From My Collection #118: Def Leppard – On Through the Night

Welcome to another edition of From My Collection. Def Leppard are one of the most divisive bands in the history of hard rock and heavy metal. There are those who love all eras of the alienating act (usually post-menopausal women), those whose cutoff is somewhere between High ‘n’ Dry and Pyromania (their husbands), and those who never liked them at all (their elder gen Z children). And let me tell you, folks: That last group of people are certified posers, or at the very least simply don’t know better. How on earth can you espouse the glory of Angel Witch and Diamond Head in one breath, only to diss Leppard in the next, especially On Through the Night? Today, we go back in time 45 years, when a band of teens from Sheffield took the NWOBHM sound and went global. This is the story of Def Leppard’s On Through the Night.

Def Leppard formed in 1977 under the moniker Atomic Mass. Spearheaded by frontman Joe Elliott, guitarist Pete Willis, and bassist Rick “Sav” Savage, the band would soon rename themselves Def Leppard, and go through the inevitable personnel changes that all young bands do. 14 year old drummer, Rick Allen, joined the fold in 1978, as did additional guitarist, Steve Clark. Together, the five made a name for themselves, playing shows whenever and wherever they could. Their eponymous debut EP, released in January of 1979, perhaps singlehandedly kicked off the NWOBHM movement, setting the stage for a string of important demos, singles, and albums to follow that year.

The news of these teenaged working class metal phenoms spread like wildfire, and before the year was out, the band found themselves signed to Mercury Records. While acts like Saxon, Samson, and Marseille beat Leppard to the punch in terms of NWOBHM acts with full lengths to their name, it was Leppard who received a widespread distribution push like no other. By ’80, they were one of the first NWOBHM acts to tour America, if not thee first (although Saxon might’ve had them beat there too). On March 14, 1980, record store shelves on each side of the Atlantic were filled to the brim with Leppard’s opening statement, On Through the Night.

The album opens with a textbook NWOBHM banger in “Rock Brigade”. The riffs are rough and ready, clearly UFO inspired in tone and delivery. The beat is steady and driving, perfect for headbanging. The chorus gives us our first taste of Leppard’s signature gang harmonies, which would become a cornerstone of subsequent releases, but this essay isn’t about that. Without any hesitation whatsoever, “Rock Brigade” sets the stage for a masterclass in NWOBHM heroics via a youth metal attack. “Look out for the rock brigade”, indeed.

Oddly enough, what might be the album’s strongest moment is followed by what is unequivocally its weakest, “Hello America”. This sugary rocker is the band’s first blatant attempt at cracking the U.S. radio market (the title speaks for itself) and fails, miserably. Whereas the rest of OTTN flows naturally like sweat down the neck of a young denim and leather clad headbanger, “Hello America” feels forced and awkward, especially in comparison to the poppy fare the band would come to be known for on Pyromania. Admittedly, I’ll still take it over nearly every track on Hysteria, but that’s not saying much.

“Sorrow is a Woman” saves the mood with its proto-prog metal maneuvers. Its balance of mystical acoustic passages with bombastic English heaviness prove that despite their inexperience, Leppard were far more than a one speed riff metal machine. Although not nearly as arcane in nature as Angel Witch, when one puts “Sorrow is a Woman” next to the most adventurous moments of that band’s masterpiece debut, there isn’t much difference sonically. Clearly, this was a crop as inspired by Jethro Tull and Wishbone Ash as they were Sabbath and Zeppelin.

Any further flirtations with grandiosity are quickly dashed (for now) thanks to the English metal blitz of “It Could Be You”. I’m sure none of you under a certain age ever imagined including Leppard on your go-to speed metal mix, but if you were to, this is the song to add. A blink and you’ll miss it rager, “It Could Be You” thrashes and bashes as recklessly as any Raven or Exciter neck-snapper…only this band would somehow go onto do “Pour Some Sugar on Me”. I know. It boggles my mind as well.

Similar to the opening “Rock Brigade”, “Satellite” is another steady rocking slab of UFO metal in which the “bludgeon riffola” of Wills and Clark leap from our speakers. While these two could sure unleash their fair share of twin guitar pyromania (more on that later), they could also double each others riffs, subsequently doubling the heaviness of any given song. It’s quite the clever method, and one that stays ingrained in our heads 45 years later.

Side A closes with yet another proto-prog metal exploration in “When the Walls Came Tumbling Down”: A song whose prog credentials go beyond its composition. Providing opening narration is none other than Dave Cousins, frontman for prog-folk legends, Strawbs. Like I said earlier, for as much as Leppard spent their youth headbanging and air guitaring to the metal gods of the ’70s, they were also keen observers of the vast prog scene. “When the Walls Came Tumbling Down” is a dynamic composition, armed with metallic heft, but dramatic changeovers and an adventurous atmosphere, not far removed from what Mercyful Fate would be doing a few short years later on Melissa.

As we flip over to side B, the band dials the collective IQ down to the double digits yet again, this time for the reckless abandon of “Wasted”: A song that speaks for itself. By this point in the album, you might be asking, “Is OTTN a tale of two bands? On one hand, we’ve got these pseudo-intellectual gentlemen pushing the musical limits of metal. On the other, we ‘ve got a ragtag band of pimple-faced hooligans, shouting about rock and booze. Who are they?” In the case of OTTN, Leppard are both, and exceed at both personas with shocking ease. With nearly two years of sobriety under my belt, I still can’t help but feel a slight buzz and liver ache when cranking “Wasted”. Drink up and rock on!

“Rocks Off” keeps the carefree, teen metal wallop going. We’ve already heard songs about rock and drugs. As one might suspect from the title, “Rocks Off” goes for the hat trick with a little tune about sex, yet another aspect that would become crucial to Leppard’s ethos come future albums. Unlike future sexually charged songs, however, there is nothing lush and romantic about “Rocks Off”. It is a NWOBHM lust song, rife with the type of filth and sleaze one would expect from a gang of high school dropouts. Musically, it’s an all out boogie metal bash with obvious nods to the almighty Quo, even down to the shuffle beat.

Riff rock reigns supreme on “It Don’t Matter”, another homage to UFO in composition and delivery, whether it be intentional or not. It’s not as strong as “Rock Brigade” or “Satellite”, but it’s simple, straightforward, and effective in attack, with even a hint of KISS tinged hooks thrown in for good measure. This lowbrow rocking is then blown to bits by the only song on this platter that rivals “Rock Brigade”, “Answer to the Master”. Forget brainless hard rock; this is pure English metal magnificence. And I guarantee you if I played this song to any dork my age who claims they don’t like Leppard, not only would they like it, but they’d probably ask, “Who is this? Angel Witch?” Willis and Clark deliver a Tipton and Downing caliber performance, their riffs and solos absolutely untouchable from start to finish.

The album closes with one of the most ambitious and lengthiest moments in the Leppard canon, the ironically titled “Overture”. While I prefer “Answer to the Master” and “When the Walls Cam Tumbling Down”, “Overture” is fine for what it is, and that’s a blatant slab of Queen worship. While the rock royals were starting to move away from their pomp metal roots come ’80, it was a band like Leppard who’d remind everybody the importance of albums like Sheer Heart Attack (1974) and A Night at the Opera (1975), thanks to a cut like “Overture”. It’s as if Leppard took the best tropes of those early Queen albums, stirred them in a cauldron, and voila!

While OTTN did not cement Leppard as an overnight sensation, it was the first in a series of steps that brought them down the path to global superstardom. They’d tour the States promoting the album opening for such hard and heavy acts as Scorpions, Pat Travers Band, and Ted Nugent. And American audiences most definitely took notice. By ’81, they’d strike with their sophomore masterpiece, High ‘n’ Dry, and we all know the story from there. Today, as they remain a constant baseball stadium sellout act and their music plays from the speakers of big box stores, it’s hard to imagine Def Leppard were once a humble, smalltime NWOBHM act. And yet they were, the evidence plain as day on the painfully underrated On Through the Night. Give it another listen, and look out for the rock brigade!