British band Def Leppard was one of the pioneers of the so-called New Wave Of British Heavy Metal or "NWOBHM for short" in the 1980s. But the Brits became a lot more radio-friendly than their peers in the genre and thus moved toward the more accessible AOR or arena rock, in which bands like
Europe and
Bon Jovi also excel. It is precisely those pleasing melodies that make Def Leppard's music attractive
… to an orchestra. Def Leppard is certainly not the first (hard rock) band to collaborate with a symphony orchestra. The band members were well aware of this and strove to make something truly collaborative, rather than simply a layer of strings over the band's existing parts. Indeed, the orchestra is given a larger role than you might expect, creating dreamy new versions of such classics as Hysteria and Pour Some Sugar On Me. (JV)more
