Def Leppard Guitarist Phil Collen Says New Album Is Best Since ‘Hysteria,’ Set for October Release

Def Leppard are in the middle of an extensive summer tour with Styx and Tesla. In a recent interview with Boston radio station WAAF that you can listen to below, guitarist Phil Collen gave an update on the status of Def Leppard's next studio album.

2008's Songs From The Sparkle Lounge was the band's last studio album, and there have been reports that a self-titled effort will be released sometime this year. In the interview, Collen narrowed down that date, revealing, "It's going to come out in October."

In describing the album, Collen says, "It's great. It's probably the most diverse thing we've done. I think it's the best thing we've done since Hysteria, I really do. I've said that, and I've heard that come back as a quote, and I sincerely believe it. It's great. It's the loudest rock guitars we've ever had on some tracks."

Collen also talked about his fellow guitarist Vivian Campbell, who is touring with the band even though he recently announced that his cancer has returned. He says, "I would have personally probably done it a little different. I would have actually taken a bit of time off and corrected that. But with Viv, he doesn't want to sit around, he actually wants to be out there. He'd feel worse if he was at home. So it depends on who you are."

Def Leppard's current North American tour wraps up Oct. 17 in Jacksonville, Fla. The rest of 2015 sees the band traveling to play shows in Japan, Australia and Europe. For all their concert dates, go here.

Def Leppard Interview With WAAF:

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