking. It was a joy to actually hear it come together because it had been frustrating working on something for two years.

When Mutt came back in, we saw what he was trying to accomplish. It was something unique that I had never heard before. Now you hear it for what it is, but at the time it was the absolute perfect hybrid of a rock album into the pop market.

Any interesting stories about working with Mutt on that album?
People tend to think of Mutt as a perfectionist, and that’s really not the case at all. He was just looking for inspiration. At one point I remember questioning the solo for “Run Riot,” and he said, “That’s totally fine. As long as it has the right kind of vibe.” For Mutt, it didn’t have to be perfect. It just had to have the right tone, rhythm or performance.

What can you tell be about Def Leppard’s upcoming tour with Poison and Tesla?
Tesla was the first band to actually play with us in the round when Hysteria was out. We’ve also known the Poison guys forever. We all get along so well that it’s going to be like a family circus.

Are there any other projects you’re working on?
I’m producing the new Tesla album, and I'm very excited about it. We’ve done a lot of it on tour and are just finishing it up. It’s fantastic and so diverse. My side project, Delta Deep, has a live album we recorded that will be coming out this year, and we’re also starting work on the second studio album. That’s pretty exciting as well.

What’s your current live setup like these days?
I use my Jackson PC 1 Signature Series that I’ve been using it for 20 years. It’s been updated with DiMarzio pickups, which I’ve been using for 40 years. I use a Marshall JMP through a Fractal Axe-FX II going through two EVH cabs. When I’m doing anything else, I use a Blackstar ID:60 amp, which is phenomenal.

Of all of the highlights of your career, are there any that stand out as most memorable?
I think the Hysteria album was where we really achieved something that wasn’t there before. Mutt said, “Let’s make a rock version of [Michael Jackson’s] Thriller.” We really succeeded because we had seven hit singles, and the whole thing was different for that time period. It was very rewarding as an artist because we wanted to get something, and Mutt bit into this thing and it worked.

The sound was very different and unlike anyone else. It was the definitive Def Leppard sound—album, songs, everything. That was the benchmark.

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

In this new clip from DiMarzio, Def Leppard axeman Phil Collen shares his love for the company’s Super Distortion humbucker.

Collen also plays along to the guitar solo from “Photograph,” a track that showcases the Super Distortion’s ripping tone.

According to the company, DiMarzio’s Super Distortion (and its original three-conductor version, the Dual Sound) was the first pickup specifically designed to kick a tube amp into total overdrive.

The humbucker features a classic balance of tones—thick, boosted mids, big lows and fat highs. Plus, its four-conductor wiring allows instant access to Strat-like split and series-parallel modes, making it versatile, too.

Watch the video below, and for more information, visit dimarzio.com.

A lot of celebrity-owned guitars come through the doors of World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. Sometimes the celebrities who owned them do as well.

The shop has become famous thanks to the History channel program Pawn Stars, where the employees of the family-owned shop check out artifacts and haggle over prices with customers.

Recently, a woman brought in an artist-proof copy of a Jackson Phil Collen signature guitar, hoping to score a cool 10 grand for it. The show turned to an expert for advice, who then called in a reliable source to authenticate the instrument: the Def Leppard guitarist himself.

Check it out.You can view more Pawn Stars episodes on the show’s YouTube channel and stream episodes and exclusive videos on its website.

Jackson proudly announces the upcoming release of new signature models with Def Leppard’s Phil Collen, Revocation’s Dave Davidson, Scott Ian of Anthrax, Periphery’s Misha Mansoor and Lamb of God’s Mark Morton.

USA Signature Limited Edition Phil Collen PC1 DX

Slated for July, Jackson will offer a new incarnation of Collen’s revered model in the form of the USA Signature Limited Edition Phil Collen PC1 DX.

The new, limited edition model features a gorgeous mahogany body with quilt maple top in an understated but elegant Au Natural finish, 25.5” scale, through-body quartersawn maple neck with graphite reinforcement, 12”-16” compound-radius flame maple fingerboard, DiMarzio pickups with Jackson Sustainer/Driver in H/S/S configuration, Floyd Rose Original tremolo, spoke-wheel trussrod adjustment, licensed Fender Strat reverse headstock and gold hardware.

USA Signature Special Edition Dave Davidson Warrior 7

Over the last decade, Boston-based act Revocation has firmly established itself as one of the finest in today’s death metal genre. Much of that has to do with its frontman Dave Davidson, whose impressive guitar playing has established him as a top modern metal guitarist.

The special run of USA Signature Dave Davidson Warrior WR7 models offers the only 7-string in the current Warrior lineup, and features an ash body, 25.5” scale, one-piece quartersawn maple neck with ash wings and matching headstock, 12”-16” compound radius with ebony fingerboard, 24 jumbo frets and mother of pearl piranha inlays. It is also equipped with Dave Davidson Signature DiMarzio humbucking pickups, a 7-string Floyd Rose Original bridge with double locking nut and push-pull coil-split volume knob.

Available in Charcoal Black Stain; arriving October 2016.

USA Signature Scott Ian King V KVT (Pictured)

In a career spanning four decades, veritable thrash godfather Scott Ian has pummeled audiences with his huge sound and formidable chops. Ian not only co-founded New York “Big Four” thrash institution Anthrax, but also helped created and define U.S. metal in the mid-1980s.

As Anthrax rides the high of 2016’s Top 10 Billboard debut with 11th studio album For All Kings and enjoys a massive supporting tour schedule, Jackson is thrilled to honor Ian with a new signature model based on the Jackson King V he predominantly used to record the effort.

The Scott Ian USA King V KVT features a mahogany body and neck with neck-thru construction, 24.75” scale, 12”-16” compound-radius rosewood fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets and pearl block inlays, Ivoroid neck and headstock binding and traditional Jackson six-in-line headstock. This signature King V’s commanding and distinctive voice is driven by a pair ofmodern Seymour Duncan pickups—a crisp JB SH-4 humbucking bridge pickup and warm ‘59 SH1N humbucking neck pickup that combine for highly balanced, flexible tone, with plenty of high output for immaculate cleans and raw, raunchy distortion.

Equipped with a TonePros adjustable Tune-O-Matic style bridge with Gotoh stop tailpiece and tuners, the Scott Ian signature model is available in an Ivory finish with a white pickguard, set off by chrome hardware. Available Now.

X Series Signature Scott Ian King V KVXT

• Jackson is also excited to offer a more affordable version with the X Series Scott Ian King V KVXT, also in an Ivory finish with a white pickguard and chrome accents to match his USA model.
• Other features include a mahogany body and neck with neck-thru construction, 24.75” scale, 12”-16” compound-radius rosewood fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets and pearloid block inlays, white binding around the neck and headstock, Jackson compensated and adjustable TOM-style bridge with anchored tailpiece and Jackson die-cast tuners. Coming October 2016.

USA Signature Limited Edition Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6

New for summer 2016, Jackson has added a limited edition vivid Matte Lambo Orange satin finish to Misha Mansoor’s already-popular USA signature Jackson lineup.
Mansoor is acclaimed for his masterful guitar work in fashioning the progressive metal of Periphery, and Jackson is proud to have collaborated so closely with the esteemed Djent-leman on his Juggernaut models.

Features include a distinctive Jackson body shape inspired by the Dinky, 25.5” scale, a bolt-on quartersawn maple neck with graphite reinforcement sculpted to Mansoor’s own custom profile, a 20" radius ebony fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets, mother-of-pearl piranha inlays, Luminlay fluorescent side dots, heel-end thumbwheel truss rod adjustment, dual direct-mount signature Bare Knuckle "Juggernaut" humbucking pickups with black covers, Hipshot 6 bridge, five-way switching, a push-pull (on/off) tone knob and black hardware.
Includes custom black Jackson case with blue edges and Mansoor’s "Bulb" logo. Available July 2016.

USA Signature Limited Edition Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT7

Mansoor’s in-demand 7-string Juggernaut is also available in a limited edition Matte Lambo Orange finish for summer 2016.

The USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT7 exhibits the same standout features as the 6-string, including an alder body with quilt maple top, 20" radius ebony fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets, mother-of-pearl piranha inlays, Luminlay fluorescent side dots, dual direct-mount signature Bare Knuckle "Juggernaut" humbucking pickups with black covers, five-way switching, Hipshot® hardtail 7-string bridge and a push-pull (on/off) tone knob.

This 26.5” scale length instrument also offers premium features such as a Jackson AT1 headstock with Hipshot open-gear locking tuners (four on top, three on bottom), a single volume control knob and black hardware.

Includes custom black Jackson case with blue edges and Mansoor’s "Bulb" logo. Available July 2016.

USA Signature Limited Edition Mark Morton 10th Anniversary Dominion

Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton has led his million-album-selling, Grammy-nominated band to the forefront of U.S. metal. By combining explicit technique, angular off-kilter riffs and full-throttle sound, Morton continues to redefine the genre.

He worked closely with Jackson on his signature model, creating it the original Jackson way — with pencil, paper and imagination. The result was the Mark Morton Dominion — a versatile guitar for all types of music that in 2016 celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Jackson is extraordinarily privileged to have shared in such a monumental journey over the last decade with Morton, and is thus marking this milestone with the release of a limited edition model. The USA Signature Limited Edition Mark Morton 10th Anniversary Dominion features a bound and chambered mahogany body with a gorgeous quilt maple top, 24.75” scale length, cooked mahogany through-body neck with an ultra-smooth hand-rubbed urethane gel back finish and graphite reinforcement, 12”-16”compound-radius bound ebony fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and shark-eye block inlays and a distinctive three-on-a-side Mark Morton headstock.

This model is also equipped with gold covered DiMarzio Mark Morton signature pickups with dual-circuit design (lead and rhythm), three-way toggle pickup selector switch, two-way slider switch, dedicated coil tap for head pickup, compensated bridge with stop tailpiece, gold bezels and Sperzel locking tuning machines. Available in Violin Brown; Coming October 2016.

For more information, visit jacksonguitars.com.

Guitarist Phil Collen is a certified rock-and-roller for life.

Since joining Def Leppard in 1982, he's enjoyed being in a popular rock band that continues to make music to this day.

However, if you talk to him, he'll quickly remind you that he's more than a rock guitarist. He strives to listen to all kinds of music—soul, funk and blues included—and constantly tries to explore new ways to express himself.

That's where his new project comes in. He enlisted the help of Stone Temple Pilots' bass player Robert DeLeo, singer Debbi Blackwell-Cook (backup vocalist for such artists as Michael Buble and Luther Vandross) and drummer Forrest Robinson (drummer for India.Arie, Joe Sample & the Crusaders, TLC) for a new blues-, funk- and soul-flavored band called Delta Deep.

The band will release their debut album June 23. The album also features Whitesnake's David Coverdale, Def Leppard's Joe Elliott, Sex Pistols' Paul Cook and bassist Simon Laffy.

Collen initially began the project in 2012 after jamming at his house with friend and relative Blackwell-Cook (She is the godmother of Collen’s wife, Helen). Collen, Helen and Debbi began writing original music, which Collen and Debbi recorded in Collen’s home studio. Their joyful pastime quickly became something more and they enlisted the other members to see where they could go. As they found out, it proved to be an eye-opening experience and gave them a chance to "stir things up."

Guitar World caught up with Collen prior to the album's release to find out why he felt it was important to form this band and how it compares to his rock life in Def Leppard.

GUITAR WORLD: One of the reasons you started with this band is you felt there wasn't enough true blues, soul and funk music being made today. Can you elaborate on that?

I'm just not hearing it being expressed these days. The reason I picked up my guitar was to express myself. I'm hearing a lot of music these days, whether it's soul music with no soul in it or R&B that doesn't have any rhythm. It's really weird. And that goes with the some of the late blues stuff; you don't hear that pain and suffering that really came from blues.

You listen to artists like Muddy Waters, and there's a lot of pain there. I certainly don't hear that. In this band, some of [the lyrical content] is very serious subject matter that goes back to what blues was created about. My wife lost two of her brothers to gun violence, and Debbie's son got shot dead two years ago. So they're able to muster up this agony, and it comes out in other ways.

A lot of music has gotten so clinical so it's refreshing to get out there and stir it up a little bit.

Do you think part of it is that all of these styles have been combined with each other, thus diluting them a bit?

I think in a lot of cases, everything's been done to death. Led Zeppelin was essentially a blues band and were session musicians. They started up as a bluesy things, as did the Rolling Stones. And being the creative guys in those bands, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger and Jimmy Page, they took it somewhere else. I think you can do that. You should never limit yourself to just a genre or style. If you're a true artist and are expressing yourself, there shouldn't be any boundaries.

A lot of what blues came from, it went to spiritual, gospel, blues, R&B, soul, funk ... it added all those elements to it. I do see when people are in a blues band they just try to copy the blues part or just try to copy the funk part, and that's not real. If you're a real artist and a real performer you're included all those things and are aware of all those things. If you're a true blues player, you have a bit of soul in you and vice versa. I think it's important to get away from restrictions. It feels very refreshing to be able to do that.

Was there something in particular that made you start feeling that way?

Yeah. I think even in Def Leppard we weren't just a rock band. When the success really kicked in was when we starting blending different styles into rock. It was a rock-pop hybrid. With Michael Jackson, most of the fans that bought Thriller were white. So it crossed over. If you're open-minded as an artist and add genres, you can let more in than let more out. That's a very important thing to know.

As a guitar player, I never really just listen to guitar players. You listen to either Aretha Franklin or Ella Fitzgerald or something like that, or Indian music, that's inspired me to do other stuff. Really hardcore punk music—I like the idea of that as well. It's just a combination of everything, and I think it's important for growth as an artist. People get frustrated if they don't allow themselves to experience all these things and get up and live and express through all these experiences. I think you're way better off if you have all these things.

You're mostly thought of as a rock guitarist. How do you think you've adjusted in terms of playing these different styles?

I think they're the same. My teachers were Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore and Jimi Hendrix, among others. They had gotten the stuff they had gotten from the generation before, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, that kind of stuff, and blended it with rock and roll and stuff.

I played like I've always played. It's different than when I write songs with Def Leppard because we have a structure to the band. We have so many vocals that we have to be very careful we don't screw the song up. That's why people ask me, "Why don't you play like you do on Delta Deep when you're with Def Leppard?"

And I said, "because it's a very different situation." Five people with backing vocals as an instrument.

With Delta Deep, you do one take a lot of the time and be very expressive. But with Def Leppard they're different things. My playing style, I haven't had to change anything, even the equipment I use is exactly the same. Jackson PC1 and a few different guitars. I played a Strat with a DiMarzio Cruiser [neck] pickup on some of the Delta Deep stuff that I wouldn't ever use on a Def Leppard song. And there's a couple other British jazz guitars I always try to get on recordings that I got on "Whiskey."

The most important thing is that it's just me doing my thing, playing to whatever context or whatever the song dictates really.

In the recent song preview you mentioned about using demo guitars to get a sloppy feel?

Yeah on some of the demos that we did for the album. For anyone that records a lot you often go. "Shit, that demo has such a great feel." That happens a lot. I've gone solos, even on Def Leppard albums, but it's the first take that I haven't thought about it yet.

I remember Marti Frederiksen who was producing on one of the [Def Leppard] songs, and he went out of the room and hit the record button, and everybody comes running back in. You make something up in the moment and that was the one that made the record because it had the right intention.

I think that happens with demos—you have the right intention and the first intention and a lot of times it's really cool if you just follow that. So yeah, that happened a lot with the Delta Deep stuff. The song "Down in the Delta," I think I used my original guitars. I added some overdubs to it but I think the original stuff was there and the first solo I did. I didn't think about it. It just went along with the song. It's not always the case but it's really exciting when you can keep the original song. The intention has to be the right one.

You mentioned that you use Jackson PC1 guitar. Why is that your guitar of choice?

It's been my signature model for almost 18 or 19 years. And I've changed them a little bit over the years. The necks have gotten fatter. I've put titanium parts of block and saddle and changed the sustainer as well. So those things have been changing constantly. I love them because most of them are made of mahogany and maple.

They're a really true hybrid. It's a little bit of a Strat, it's a little bit of a Les Paul and I can get all these different sounds out of it. For it it's like my favorite guitar and I use them all the time. I can get a variety of tones and get it to scream like I want to when I want it to when I put a sustainer on it.

Why did you settle on Delta Deep for the band name? Is it a reference to Delta Blues?

My wife Helen, she's an African-American woman. She said the sound of the stuff you and Debbie are doing sounds like Delta and Delta Deep so she came up with the name. And we had a song called "Down in the Delta."

But she came up with the idea in the first place and it totally fit with what we were doing. Obviously Delta Blues is slightly different than Chicago blues but, you know, it all comes from the same place. It's just when it got to Chicago it got more electric. The way I look at it, we've taken it a step further and got power electric stuff going. It's like anything else. You take an idea and you expand on it. That's the true art form...making it grow and giving it a chance to expand.

Do you have any specific memories of when you were first introduced to the blues and these other styles?

My introduction to the blues was probably the [Rolling] Stones. A lot of the artists I listen to, the Zeppelin stuff and Deep Purple stuff with Ritchie Blackmore. And also on my 16th birthday, when I started playing guitar, I was introduced to this album that had B.B. King on it and some other stuff. So it was pretty much from the get go, with Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, where they got their inspiration from.

How do you stay connected with these styles even after joining Def Leppard?

They're still part of it. AC/DC were basically a blues band. And Def Leppard always said our blueprint was Queen or AC/DC. It was like a cross between the two. And Queen sounded a bit like the Beatles with a lot more horsepower. And AC/DC, you strip any of those songs down and they're absolute blues songs. So Def Leppard was a combination of the two.

But again, you bring in more influences and change it into something else. With the Hysteria album, we were doing stuff like listening to Prince or Run DMC and Billy Idol and the Police and just different things. All these different things added to what our sound ended up being on that record. For some people it's quite contentious to play the same old, same old stuff and not grow at all.

I think it's really worth researching and expanding your sound if you're a band or an artist. If anybody gets an opportunity to be in a band where everybody's trying to push the boundaries all the time, it's a very exciting thing. Like I said, we've done that with Def Leppard. We constantly challenge us.

And with Delta Deep, it's almost like an acoustic blues thing that's got soul and Motown. When we started rehearsing I was like, "Shit, it sounds more like Rage Against the Machine than Muddy Waters." So you never know what your sound's going to be and if you like it—which we did, we loved it, we were like, "Oh my God, this is amazing." It inspires to go on and grow and go onto bigger things constantly.

I think the secret of a successful artist isn't money or success. It's actually being like a comedian and taking all these new things and constantly changing. It's the most rewarding part of being an artist.

How did you go about deciding who to have in the band?

Debbi Blackwell-Cook, she's a 62-year-old black woman who's been singing since she was a kid. And she's my wife's godmother.

So we knew each other and constantly would sit around singing around the house and having fun with it. It turned into songwriting.

And then my friend Chris Epting said I should meet Robert DeLeo, who's in Stone Temple Pilots. He loves funk and he's a bad-ass bass player. So he came down and he was perfect. He just loved all the stuff we were doing.

And Forrest Robinson has played with all these bands as a session musician and he was a little out there. So when we got together, it kept moving to different levels. It wasn't just blues, it wasn't just R&B, it had a rock flavor to it as well. It was very nice that everybody brought a very special thing and extreme versions of themselves and made the whole thing seem like it's on steroids.

What was it like having Joe come in as a guest musician?

It's great. I see him every night for the last 30-something years. I think he did some of his best singing on there. It's just wonderful. He tore it up and really did it proud. He and Debbie sound great together, as do Debbie and David Coverdale. It was really cool.

How did playing in this band compare with Def Leppard and other projects you've been part of?

It's the same but very different. Like I said, it's just a different context. It's still the same thing—I'm still trying to push the boundaries. The new Def Leppard album, we're really proud of it. We went overboard on it because in this era where you really have to make a record because no one really cares anymore. Delta Deep is a different thing because it's a different demographic, but the large rock thing is disappearing. So bands like Aerosmith aren't really doing albums anymore, and we kind of felt like that, but we started writing songs that sounded great so we thought we'd do an album for the right reasons.

But we still have that integrity and attitude with Def Leppard. And it goes right into everything else. It's always trying to improve on it and get better. You always try to write the best song and always trying to write something a certain way that you never really got right before. There's always something that drives the ambition to get it out there. I love doing what I do and I get to do it at different levels and that makes it even more special.

Anything you want to carry over into Def Leppard or another project?

They're very different. I think you always have to scratch the itch that you have to itch. It's kind of like doing that. Delta Deep is the first real guitar album. I've done a lot on Def Leppard albums and other records, but this is very expressive and there's a lot of guitars. Everything I do has its own place and its own context. They're different things and it's nice because you respect what each band or each concept has to offer.

Is the band planning to play shows?

Yeah. I love playing live so it's really good to get it out there.

I imagine the venues and shows will be much smaller in comparison to Def Leppard. It must be nice to have something like that to mix things up.

It is, it really is. And like I said, I do love playing live and then I get to do that and create as well. It's a dream come true. I'm actually getting to live that dream every single day, so it's great. We'll be playing little clubs for 200 people. Def Leppard just did festivals with more than 40 thousand people. It's a very different vibe completely, but it doesn't really matter as long as you get everything across.

Will be there be another album after this one?

There will be. We already have five songs half-written, or some of them completely written. One's actually completely recorded. So it's expanding on that with better songwriting and is more expressive. It's just great. We'll approach it slightly differently and will be in the same room at the same time. I think it's going to be wonderful. It's great just growing like that.

I imagine the chemistry is tighter since you've played more together.

Yeah. We were rehearsing this week and we were on fire. That chemistry stuff gives you goosebumps. And the more you play, the more you get it. Even Def Leppard, after all these thousand and thousand of shows, it still gets better. You improve on the vocals, and guitar playing gets better and everyone seeing you gets better. So yeah, it's great.

Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of "Down in the Delta," a new song by Delta Deep, a band featuring Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen and Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo.

The self-titled debut album by the band—which also features vocalist Debbi Blackwell-Cook and drummer Forrest Robinson—will be released June 23 via Mailboat Records.

The new disc also features guest appearances by Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott, Whitesnake’s David Coverdale, Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook and bassist Simon Laffy.

"I used my natural PC1 but also kept all my demo guitars because they were a bit sloppy and had a great feel," Collen said about "Down in the Delta."

"I wanted to keep the song sounding nasty. I think that vibe inspired Robert and Forrest. When they played along with my guitars they kept that same energy going. By the time Debbi added her vocals the song was as filthy as we could make it."

Collen initially started Delta Deep in 2012 after jamming at home with Blackwell-Cook, who happens to be the godmother of Collen’s wife, Helen. What started as a casual pairing quickly turned into much more. Collen, Helen and Debbi began writing original music, which Collen and Debbi recorded in Collen’s home studio. Later that year, a chance meeting re-acquainted Collen with Memphis native Forrest Robinson. A friend suggested giving STP bassist Robert DeLeo a call.

“We really wanted Robert in this band," Collen said. "He had the added firepower of being the premiere pioneer and most ‘badassed bass player’ to come out of the alternative rock explosion.”

Delta Deep is available for pre-order now via iTunes, where "Down in the Delta" happens to be available for instant download.

For more information about Delta Deep, visit deltadeep.net and follow them on Facebook.

Three decades into a remarkably successful career, guitarist Phil Collen looks at each day as a new beginning.

Best known for his work with rock band Def Leppard, Collen is also involved with a gritty blues-rock trio, Manraze, where he is joined by Paul Cook and Simon Laffy.

Their latest EP, I Surrender, was released late last year. His newest project is a blues duo, Delta Deep, with vocalist Debbi Blackwell-Cook. They’re at work on an album. He is also writing his autobiography.

Last year, Def Leppard released the live CD/DVD package Viva! Hysteria, which captures their Las Vegas residency, where they performed the classic Hysteria album in its entirety. The band played a stretch of concerts for fans who traveled from all points to see them — a fact Collen doesn’t take lightly.

In this interview, Collen looks back and faces forward regarding life as a member of Def Leppard, and what’s made it possible for the band to survive both personal and professional challenges.

GUITAR WORLD: Thirty-three years. Where did they go?

It’s weird, I know. It’s still ongoing. If I were looking back at something, I think it would make me feel old, but the fact that it’s ongoing and I have serious work to do, and of course promoting Manraze, there’s a lot going on.

Do you go back mentally and emotionally when you play those classic Def Leppard songs?

Interestingly enough, I don’t, but when we did the Viva! Hysteria thing, that’s exactly what happened. When we were rehearsing the songs, I’d remember all these crazy guitar parts that Mutt Lange would have me do. He’s say, “Try this,” and I’d say, “That doesn’t exist.”

He’d say, “Tune this guitar and let’s get this harmonic and counter-rhythm and this rhythm,” so I’m listening and re-learning this stuff and all these memories came flooding back. Even on stage, we did 11 shows and it was exactly what you said. I remembered being in the parking lot of the studio, the actual studio, the control room, where my guitars were, all the gear. It was very much time transportation.

Two-part question. First, like any relationship, how do you keep things interesting and challenging when you know each other so well?

Like any relationship, you have ups and downs. We’ve had all these crazy experiences, but one thing that keeps us very much grounded is that we’ve had all of these experiences together. We’ve had amazing highs and brutal lows, like a family, but the difference is we’ve been together longer than most families exist — someone leaves home at 18, the parents split up — we’ve been here for 33 years and we’re still trucking on, so that makes a big difference.

And the fact that we can relate to each other. You eventually fall out or disagree, but you have all this experience to keep you grounded and bound together. Plus, when you have new ideas, everyone’s really excited about this recording and what they want to bring to the table. It’s been a while since we did an original album. We did three songs on the Mirror Ball thing, but I think this will be different. It’s going to be an exciting Def Leppard record or EP. Whatever it’s going to be, it’s going to be really cool.

Have you chosen a producer?

We’re going to start with Ronan McHugh, who does all our other stuff. We may get someone. If we can find someone interesting enough, then we’ll definitely do that for a few songs. We have a concept already, I certainly do, of what the stuff should sound like, so I don’t want a producer coming in and putting their two cents in yet. We’ll select a few songs and have a producer come in to do that.

Second part: How do you keep going when you face some of the most difficult obstacles?

If you took anyone’s private family life, anyone in or out of the band, it’s actually worse than what we’ve been through as a band, so that’s how we view it. It’s like any family. People die, people get awful diseases, divorces, tragic and traumatic things. So we never view it as that. It just is what it is, really.

Over the years, you’ve watched the industry change: downloads, ringtones, social networking, crumbling labels, stolen music. Can you envision getting a band off the ground now?

Yeah, but on a different level. You don’t have the interruption, you don’t have A&R guys or record labels. It’s a very creative period if you want it to be. I’ve heard younger guys and musicians coming out, there’s this band in Ireland called The Strypes, they’re 15 or 16 years old, and they kind of sound like a cross between early Stones, Pretty Things and the Kinks, and so they’ve got this retro thing. I think it’s different from that point of view.

You don’t have these massive labels jumping on people too much anymore, they play it very safe, but I do think you can be very creative and expressive. I hear that a lot. It depends on what you want to do. If you want to be rich and famous, it’s probably not going to happen. If you want to express yourself and share it, then the world is your oyster, you can do anything you want. So on one hand you’ve got this golden age of creativity because you can make your own records, but you’re not going to get as much play out of it. If you want to be famous, which a lot of people want to be, it’s a bit tougher.

Is there a guitar album in your future?

Yeah, probably, I think so, because I’ve been recording some instrumental stuff, just guitar, so I think maybe somewhere. More like soundtrack stuff, very heavy to jazz fusion to metal, all in one. Probably after next year I’ll start working on it. You know what, I’ve already started working on it. I’ve got three songs that I’ve recorded.

Read more of Phil Collen’s interview here.

— Alison Richter

Alison Richter interviews artists, producers, engineers and other music industry professionals for print and online publications. Read more of her interviews right here.

"You know,” Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen says, “we weren’t doing what we were doing to be different. We were a bit different.”

What they did was create one of the more forward-thinking, over-the-top and ultimately successful albums in rock history: Hysteria. Released 25 years ago this summer, the record spawned an astonishing seven hit singles, including “Animal,” “Love Bites” and the monster smash “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”

It also hit Number One on the U.S. album chart—three times, no less—and went on to sell more than 20 million copies worldwide. Hysteria spearheaded a new strain of hard rock, one that favored lush vocal harmonies, shimmering, highly melodic guitars and intricate layers of sound over pile-driving riffs and distorted power chords.

If the term pop metal was at the time being tagged onto bands as something of an insult, Hysteria was in a sense a reclamation of the label, and also a perfectly realized example of just what the style could offer.

Not that everyone was receptive to it at first. “When Hysteria first came out, a lot of people went, ‘Dude, this is lame. This isn’t rock. It’s pop. It’s wussy,’ ” Collen recalls of the reaction from certain corners of the hard rock and metal world. “But actually it had the absolute effect it was supposed to have had. Because the point was to not just play to the rock audience but rather to play to everybody. And we achieved that.”

Indeed, Hysteria was a huge crossover success, and its cross-format appeal was due in large part to the creative vision of producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who had helmed Def Leppard’s two previous albums, High ‘n’ Dry and Pyromania, and entered into the new project with the band with the express intent of making what Collen calls “a hard rock version of [Michael Jackson’s] Thriller.” Says the guitarist, “The fact that with Thriller you had an R&B artist who crossed over not just into pop but into everything, even rock, with Eddie Van Halen playing on ‘Beat It,’ that really appealed to Mutt, and to us. But I think without Mutt’s vision the record would have been a more standard-sounding thing. He definitely pushed it.”

Just how far Lange and the band—which at the time also included singer Joe Elliot, bassist Rick Savage, drummer Rick Allen and guitarist Steve Clark, who passed away in 1991—would ultimately push things could not have been anticipated. Over the years, in fact, some of the more outlandish details of the recording sessions have seemingly passed into rock and roll mythology.

They include reports that the three-plus-years-in-the-making album was at the time the most expensive record ever produced in the U.K., that individual songs are fortified by hundreds of vocal tracks, and that Lange, in a quest to achieve a perfectly crystalline sound, had Collen and Clark record their guitars sans amplifiers, and by playing their parts one string at a time.

The most impressive thing about these tales is that, as Collen discusses in the following interview, they are to varying extents all true. “It was a pretty hardcore experience, actually,” he says with a laugh.

And then there’s the story of Rick Allen, who, early in the Hysteria sessions, was involved in a car accident that severed his left arm at the shoulder. Within months of the incident, however, the drummer was back in the studio relearning how to play using a custom electronic kit, his left foot picking up the slack for his missing appendage.

“It was pretty amazing to watch that happen,” Collen says. “Especially considering all the other stuff Rick couldn’t do—he couldn’t tie his shoelaces, he couldn’t cut a loaf of bread, he couldn’t even stand up properly because all of a sudden he was now unbalanced. But he practiced and practiced and practiced, just trying to get the coordination going between the left leg and right hand. And it was remarkable. I remember when Steve and I first went to see him in the hospital how terrible it was. We both thought, There’s no way he’s going to be able to do this again…

“But you know,” he continues, “Mutt’s actually great about that kind of stuff, too. He told Rick, ‘Why don’t you get some pedals and other things and just play?’ And Rick said, ‘Well, no one’s done it.’ And Mutt responded, ‘Then you’d be the first.’ ” Collen laughs. “I guess you could say that when we were making the album that’s kind of how we all felt at one time or another.”

From the outset, did Mutt Lange explicitly state that with Hysteria he wanted to create something that could be as successful and have as much crossover appeal as Thriller?

Absolutely he did. That was it in a nutshell. But I think even more than that, Mutt wanted to make something that was unique. With rock bands in general, they’re usually not very open-minded; they’re kind of genre-specific and like to stay in their little boxes. I think the whole thing with Mutt was he wanted to open it up and do a hybrid thing, which obviously he’s amazing at. Just listen to all the stuff he did with Shania Twain later on, which basically brought country to the masses. It was the same with us: it was all about crossover appeal. Because, you know, I hear a lot of people say, “High ’n’ Dry is my favorite Def Leppard album.”

And it’s like, yeah, but that sound was kind of borrowed from AC/DC, which in some ways was a Mutt thing as well [Lange had produced three AC/DC albums, including Highway to Hell and Back in Black]. It very much had that vibe. To me, Def Leppard didn’t start to sound unique until Pyromania, which crossed over, and then Hysteria, which really crossed over.

It’s been said that, up until that point in time, Hysteria was the most expensive record ever produced in the U.K. Reportedly, you had to sell five million copies just to break even.

I believe that’s true. We spent so much money in the studio. And we worked on the record for more than three years. But when you’re recording you don’t even think about it, because the artistic thing outweighs the business thing. We all were thinking, It doesn’t really matter how much we spend, as long as we make this amazing record. And then I saw all the bills and went, “Shit!” Changed my mind real quick! One thing that sticks out is I remember seeing a line item that said, “Sundries: $20,000.” And I was thinking, What the fuck’s sundries? And that was just from sending out for food from the restaurant next to one of the studios. Because you have to eat, right? [laughs]

Supposedly the bill was also ratcheted up because you had to buy out producer Jim Steinman’s contract. [The band had begun work on the album with Steinman prior to Lange coming onboard.]

That’s true. Jim got a hell of a lot of money for not doing very much. But I’ll tell you, he would have gotten a lot more if he’d taken points on the album instead of the buyout.

Over the years, Jim hasn’t had kind words to say about his time working with the band. It seems like you didn’t get along well.

We just had completely different approaches. We had worked with Mutt for two albums, and then when he wasn’t available at the start of Hysteria [Lange was in the midst of producing the Cars’ Heartbeat City], we decided to try someone else. But Jim was very set in his ways as far as what he liked, whereas we wanted to evolve and do something different. So it was a bit disappointing after having worked with Mutt. Because to be quite honest, I don’t know anybody else who can do what Mutt does.

“What Mutt does” turned out to be a lot of things that weren’t being done at the time, particularly on rock records. From a guitar perspective, is it true that there are no traditional amps on Hysteria and that you and Steve Clark played all your parts through a Rockman unit, which is essentially a headphone amplifier?

Pretty much. I used a small Gallien-Krueger amp on the demo for “Love Bites,” which made it on to the record, and also on a bit of “Animal”—that little feedback thing in the intro is me leaning hard on the Krueger. But otherwise the sound is all Rockman. And the reason for that was there were so many layers of tracks, and the sound was so huge that if you had had a massive Marshall sound it wouldn’t have fit sonically. The guitars would have smothered the vocals and drums. They really had to fit in a specific slot. Plus, Steve and I weren’t playing straight power chords; we were doing all these inversions and partials and different things that required definition. That would have been lost with a big, overdriven-amp sound.

You and Steve came from the guitar-into-Marshall school of playing. Did the fact that there were no amps to crank up strike you as odd?

Yes and no. Because it became apparent early on that it was all about the song. So you had to step out of the “I’m the guitar player, check my shit out” way of thinking. The big amps are fine if you don’t do a lot of overdubs. But we were moving into something more nuanced, with a lot of depth. So the guitar playing in some ways really took a backseat. The band and the song and the production came before the guitars. What Steve and I were doing was really just an enhancement of the overall song. And we accepted that.

The fact that the Rockman was developed by Boston’s Tom Scholz is an interesting connection. Even though those first few Boston albums were recorded before he invented the unit, was the sound that Tom achieved with Boston a template for what you were doing on Hysteria?

Absolutely. Big time. You listen to “More Than a Feeling” and then some of the stuff we were doing, and it’s almost like part two of that, if you like. Boston had incredible vocal sounds and the guitars were great. A Boston record is so well recorded and it does everything it’s supposed to. At the end of the day it wins all around. That’s what we were trying to achieve.

What was your main guitar on Hysteria?

A 1978 Japanese Strat I call Felix. It had two stock single-coils, and then I put in a DiMarzio humbucker at the bridge. My mom had actually bought it for me for my 21st birthday. I got so many sounds out of that guitar. I also used a few Charvels and my Jackson with the Cracklejack finish, and Mutt brought in a few of his own Teles. Steve tended to favor his three-pickup Les Paul with a Kahler on it, but he ended up using my Strat as well. So that’s the main sound you hear on the record: Felix through the Rockman.

Perhaps the most enduring guitar legend surrounding Hysteria is that Lange had you and Steve record many of your parts by breaking chords down into single notes and then building the chords back up by layering the tracks. But the truth is you only used this technique on the title song, correct?

Yes. I’ve heard the rumors taken as far as people saying we did the entire album one string at a time, which is crazy! [laughs] We really only did it on the bridge in “Hysteria”—the part that begins, [sings] “I gotta know tonight…” If I remember correctly it was just Mutt and me, sitting in a little jingle studio in Dublin, with me playing the part on one string, then stopping and doing it again on the next string and so on.

What was Mutt’s reasoning for having you do it this way?

He heard a certain sound in his head and he knew he wanted it to be a guitar and not a keyboard, but he also didn’t want there to be any sort of arpeggiation to it. And when you strum a chord on a guitar there’s always a certain amount of that. He wanted all the notes to hit right on the nose, so that everything about the sound hit the listener at the same time. And it worked.

At the time did this strike you as somewhat ridiculous? Did you think, I could just strum the chords and no one will notice the difference?

I’d feel that way all the time. [laughs] But then you’d do what Mutt asked you to do, and when you heard it back you’d go, Oh, okay. I get it. So at some point I just stopped even questioning him. Because at the end of the day you’d listen to the finished product and it would be like, You know, I’ve never actually heard that on a record before. So that was the payoff.

Mutt also took an interesting approach in terms of the order in which the instruments were tracked. Rather than laying down bass and drums first, as is customary, those instruments were actually added on after the guitars and vocals. As I’ve heard it told, Rick Allen’s drums weren’t brought in until the mixing stage and were actually played through a Fairlight sampler.

Yes, though I believe by the time we got to mixing we were using a Synclavier. Basically, Rick went in right at the end of the sessions and played all the drums on his electronic kit. That went into a Fairlight III and was then transferred to a Synclavier. So everything was time-coded and sequenced and quantized, and all that. This was all done right at the last minute. But with a record like Hysteria we couldn’t have laid down the drums first. There was no way, because the songs kept changing. Parts would be rewritten, tempos would shift, whole arrangements would come and go. “Animal” alone took three years to do. We kept changing it and redoing it. There was something in there, but we just couldn’t tell what it was. At one point we redid the entire song under Joe’s vocal. Mutt just scratched everything and we started over. That’s the way we were working.

One of the most recognizable aspects of Lange’s production style is the layered sound of his background vocals. In addition to the band members, he performed many of those backing vocals himself, correct?

Absolutely. Mutt sings on everything he’s ever done with us. And he’s an amazing singer. That’s his voice you hear in back on Highway to Hell, Back in Black, the Shania Twain stuff, the Bryan Adams stuff. He can make his voice sound like anything. On Hysteria, he basically said that we needed to make the backing vocals sound like another instrument.

Is it true that some songs feature upward of 100 vocal tracks stacked together?

Yes. On, say, “Gods of War,” I can remember all of us standing around a microphone and everyone doing a bunch of takes that were then copied and added together, and ultimately you had this massive, boomy, rich sound. There’s probably more than 100 vocals on there. And some songs needed that. But then something like “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” that’s me doing the main chorus background vocal, and I only did about four or eight tracks. But I almost lost my voice doing it because Mutt had me sing in such a rip-your-throat-out style. But it had the desired effect.

On an album filled with hit singles, “Pour Some Sugar on Me” was by far the biggest. But it came in right at the end of the Hysteria sessions, correct?

Yes. One day as we were getting toward the end, Joe was sitting in the control room with an acoustic guitar and playing the chorus chords and just singing, “Pour some sugar on me…” And Mutt said, “What’s that? We need to work on that.” By that time we thought we were at the end. Even the record company just wanted the thing out. But Mutt knew there was something there. And he was the one that came up with that country-ish single-note thing before the verses. Then he said that we needed something for the verse, so I came up with chord part. It was actually a longer riff but Mutt said, “No, cut it here, we need gaps.” Then Steve added the middle section. So it was pretty cool the way the song evolved, and it happened rather quickly. It took us three-plus years to do the album, but we did that song in 10 days.

Did you see a distinct shift in the band’s popularity once “Pour Some Sugar on Me” was released as a single?

Yes. That was the fourth single in America, and things changed almost overnight. And it all started because strippers down in Florida were requesting the song at the local radio stations, because they were all using it to dance to. [laughs] But it exploded so big. It really was a turning point. We were out on the road and had been for a while, and you could see the impact of the song in the size of the crowds.

You performed in-the-round on the Hysteria tour, one of the first rock bands to do so. How did that come about?

Our manager at the time, Peter Mensch, had seen Frank Sinatra do it at Madison Square Garden. So he came back and said, “You should do a rock version of that.” I believe Yes had done it too, but they weren’t really animated about it. We were kind of this youngish, MTV-generation band—we always said we looked more like Duran Duran than Iron Maiden—so the in-the-round thing was perfect for us, because we’d just be running around and having fun. And it was fun. But initially it was pretty scary, because you couldn’t hear your guitar all the time. This was before we had in-ear monitors, so you’d have your monitors under the stage and spread out everywhere. You just had to keep moving.

Given how studio-intensive the music was, did you find it difficult to recreate the Hysteria material onstage?

Sometimes. One song that was really hard was “Love Bites,” because it really was a studio song. When we started the tour we had never played it as a band, and it was different from anything we’d done before. It was really vocal-based. Mutt actually came in with that song and played it on acoustic guitar, and it sounded like Don Henley. And it was like, “Wow, this is fucking great. But how are we gonna do it?” And it actually ran away with itself, to put it one way. There were all these different parts and textures, and keyboards and vocals all over the place. So we never played it on tour—we were actually kind of scared of it. But after the success of “Pour Some Sugar on Me” we released “Love Bites” as a single, and it went to Number One. And then it was like, Fuck, we’re going to have to play this thing live! So I remember we took two days off in Canada to rehearse it and try to get a version together. Steve and I basically picked out the most prominent guitar parts and made a collage. I would take two parts and combine them into one, and he would do the same. And we made it work. But it was almost like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

What do you consider the legacy of Hysteria?

To me, it sounds like a classic rock album. And not classic in the sense of classic rock but in the sense of one of those albums that you put on and it takes you somewhere. People always talk about the production element and how long it took and all the tracks and all these things, but at its heart the music means something, and it achieves what it sets out to achieve. Even though it’s got all this stuff going on, it’s very real sounding. And I think over the years people have started to appreciate it for what it is. But you know, I remember when the record was just finished and Steve and I were first sitting there listening to the whole thing. We were so happy. We figured it was a masterpiece, and we felt that even if everyone else thought it sucked, that was okay. We said, “Even if only our mothers buy this album, we’ll be cool with it because we’re so proud of it.” [laughs] Of course, a few other people bought it, as well.