Nijmegen, Holland - Media Reviews

Def Leppard By Roos Glastra

After 25 years of hard work Def Lepard is still here and going strong. They have been trhough a lot and came out on top. Their latest album has a new sound, it has a seventies feeling to it. They are even accompanied by Tim McGraw, the country singer. Some fans might need some time to get used to it.

Music & performance.

Rick Allen might be one of the most talented drummers I have ever seen. He sounds lik e a great drummer but when you take a better look you will see what makes him so special. It is not the sunflower or the incense on his drum kit. No, he drums with only one arm. Def Lepard went full speed ahead from the first to the last song. They swing! Their voices sound great together. High notes have become a bit of a problem though but after 25 years that is allowed. Besides playing their music they also pay attention to the audience by moving from one side of the stage to the other and even going to the very edges at the side of the stage. This way they address everybody who came to see them. There is great interaction with the audience. They did an audience 'awakeness' check by letting two sides of the audience compete in a shouting contest.

By Reflections of Darkness 2008.

Def Leppard By Grigoris

I was really looking forward to DEF LEPPARD's performance, mainly for the reason that I had never seen them onstage in prior but also for the rumors that their setlist consists of lots of 'oldies'. Being a long-time-ago beloved band, the Sheffield-based British quintet had lost my respect with nearly all their post-"Adrenalize" releases (still, I consider "Euphoria" a nice album overall) plus the new album did not attract my interest either. So, what I did witness in their 60-minute set was full professionalism (apart from Joe Elliot's voice, who did not manage - in my ears - to perform at full value) but a kinda not that 'warm' approach. Maybe it was the whether, maybe the ultra-perfect sound of the studio takes cannot ever be presented equally onstage...dunno...

The setlist was good, in general: "Rocket", "C'mon C'mon", "Armageddon It", "Hysteria", "Rock On", "Animal", "Photograph", "Rock Of Ages", "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Let's Get Rocked" and a couple of tunes more maybe. A bass solo was included, too, the sound was more than adequate, and I have the impression most of the spectators enjoyed a nice show by the Leps. I only wish they were more vivid in their reactions with the crowd.

By Metal-Temple 2008.

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