Basically Def Leppard emerged from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) in 1979. Groups such as Iron Maiden, Saxon, and Def Leppard were about the only groups from that period to find success. Saxon was never popular in the U.S. but was huge everywhere else. Iron Maiden made it here in the U.S. like Def Leppard. I first heard "Rock Brigade" played on one South Florida radio station and I immediately went out to buy it. The entire l.p. was solid hard rock, not commercial stuff! Just listen to songs such as "Rock Brigade", "Wasted", and "Rocks Off". Great guitar licks courtesy of Steve Clark and Pete Willis are spread throughout this debut l.p. If your looking for Def Leppard commercialized stuff (ex."Photograph") you won't find it on this release. Also their followup l.p. High N' Dry" is a masterpiece. Yes it does have their hit "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" which became commercialized thanks to MTV, but it also showed that Def Leppard could write great ballads as well as rock. Other than that, the l.p. just smokes and is even better than "On Through the Night". Highly recommended!

4.5 Stars

If someone played you "On Through the Night," without telling you who it was at first, you may be very surprised to learn that it's Def Leppard's debut album. Released in early 1980, before the band hooked up with its sixth unofficial member, producer John "Mutt" Lange, "On through the Night" sounds nothing like any other album in the British quintet's catalogue. While Def Leppard, along with Van Halen, proved to be the decade's innovators, more or less in inventing the formula known as "pop-metal," on their debut, Def Leppard was just another band from the NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal). In addition, with a hint of blues-based metal and Jimmy Page-esque riffs and arraignments, there is a clear influence of Led Zeppelin on "On Through the Night." Tom Allom, who produced such Judas Priest classics as "British Steel" (1980) and "Screaming for Vengeance," (1982) was on board for "On Through the Night" and it shows.

While Def Leppard's debut is somewhat derivative of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Led Zeppelin, it's still an excellent album. The thing that immediately strikes the listener is how young the band sounds. At the time of its release, the members of Def Leppard were in their late teens and early 20s. The band sounds so youthful, so hungry, and so wanting to rock. Singer Joe Elliot sounds great, doing the best Robert Plant/Rob Halford/Bon Scott impersonation that anyone could hope for. Guitarists Steve Clarke (lead) and Pete Willis (rhythm) provide tremendous instrumental firepower. While their playing isn't groundbreaking, they sound alive and invigorated. Steve Clarke shows early on that he was "the riff-master," delivering killer song after song. "On Through the Night" may be a little unoriginal, but the riffs and solos are fully captivating and effective. Bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen provide an exciting and dynamic rhythm section.

On "On Through the Night," the band just plain sounds good. One thing going for this album is that it sounds very live. There aren't a lot of overdubs, it sounds as though the band just went into the studio, cut an album in a few takes, and that was that.

A lost Leppard classic, the opening "Rock Brigade" takes no prisoners and makes the band's ambitions to play the arenas known. It sounds almost like a sped-up version of "Good Times, Bad Times" from Led Zeppelin I (1969). An early hit, "Hello America" shows even without Mutt Lange, the band's innate pop-sensibility. As others have noted, the light keyboards add a nice effect. Led Zeppelin again makes its influence known with the hard-rocking-but-bluesy "Sorrow is a Woman." "It could be you," with its echoing vocals and Jimmy Page inspired riff, sounds a lot like Led Zeppelin's "The Immigrant Song," as noted by others. The melodic, metallic "Satellite," sounds as though it came right from Judas Priest's "Hell Bent for Leather" (1980) album. Def Leppard comes very close to Spinal Tap country with the Iron Maiden/Dungeons and Dragons mythological epic "When the Walls Came Tumbling Down." It's a little silly, and dated, but the song rocks hard and is effective. "On Through the Night" goes into full-out heavy metal mode with the blistering "Wasted." Judas Priest again rears it influence with the slightly generic "Rocks Off." While not a great song, it's good and keeps up the momentum. "It don't Matter," gets the album back on track with its engrossing, mild-mannered verse that builds up into a satisfying melodic chorus. "Answer to the Master" is another good-but-not-great Zeppelin inspired mid-paced rocker. The album ends triumphantly with the majestic "Overture," which sounds like a cross between "Stairway to Heaven" and Boston's "More than a Feeling."

When people think of Def Leppard, they undoubtedly think of such classics as "Pyromania," (1983) and "Hysteria," or the stink-bomb "Adrenalize" (1992). "On Through the Night," and its equally underrated follow-up "High and Dry," (1982) have unfortunately been overlooked and remain lost gems. While "On Through the Night" isn't the most groundbreaking or original album in the world, it's still a fine CD that fans of Def Leppard and rock in general should check out.

Lep's first album can either be viewed two ways.... as a raw, unpolished, rock out that they'd never attempt again, or as a warm-up of an extremely talented band that's only beginning to find out what they're about.

On Through the Night, in most ways, sounds completley different from the 'well-known' material, and even their follow-up to this, High n Dry, sounds almost like a different band (and it was only recorded a few months after this one). Perhaps it's production, because Robert John 'Mutt' Lange wouldn't come into the Lep's life until High n Dry, Tom Allom handles the knobs here.

A few other things stand out, though, take them positive or negative. Joe Elliot hasn't found his voice yet, it would take him until Pyromania for that, but this album, he's not the best singer in the world. Steve Clark is relegated almost entirely to rhythm guitar, while Pete Willis takes center stage (and he's quite good), this would also change by next album, with the twin-guitar interplay coming into effect.

This album's highlights are Rock Brigade, Wasted, and The Overture. Just to go into detail on the latter, the Overture is easily one of the best songs Leppard has ever done, suprising at this stage in their careers. It's the most majestic 'epic' they've ever recorded, and every fan should hear it.

Another highlight of the album is Rick Allen, once upon a time he had two arms and he used them quite well here. He's easily the most accomplished musician of the band, at that point in time, and he was the youngest, too, barely 17 at the time this album was released. His drumming rivals some of the great names of the day. He's no better or worse anymore but his style certainly has changed, he's merely different.

On Through the Night won't appeal to Leppard fans who like their 'Have you Ever Needed Someone So Bad' or their 'Goodbye'. It's a metal album, not a pop-rock album. But it's a damn good metal album, unpolished, but good, and while their subsequent albums bordered on perfection, one can't help but wonder what would've happened had Leppard never even met Mutt Lange.

My friends and I in high school became Def Leppard fans because of this album. The real item of interest when this was released was that the guys, except for Joe Elliot, were all teenagers. The drummer, if I recall, was only 16. However, to my ear, the guitar playing and drumming, from a technical standpoint, are better on this album than the follow-ups. I seem to recall the band recorded it in a very short period of time due to budget constraints, which makes it all the more impressive. Many Def Leppard fans may not like this album because it sounds so different from the band's later work. Joe's vocals don't have the rough edge we're all used to (though they're good). And the songwriting is very different -- very riff oriented. More influenced by UFO than AC/DC. But even if this doesn't sound like the Def Leppard everyone grew to love, the songs are still good. Some, like "Wasted" and "Rock Brigade," are very good. This release will help fans reali! ze what a huge influence Mutt Lange (and probably AC/DC) had on the band. When it came out, "On Through the Night" stood on its own as a strong British metal release. And when the follow-up, "High and Dry," came out, we thought we had all died and gone to heaven. . .

From the heavily distored opening riffs off 'Rock Brigade,' to the slow building and fading of the closing song 'Overture,' there are sensational guitar solos, some amazing druming, and catchy lyrics, set against an all around "Stop, Drop, and Rock" album. This was produced in an abandoned warehouse in December of 1979 and released the following month. The minimal production is almost non-apparent, and one of the only indications that Def Leppard was running on a very low budget was the absent of there trademark Byzantine guitar layering. But a harder, rawer, sound is what makes this album so esential. Much darker and heavier than any effort after 1983's "Pyromania," this album is the reason why I consider Def Leppard, together with such late 70's-early 80's bands as Motley Crue and Van Halen to be one of the main influences on later eighties bands like Poison and Cinderella to name a few. This album has a little of eveything on it: No-holds-barred arena rock can be found on 'Rock Brigade,' 'Hello America,' the live cut of 'Rocks Off,' and 'Satellite.' There is evidence of almost poetic lyrics in 'Answer to the Master,' (My favorite song off the album) and 'When the Walls Came Tumbling Down,' (Which starts off like an english fairy tale narrated by Richard Kyle and progresses in an almost Metallica like prophecy of doom) 'Wasted,' is about a man driven to an almost suicidal drug addiction by a woman, a song that would later come eerily true when their first lead guitarist Steve Clark O.D.'d on Pills and Alcohol. Tracks like 'Sorrow is a Woman,' and 'It Don't Matter,' are angrier and up-tempo precursors to the later hits 'Bringin' on the Heartbreak,' and 'Love Bites.' Overture is Def Leppard's longest song to this date, the guitars fade in and out of complex riffs and slow, melodic, notes. And then there's 'It Could Be You,' non a bad effort, but not remarkable either. The only "C" song in a plethora of "A's."

The only thing missing from this CD are the Ballads for which Def Leppard is most famous. But when you are ready to crank it up and get your 'Rocks Off' this the album to do it. And it should definately be in the collection of any Heavy Metal fan. And in fact, just so fans can get an idea of what Def Leppard is truly capable of this album should be sold, as is, along with "Vault," for it is one of their best.