Def Leppard's Joe Elliott Says Upcoming Album Will Surprise Fans

Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott says fans can expect surprises from the band's upcoming 13th studio album, set for release in early 2027.

The new album will follow 2022's "Diamond Star Halos." The band released the lead single, "Rejoice," in February, months ahead of the full album. Elliott spoke about the gap between the single and the album in an interview with French radio station Oui FM.

"We released it in time for the Vegas residency," Elliott said. "We did a Vegas residency in February, and we wanted to play a new song, so it made sense to actually put it out."

Elliott said the album is still in progress. "The album won't be out until early '27, 'cause we're still recording it," he said. "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. So we're still actively recording now and mixing."

Elliott said the band has about 18 songs, but not all will make the final cut. "We've kind of got nearly two albums," he said. "We're gonna pick and choose which 10 or 11 we think are the right ones. We've got some great songs-very varied."

He described the new material as diverse. "We've written the fastest song we've ever done," Elliott said. "And we've also written the most over-the-top, massive, kind of bombastic song that we've ever written, too, and lots of stuff in between."

He added, "A lot of people will be shocked, I think, because of the direction we're going in. It's not one direction; it's 10 different directions. And we love being able to do that."

Elliott said the band plans to finish the album on schedule, despite touring commitments this summer. "We'll be working on the album up to going on tour and then when we come off. We need to get it finished by the end of the summer for an early release next year," he said.