Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott Loves Ghost’s IMPERA, Says He’d Be Down to Collaborate With The Band
With their new album IMPERA, occult rockers Ghost have incurred an unheard-of number of insults about not being “real metal.” And if anyone knows about that bullshit, it’s Def Leppard‘s own Joe Elliott, who in a new interview has said that the latest Ghost record is on steady rotation for him.
Apparently, after Ghost’s Tobias Forge said Def Leppard inspired the new album, Metal Hammer reached out to Elliott to see if he knew about the band. Turns out he was already a fan:
“Phil [Collen, Def Leppard guitarist] introduced me to them. He said, ‘Here, have you heard about this band Ghost? It’s like this kind of Scando goth-metal but with brilliant melodies.’ I went, ‘Well, that’s an oxymoron, cos it’s usually [makes unintelligible singing noise like someone vomiting in a bucket].’ But he played me something – a couple of minutes each of a few songs.
“I was really intrigued, so I asked him to Dropbox me the new album. I listened to it all, and I thought it was absolutely stunning. It’s like a whole new genre of music – it’s way more Toto than death metal or any of that stuff. It’s like the song Spillways. It starts off like Hold The Line by Toto or Jane by Jefferson Starship – one of those classic 70s songs that begin on the piano before these big, chunky chords come in.”
Apparently, Joe’s been listening to the album on repeat since then:
“It’s been my go-to album for the last couple of weeks. I’ve got it downloaded onto my Apple Watch so I can march away and listen to it. I’ve only got a few albums on there, and Ghost are one of them.
“I like the fact that they’ve got a big intro for the album [opening instrumental Imperium]. It reminds of the beginning of Master Of Puppets, weirdly. It starts off with these flamenco-like guitars, then it gets all heavy and duelling, kind of like Thin Lizzy. It’s obviously done as a walk-on for the gigs.”
And of course, finally, Joe was asked: has Tobias Forge reached out about a collaboration yet?
“Not yet. Maybe they will. We’ve got [country singer] Alison Krauss on our new album, we did stuff with Taylor Swift 10 years ago. We’re not scared of collaborating with anybody.”
Def Leppard’s Diamond Star Halos drops on May 27th and is available for preorder. Check out their new single “Kick” below, and tet tickets to see Def Leppard on their upcoming tour with Mötley Crüe and Poison at one of the following dates:
June 16 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Truist Park [tickets]
June 18 – Miami, Fla. @ Hard Rock Stadium [tickets]
June 19 – Orlando, Fla. @ Camping World Stadium [tickets]
June 22 – Washington, D.C. @ Nationals Park [tickets]
June 24 – Queens, N.Y. @ Citi Field [tickets]
June 25 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Citizens Bank Park [tickets]
June 28 – Charlotte, N.C. @ BofA Stadium [tickets]
June 30 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Nissan Stadium [tickets]
July 2 – Jacksonville, Fla. @ TIAA Bank Field [tickets]
July 5 – St. Louis, Mo. @ Busch Stadium [tickets]
July 8 – Chicago, Ill @ Wrigley Field [tickets]
July 10 – Detroit, Mich. @ Comerica Park [tickets]
July 12 – Hershey, Pa. @ Hersheypark Stadium [tickets]
July 14 – Cleveland, Ohio @ FirstEnergy Stadium [tickets]
July 15 – Cincinnati, Ohio @ Great American Park [tickets]
July 17 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ American Family Field [tickets]
July 19 – Kansas City, Mo. @ Kauffman Stadium [tickets]
July 21 – Denver, Colo. @ Coors Field [tickets]
Aug. 5 – Boston, Mass. @ Fenway Park [tickets]
Aug. 6 – Boston, Mass. @ Fenway Park [tickets]
Aug. 8 – Toronto, Ontario @ Rogers Centre [tickets]
Aug. 10 – Orchard Park, N.Y. @ Highmark Stadium [tickets]
Aug. 12 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ PNC Park [tickets]
Aug. 14 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ U.S. Bank Stadium [tickets]
Aug. 16 – Indianapolis, Ind. @ Lucas Oil Stadium [tickets]
Aug. 19 – Houston, Texas @ Minute Maid Park [tickets]
Aug. 21 – San Antonio, Texas @ Alamodome [tickets]
Aug. 22 – Arlington, Texas @ Globe Life Field [tickets]
Aug. 25 – Glendale, Ariz. @ State Farm Stadium [tickets]
Aug. 27 – Inglewood, Calif. @ SoFi Stadium [tickets]
Aug. 28 – San Diego, Calif. @ Petco Park [tickets]
Aug. 31 – Seattle, Wash. @ T-Mobile Park [tickets]
Sept. 2 – Vancouver, B.C. @ BC Place
Sept. 4 – Edmonton, Alberta @ Commonwealth Stad [tickets]
Sept. 7 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Oracle Park [tickets]
Sept. 9 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ Allegiant Stadium [tickets]
