DEF LEPPARD's PHIL COLLEN On DIAMOND STAR HALOS/Next Album Already Started

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Thursday, 7th July 2022

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Def Leppard 2022

Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen was recently interviewed about the new Diamond Star Halos album.

'Diamond Star Halos' is the band's 12th studio album.

The album was announced on 17th March and then released on Friday 27th May 2022.

Phil Collen spoke to Guitar Player magazine as part of the new album promotion.

The interview is featured in the May edition of the magazine which features Jack White on the front cover.

Phil talked about Diamond Star Halos, T. Rex/Album Title, Glam Rock era, remote recording, recording technology/costs, guitars, songwriting, guitar solos, Kick, From Here To Eternity, Lifeless, Liquid Dust, U Rok Mi, Sav's bass sound, touring again, the next album, and 40 plus years as a band.

Read some quote below from the magazine.

Next Album Started

Phil says the band have already started the next album with many songs left over from the Diamond Star Halos sessions.

They include the 16th track already mentioned by Phil and Joe.

Visit the Tour News section. For more news on future tour plans.

Visit the Album News section for more news on new music (based on band member quotes).

Def Leppard 2022.

Def Leppard Guitar Player May 2022 - Interview Quotes

Diamond Star Halos ranking in the DL catalogue?

Phil Collen - "I actually think it's our career-best album on a number of levels."

Phil Collen - "Our last album, Def Leppard, almost felt like it was our first, in a way, as it was done without any kind of agenda."

Phil Collen - "We weren't trying to get on the radio and have hits, etc, and this one felt like a real step up again from there."

Remote Recrding At Home

Phil Collen - "My home studio is actually my living room table. I've ben using Guitar Rig 5 for many years now."

Phil Collen - "The Manraze album that I did in 2011 was recorded with the same presets as this record."

Phil Collen - "Joe actually did the lead vocal for the song 'This Guitar' on his laptop's microphone."

Kick

Phil Collen - "I wrote it with Dave Bassett and when we started I had a rough idea of the chorus and the bpm of the track."

Phil Collen - "We're always trying to write a stadium-rock classic like 'We Will Rock You' or 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' which is actually pretty hard to pull off."

From Here To Eternity

Phil Collen - "Rick Savage wrote that one, and it felt like it already had its own identity from the start."

Phil Collen - "We were discussing how it had a film noir vibe, and that developed as we recorded the song."

Lifeless

Phil Collen - "That has my favourite Vivian guitar solo."

Phil Collen - "He played that on a Telecaster. When I started writing it, I definitely had a Stonesy vibe in my mind, maybe a little like if U2 were to play a country song perhaps."

Phil Collen - "Vivian's solo just really nailed it for this one."

Liquid Dust

Phil Collen - "Actually about reincarnation, and I wanted the music to mirror that other wordly idea."

Sav Bass Sound

Phil Collen - "What is interesting is that I actually said that to Sav, that it was the best sound he'd ever had."

Phil Collen - "The funny thing is that - Sav was just using his old Fender Precision, which had been sitting around the house for years."

Next Def Leppard Album

Phil Collen - "Me and Joe got on such a roll writing for this record, which is essentially a double album, that we still had a few more tracks on hand, one of which we completely finished."

Phil Collen - "That never normally happens when we record an album."

Phil Collen - "We usually use up everything we've got - we could have actually kept going, recording more songs."

Phil Collen - "We seem to have found a new lease of life as a band."

Phil Collen - "We've started working on the next album already."

40 Years As A Band

Phil Collen - "We're able to be this big rock band and get all the upside of that."

Phil Collen - "And we're so grateful for that and all the opportunities it brings."