DEF LEPPARD's Next Album Will Include The Band's 'Fastest' And 'Most Ridiculously Over-The-Top, Pretentious' Songs To Date

In a new interview with France's Oüi FM, DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott spoke about the band's upcoming follow-up to the "Diamond Star Halos" album, which came out in 2022. DEF LEPPARD's new LP will include the song "Rejoice", which was released in late January ahead of the band's return to Las Vegas for their "Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace The Las Vegas Residency". Joe said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, the single is the lead-off track, if you like, from the new album. The song is called 'Rejoice'. We released it in time for the Vegas residency. We did a Vegas residency in February, and we wanted to play a new song, so it made sense to actually put it out. The album won't be out until early '27, 'cause we're still recording it. We were actually recording parts of it in Vegas on days off. We would go down into the basement of the casino and set it up as a studio, and we would record. So we're still actively recording now and mixing."

Joe continued: "We've got about 18 songs. So we've kind of got nearly two albums. We're not gonna put all 18 on the album. We're gonna pick and choose which 10 or 11 we think are the right ones. So, yeah, we've got some great songs — very varied. I will tell you this much, we've written the fastest song we've ever done. And we've also written the most ridiculously over-the-top, pretentious, massive, big, kind of bombastic song that we've ever written, too, and lots of stuff in between. So it's very varied. It's a very eclectic collection of tunes. A lot of people will be shocked, I think, because of the direction that we're going in, 'cause it's not one direction. It's 10 different directions. And we love being able to do that. So, yeah, we're working on it actively. We're touring this summer, and we'll be working on the album up to going on tour and then when we come off. So we need to get it finished by the end of the summer for an early release next year."

This past May, Elliott told Marjorie Hache of France 24 about the lyrical inspiration for "Rejoice": "Well, the title kind of sums it up, really. I wanted to write a really uplifting, positive-message song, and I said to Phil [Collen, DEF LEPPARD guitarist], 'I got this great idea. I need it to be mid-tempo. I want it to have a big intro drum loop so we can actually walk on stage to this and expand it and make it longer live.' But the whole idea of the song is, it starts off — I mean, it's a great opening line, is, 'I'm bored of boredom. I'm sick of all this.' And, 'I wanna be in a better place.' So it gets to the climax, you go through the bridge, and you get to the chorus, it's, 'I wanna go higher.' So it's just very uplifting. It's a joyous, uplifting song."

Joe continued: "That's what we are — we're an escapism band. We're not here to preach. We're not here to tell you who to vote for. Other people can do that. We like to take you away from that and just come and have a good time. It's not meaningless — there is a message there, and the message is, we need to share this moment together and make it a positive one. And 'Rejoice' just about sums that all up."

"Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace The Las Vegas Residency" ran through February 28, 2026 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. These new shows followed the band's sold-out residency successes in 2019 and 2013.

In January 2025, DEF LEPPARD released a cover of Ben E. King's 1961 classic "Stand By Me". All proceeds from the song went to FireAid, which raises money for those impacted by the fires that swept through Los Angeles in January 2025.

DEF LEPPARD's version of the song is featured in the Netflix film "Bank Of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger", which was released in January 2025. The band can be seen performing the track before the credits.

DEF LEPPARD's "Just Like 73" single, featuring a guest guitar solo from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello, was made available in June 2024.

DEF LEPPARD's 12th studio album, "Diamond Star Halos", came out in 2022. A year later, the band followed it up with "Drastic Symphonies", a collection of reimagining of some of DEF LEPPARD's greatest hits with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road. The album spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Current Classical chart.

DEF LEPPARD was finally inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2019 — 14 years after the British rockers first became eligible.