Post 2000 output from 80's bands

[tsmith]

I know this is probably going to be a slanted discussion here being a Def Lep forum lol. But I was giving this some thought recently and trying to objectively think about many of the top 80's bands and their output over the past 20ish years or so.

Again, even trying to remove my Def Leppard fan hat and think objectively, I struggle to come up with anybody that has put out better output than Def Leppard of the popular 80's bands they might've been competing with at that time. I guess I'm basically talking about the Euphoria period and forward.

Now granted, I personally don't think Leppard's modern output is anywhere near their classic output so I'm not implying that. And their modern output has been a bit hit and miss for me with all their variety. However, I do still find a handful of stuff I really like on each album they've done so putting it all together there's been a lot to still enjoy.

However, as I look at many of the bands they were sort of competing with in the 80's, it seems they've absolutely blown those bands away.

Guns N Roses....they've done basically nothing for 30 years outside of Chinese Democracy, which was absolutely terrible.

Poison...Nothing worth mentioning.

Motely Crue....Nothing.

Ratt...Infestation was okay but they haven't done much.

Warrant....Very little but tough to replace Jani.

Tesla....Has done some stuff I've enjoyed on Into the Now, Forever More, Simplicity & Shock but still well behind Leppard.

Skid Row...Very little although I did enjoy their Gangs All Here album with Erik Gronwall.

AC/DC...They've done a few decent albums but as I scan my playlists, I only have a few songs since 2000 in my playlists from them.

Bon Jovi might be the closest as they've put out a lot of output in that period. However, while I was a huge Bon Jovi fan back in the day, I haven't found much I like in their more recent output beyond some songs on Crush, Bounce & Have A nice Day. I could probably put together one good album of more "recent" songs from them but for me they really have gotten far from the band they were during their 80's heyday.

At least for me (and I know I'm bias lol), I could probably conservatively put together at least 3 very good albums of material from Def Leppard if I took all my favorite songs by them over the past 20ish years. I'm struggling to come up with any other bands from the 80's that I could do the same thing with.

Who am I missing? Just wanted to toss it out as food for thought after I was laying in bed thinking about it this weekend lol. I guess the point is that I think Leppard has really outlasted most of their peers and I'm thankful they've continued to give us new music, even if it isn't as frequent as we might like

[andylgr]

Great post and one that can easily be expanded on too with other artists. Bear with me as a I try to explain........

You've got bands in direct competition with the Leps in the early 80s from the start.
You've got the bands who ended up coming through off the back of Pyromania's & Hysteria's success and rivalling Leps in terms of style.
Then you get to the 90's where they were competing not only with their hard rock peers, but also with other bands that either emerged as either new artists or crossed over as direct competition because of the sheer popularity of other genres too.

One band that immediately springs to mind is Iron Maiden. Came through with the NWOBHM just like Leps and although both bands evolved into a different style of 'metal', in the UK they were in direct competition both nationally and also in terms of being a successful British export.

You've got Saxon another NWOBHM band from the early 80's who were as big (if not bigger) in the UK at that time with the Leps.

In the mid 80's Europe were massive in erm... Europe Leps even had them supporting on the Hysteria tour in the US.

Queensryche supported Leps on the Hysteria tour as well and were big with a very commercial album in Empire in 1990 and became MTV regulars.

We can't forget Whitesnake too, huge in the mid - late 80's.

Its also worth noting that whilst some bands weren't directly competing in the 80's, they were by the time of Adrenalize by virtue of their own success in crossing over. A big one that I can think of is Metallica who become very commercial in 1991. Not only that I don't think you can disregard the new bands from that era in a different genre that took over as the MTV poster boys, by that I mean the Pearl Jam's and Nirvana's of this world. In 1991 they all became what Leps were in 83 & 87.

In the UK they were competing with new British bands like Thunder and Little Angels. Whilst success in the USA didnt arrive they were hugely popular here. Thunder are still going strong even now and put out some great music. If you've never heard them then give them a whirl.

So plenty of food for thought and ultimately Leps have seen many bands off for want of a better phrase.

[tsmith]

All good points! I suppose my first thoughts were mostly about the bands I spent a lot of time listening to in the 80's and bands I remember seeing them battle with on the MTV countdowns lol....but all those you mention are valid too.

In any event though, I feel it's almost been a case of "slow and steady wins the race" the past 20-25 years or so for Leppard and for me they've done more good stuff than the other bands I spent a lot of time listening to back then.

Clearly, it's very subjective though and I'm sure fans of Metallica, Bon Jovi or whoever else might disagree lol. But at least for me personally, nobody I can think of from that era has outdone Leppard with quality of new material over the past 20-25 years.

Obviously, I'm a little bias though

Feb 19, 2024 7:35:59 GMT -8 andylgr said:

Great post and one that can easily be expanded on too with other artists. Bear with me as a I try to explain........

You've got bands in direct competition with the Leps in the early 80s from the start.
You've got the bands who ended up coming through off the back of Pyromania's & Hysteria's success and rivalling Leps in terms of style.
Then you get to the 90's where they were competing not only with their hard rock peers, but also with other bands that either emerged as either new artists or crossed over as direct competition because of the sheer popularity of other genres too.

One band that immediately springs to mind is Iron Maiden. Came through with the NWOBHM just like Leps and although both bands evolved into a different style of 'metal', in the UK they were in direct competition both nationally and also in terms of being a successful British export.

You've got Saxon another NWOBHM band from the early 80's who were as big (if not bigger) in the UK at that time with the Leps.

In the mid 80's Europe were massive in erm... Europe Leps even had them supporting on the Hysteria tour in the US.

Queensryche supported Leps on the Hysteria tour as well and were big with a very commercial album in Empire in 1990 and became MTV regulars.

We can't forget Whitesnake too, huge in the mid - late 80's.

Its also worth noting that whilst some bands weren't directly competing in the 80's, they were by the time of Adrenalize by virtue of their own success in crossing over. A big one that I can think of is Metallica who become very commercial in 1991. Not only that I don't think you can disregard the new bands from that era in a different genre that took over as the MTV poster boys, by that I mean the Pearl Jam's and Nirvana's of this world. In 1991 they all became what Leps were in 83 & 87.

In the UK they were competing with new British bands like Thunder and Little Angels. Whilst success in the USA didnt arrive they were hugely popular here. Thunder are still going strong even now and put out some great music. If you've never heard them then give them a whirl.

So plenty of food for thought and ultimately Leps have seen many bands off for want of a better phrase.

[lepp703]

Soooo, being a Def Leppard fan shouldn’t really be a negative thing here. It’s fact, throughout the music business, that very few artist or bands from the 80’s are still relevant today. And I can pretty much say that Bon Jovi shouldn’t be as big as they still are. Def Leppard, Metallica, and I can’t think of anymore still putout new music that gets played on the radio. Everyone else from that era, whether it’s Metal, pop, R&B, etc play the same stuff over and over and over and over…….. every time they tour. No new music. Maybe I’m wrong, but not totally.

Oh, and Stryper has put out some amazing new albums in the past 10 years. Heavy stuff. I’ve never been into the Christian religious message, but their stuff rips!!

[tsmith]

Yes, I think Stryper is a good one! I was never into them but by all accounts they've put out some good stuff recently.

Feb 19, 2024 10:49:10 GMT -8 lepp703 said:

Soooo, being a Def Leppard fan shouldn’t really be a negative thing here. It’s fact, throughout the music business, that very few artist or bands from the 80’s are still relevant today. And I can pretty much say that Bon Jovi shouldn’t be as big as they still are. Def Leppard, Metallica, and I can’t think of anymore still putout new music that gets played on the radio. Everyone else from that era, whether it’s Metal, pop, R&B, etc play the same stuff over and over and over and over…….. every time they tour. No new music. Maybe I’m wrong, but not totally.

Oh, and Stryper has put out some amazing new albums in the past 10 years. Heavy stuff. I’ve never been into the Christian religious message, but their stuff rips!!

[fna692002]

I know they were never like lumped in with Def Leppard sound wise much, but I will say Duran Duran have put out some good music since there 80s early 90s heydays. I find myself enjoying more modern Duran songs than even the classics really.

U2 have put out arguably two of there best albums ever in the 00s with All That You Can’t Leave Behind and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. They also put out some big fumbles (iTunes 2014 mess) but minus Leppard I don’t get excited about new material more than I do a new U2 track.

[edwardcreighton]

Maiden have released a lot of good stuff in this time period, Matter of Life and Death excellent. Metallica as always patchy though really like Death Magnetic. Duran Duran I really like. ACDC's Black Ice fantastic. Leppard set a very high bar for albums, especially from Sparkle onwards.

[andylgr]

Another artist I thought of, even though he's a bit older, but he was doing the rounds at the same time as Leps in the 80's is Ozzy. But his output since 2000 has been inconsistent.

I know tsmith you've got a US centric viewpoint, but there are some bands who became bigger than Leps for a short period here in the UK. I know some of the bands I mentioned only started releasing music in the late 80s or early 90s, but I feel like they were all worth mentioning as they were born out of the success of Leps and that MTV generation. Either as a bit of a copycat or as a perceived antidote to it (the grunge bands).

Some of the bands I mentioned that have been 'competing' with the Leps from the 80's to the very early 90's still do huge numbers live and thats where a lot of their priority is now over recording new music. But I think of all them, the ones whos music I've enjoyed in the main since 2000 have been Thunder and Whitesnake. Thunder moreso. I know some people will say what about Iron Maiden, they've put out quite a few albums since 2000, but I'm really not a fan of how overblown their music has become since the fantastic Brave New World album in 2000.

Duran Duran is a great shout, they were the Def Leppard of the pop world in the 80's.