Def Leppard - Pyromania (1983)
I've been a mega-fan of this album since I was fourteen. When I was first discovering metal this was one of the earliest that I ever downloaded track-by-track on Kazaa with my 128k dialup modem and burned to a CD that I still have in my ancient CD book. If I had my real computer working with its actual CD drive I'd say **** the Youtube video and listen to that pirate version for the sake of reconnecting with my teenage self.
This album really is a marvel to be honest. If I'd known who Mutt Lange was at the time I'd have considered it a reason to check out anything he's ever produced, because this is absolutely the highlight of pop metal. Plenty of metal bands have incorporated high class pop elements and soaring choruses, but nothing but this has ever managed to do so with such perfection while maintaining their badass metal cred and showing as much songwriting diversity. If you're making a pop album of any genre it's essential to reach the next level of not just being a collection of singles that you have diverse and recognizable songs in a way that hangs together and doesn't feel contrived.
Hysteria does this, but it also does not at all sound like a rock album, just a pop album with guitars, and lacks that important energy and impact that any rock or metal album needs to be truly relevant. Is
Pyromania a showcase of testosterone? Clearly not, but it still has balls enough that seemlessly meld with those pop hooks (and not just choruses) in a way that is nearly unique in the world of metal.
I'm actually on "Too Late for Love", loving the cornball ballad godliness, and waiting with baited breath for "Die Hard the Hunter", one of the absolute epitomes of balls out melodic metal and pop majesty. If Goofle wants to say that metal is boring then I'm sure he at least already considers this album the 1st place exception or will shortly wet himself over the completely unbroken string of bangers.
9/10