Def Leppard is a popular hair band formed in the mid-70s and is responsible for some of the most popular rock songs to exist, such as “Pour Some Sugar On Me” or “Rock of Ages.” They are considered an older band, older than other popular bands such as Metallica. But like Metallica, they are still producing and performing music to this very day, and they have recently released another album titled Drastic Symphonies. But instead of creating new songs, they decided to team up with the famous Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to remix and remake their already existing songs, giving them an orchestral sound and changing the feel of the songs. Are these remixes an improvement over the originals, or do they bite?

Take the Instrumental, Shake it up

There isn’t much to address in terms of lyrics due to the fact they are the same, so let’s address the instrumentals of these remixes. Instruments like harps, violins, choirs, and bass drums are incorporated into the songs and sound amazing. The guitar and drums are still prevalent in most of these remixes, and the combination of rock and orchestra makes the song sound heavenly. Sometimes, you don’t even need to know some of these songs to enjoy them. For example, you may not know “Turn to Dust,” but Def Leppard gave the song a deserted Arabic instrumental, which sounds great. Even if one were to know the songs that were remixed, it still doesn’t seem like a downgrade to the original. It’s almost like most of these songs were made to have an orchestra accompanying them. The best example of this style is “Hysteria.” The lyrics and beat are still the same with guitars and vocals, but they add string instruments to make the song sound more whimsical. Most of these remixes enhance the song’s feel and define the message behind it, except for one song.