Def Leppard: Pyromania Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		2.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Def Leppard: Pyromania Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 17, 2024

The recent Mercury Studios release Def Leppard: One Night Only Live at The Leadmill, Sheffield proved that the boys still had the energy to deliver a great (if kind of short) set to adoring fans, but for lovers of what might be called a different kind of "vintage Def Leppard", this deluxe edition of the band's hugely successful third album offers its own kind of high energy. Some decried the perhaps over obvious attempts by the band to craft something more "mainstream" and undeniably "commercial" with this recording, but when the results offer ear worms like that delicious chorus in "Photograph", who are we mere listeners to quibble? Even if radio ready tunes like "Photograph" helped to firmly entrench the band in fans' minds, becoming Def Leppard's first Number 1 (on this side of the pond, anyway -- it kind of strangely stalled in the UK), there are certainly other songs on Pyromania that are more in "traditional" head banging territory. Perhaps making this release even more interesting than its high res audio versions of the album is the fact that the "audio Blu-ray" also has a video component, albeit of older upscaled music videos. The entire package also offers several CDs, some with some rarities that should be especially enticing for fans, and some really nicely designed packaging and non disc swag.

The Blu-ray's audio track list can be seen in screenshot 13 accompanying this review.

As I so often state in these reviews of expanded releases that contain audio Blu-rays, one fan's "main feature" may well be another fan's "supplement", but with a default that most readers of this review will think of the audio Blu-ray as a main selling point, I'll list the contents of the four CDs directly below, and then talk about the packaging and some of the non disc swag in the actual supplements section, further down in the review.

CD 1: Original Album Re-Mastered

1. Rock Rock (Til You Drop)
2. Photograph
3. Stagefright
4. Too Late for Love
5. Die Hard the Hunter
6. Foolin'
7. Rock Of Ages
8. Comin' Under Fire
9. Action! Not Words
10. Billy's Got a Gun

CD 2: Rarities (Out-Takes, Demos and Rough Mixes)

1. No You Can't Do That - Out-Take
2. Untitled 1 - Demo
3. Untitled 2 - Demo
4. Untitled 3 - Demo
5. Untitled 4 - Demo
6. Untitled 5 - Demo
7. Untitled 6 - Demo
8. Rock Rock Till You Drop - Demo
9. Too Late for Love - Demo
10. Comin' Under Fire - Demo
11. Billy's Got a Gun - Demo
12. No You Can't Do That - Demo
13. Rock Rock (Til You Drop) - Rough Mix Version
14. Photograph - Rough Mix Version (Unfinished Vocal)
15. Stagefright - Rough Mix Version
16. Too Late for Love - Rough Mix Version
17. Die Hard the Hunter - Rough Mix Version
18. Foolin' - Rough Mix Version
19. Rock Of Ages - Rough Mix Version
20. Comin' Under Fire - Rough Mix Version
21. Action! Not Words - Rough Mix Version (Chorus Only)
22. Billy's Got a Gun - Rough Mix Version

CD 3: Live at Westfalen Halle, Dortmund, Germany, December 1983

1. Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)
2. Billy's Got a Gun
3. Foolin'
4. Rock of Ages
5. Let It Go
6. Wasted

CD 4: Live at the LA Forum, September 1983

1. Rock! Rock!! (Til You Drop)
2. Rock Brigade
3. High And Dry (Saturday Night)
4. Another Hit and Run
5. Billy's Got a Gun
6. Mirror Mirror (Look into My Eyes)
7. Foolin'
8. Photograph
9. Rock Of Ages
10. Bringing Back the Heartache
11. Switch 625
12. Let It Go
13. Wasted
14. Stage Fright
15. Travellin' Band

Def Leppard: Pyromania Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: See screenshots 12 through 15 for a look at the various menus on the Blu-ray disc.

Def Leppard: Pyromania is presented on an audio Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Music with music videos that are AVC encoded 1080i transfers hovering around Academy Ratio (due to what I'm assuming were the vagaries of the videotape sources, the videos can be slightly windowboxed, though kind of strangely typically on either just the top or bottom). I'll get to the music videos in a moment, but commendably Universal Music provides a kind of fun animated menu throughout the actual hi res audio presentation. The animation actually starts at disc boot up with the album cover's iconic scope sight or target or whatever you want to call it moving around the frame. That literal moving target continues during the album playback and divulges various things like photos of the band of headlines from various music magazines.

The music videos probably should just best be approached as "historical curiosities" from a video quality standpoint. Detail levels can be near non existent in wider framings, and the interlaced presentation combined with older videotape sources leads to an overall pretty shoddy looking presentation. Colors are still mostly intact.

Def Leppard: Pyromania Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Pyromania gets the deluxe treatment with Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 offerings, all of which provide their own distinctive listening experiences. There's a more than noticeable drop off in amplitude if you navigate from the Atmos to either the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or (especially) either of the LPCM 2.0 tracks (commendably and really kind of interestingly, as can be seen in the screenshot of the Audio Setup Menu I've included in position 14 accompanying this review, there's an instrumental version of the album on the disc). That said, pumping the volume on the non-Atmos tracks can get them up to snuff pretty easily, but one way or the other, for those properly equipped for Atmos playback, I'd certainly recommend that option. Immersion is well handled, and if the Atmos speakers aren't regularly blasting out material, there's still clear and at times really interesting engagement of the surround channels, sometimes for rather picayune elements, as in the opening of "Photograph", where you can hear the kick drum all by itself in the rear channels until the full forces of vocals and instruments join the fray. Fidelity is great throughout. I'd probably argue dynamic range isn't huge if only because the band always has everything "turned up to 11".

Def Leppard: Pyromania Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Universal Music is providing Def Leppard fans with a substantial treat with the packaging of this release. A nicely sturdy slipbox measuring approximately 9 1/2" wide by 9 3/4" long by 1" deep houses what amounts to an oversized trifold with slots holding the four CDs and solo Blu-ray disc. A really almost extravagantly appointed hardback book is also included, and has a long and very interesting essay by Paul Elliott, along with a veritable glut of photos and other memorabilia (some of which turns up in the aforementioned visual component accompanying the audio playback on the Blu-ray disc).

Def Leppard: Pyromania Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I unapologetically admit that it was the kind of now hilarious music video of "Photograph" that first really caught my attention vis a vis Def Leppard, and I'm also not ashamed to admit that that particular single continues to be one of my favorite songs in their entire discography (in fact, I semi-lamented it wasn't included in the live set on the Mercury Studios concert linked to above). But there's a lot of other great material on Pyromania, of course, and even better for Def Leppard fans, is the glut of audio material on the CDs, as well as the nicely appointed packaging and non disc swag. Highly recommended.