THE VIDEO Def Leppard, "Armageddon It," Hysteria, 1987, Mercury
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SAMPLE LYRIC "Yeah-ah, but are you gettin' it?! / [ARMAGGEDDON IT!] / Re-eally gettin' ih-it?/ [YES ARMAGGEDDON IT!]"
THE VERDICT My quick mention of Def Leppard's concert video "Live: In the Round, In Your Face" last week gave me a hankering for some Hysteria, so rather than go with the obvious, I've decided to shine a light on "Armageddon It." I always feel like this is one of the more forgotten singles from this album, and thinking about it extra hard this week is making me realize why.
For one, the song is a bit of a mish-mash of ideas. You feel like they had maybe three ideas -- the verse, the build-up to the chorus, and the chorus -- that couldn't quite make it to full-on song status. Rather than abandon them, they've been turned into a bit of a franken-song. Admittedly, I love the pre-chorus in this song (the "give me all of your lovin'" part) -- I literally get chills every time I hear it.
But "Armageddon It"? What does that even mean? I think they just liked chanting it, since it sort of sounds like "I'm getting it." I remember circa third grade watching this video and asking my mom what armageddon was, and her explaining the concept to me, and me being like -- even as an eight-year-old -- WTF does this have to do with this song/video. Except I never would have even thought the f-word, even to myself. Despite my secret penchant for metal, I wasn't that kind of kid.
I mean most of the lyrics are sort of like, you're a tease, you talk a good game but you won't actually do anything, blablabla. Does this have anything to do with a biblical version of the end of the world? Ummm no. Nor does it have to do with any type of large-scale, super-destructive battle.
Anyway though, the video for this really gives you a sense of what the Hysteria tour was like, much more so than the more carefully shot "Pour Some Sugar On Me." At the beginning, we get the whole sped-up setting up for the concert montage -- it takes place in Denver at the McNichol Sports Arena, so, as we'll see later, kudos to the women of Denver.
I've got to say, this looks like it was an amazing arena tour. I mean yeah, the whole "in the round" thing is cooler in theory than in practice. It kind of just means you're probably only seeing like half the band at any given time -- even being in the front row doesn't mean they'll be like, in front of you. At the same time though, I can't get over the coolness of the stage.
I love how they took all the squiggles from the album artwork, and sort of blew them up and made them into this like, giant stage covered in neon patterns. I thought it was cool as hell at the time, and I still love it now. Sadly, since I was seven or eight years old at this time, the closest I got to this tour was the videos. Luckily, the videos capture it really well.
About half of this video takes place behind the scenes, with black and white footage of the band arriving and rehearsing. We also get to see, in color for some reason, them hanging out after the show. Apparently on this round stage set, they could basically climb down through the center and go underneath it for their breaks. According to I think it was Joe saying this on their episode of Behind the Music (which is a damn good one), that place was more or less a pit of debauchery.
We don't see that here though, in spite of the women they show in the crowd, some of whom are gorgeous and some of whom are serious eyeliner abusers. There is one blonde woman in particular who also appears in "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and is absolutely stunning -- she knows all the words and somehow doesn't seem to sweat. With how prominently she's featured in the crowd shots, there's no way she didn't get backstage. Anyway though, we don't see even the slightest implication of groupie action here. We see the guys goofing around, with Joe and Rick Savage wearing giant furry slippers.
But more than that, it's how the band members interact -- or mainly, don't interact -- with the camera that gives you a better sense of this. Joe Elliott really hams it up in the rehearsal footage, but there's only one part of the video where he actually sings to the camera. In general, everyone in the band is on the move the entire time, and really playing to the crowd. No one except Joe looks at the camera or pays it any mind.
That's the other thing that's always impressed me about these videos, and made me realize just how big Def Leppard was at the time. I mean okay, one, they could take a franken-song like this and have it be a #1 hit. But two, you never see the cameras in this video. They stay out of each other's way, which is really impressive given that there appear to be a whole ton of cameras. In other words, this was a pretty big-budget production for a hair band.
Thinking about it a little harder, I can't decide whether it was surprising or completely par for the course that they didn't exactly follow up with another amazing album. It's always hard to top your best effort, and yes, in the interim we lost Steve Clark, but come on -- they did follow up on the very excellent Pyromania with Hysteria. So it's not totally impossible.
The other thing really striking me about Def Leppard at this moment is how even though they have a sound that is more toward the pop side of the metal spectrum, they really aren't a band that's about looks (unlike, say, Bon Jovi). I mean Joe has that awful hockey hair, and those shredded jeans are just silly. I am lusting after his "Women" tee though -- I would love one of those.
I have a "Hysteria - On Tour" tee that I'm not sure whether it's a bootleg or a legit concert-sold article. It's basically just the album art with the words "ON TOUR" superimposed across the bottom. I love that dang shirt. I got it for $1 at the Salvation Army about ten years ago now, and I got an Iron Maiden "Somewhere On Tour" shirt that same day, also for $1. Seriously, back before hipsters and widespread eBay, my life was so much better.
Anyway wait, talking about the band's look, not mine. Steve Clark -- in a black jacket, black jeans, and cowboy-ish boots -- looks ah-mazing, but that's just because he's super hot. He doesn't look like he's trying. There's no product in that hair. Rick Savage is in more or less the same outfit, but he's a little too cutesy for me.
Phil Collen -- that rarest of birds, the short-haired guitarist -- isn't even wearing a shirt, and Rick Allen is in a plain white tee. This relates back though to what I was saying about how they definitely appear to be playing to the crowd rather than playing to the cameras here -- this is a band that's more about the music.
Long story short, 1987. What a year! I have to think about this harder, but this might well have been the best year in heavy metal. Just think what you found on the new release rack when you went to the record store in '87: Hysteria, Appetite for Destruction, Back for the Attack, Whitesnake, Among the Living, The Legacy, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part I, Once Bitten... I mean, the list goes on. Whatever subgenre you like, there's something for you. Also, Headbanger's Ball debuted -- even with Adam Curry as the host, this was a serious event for heavy metal videos.
This is a question I'll have to think about more though: What was the best year in heavy metal history? There are sure to be many contenders, but 1987 is looking like a good bet, at least to me.