Def Leppard, ‘Undefeated’ – Song Review

Def Leppard's latest single 'Undefeated' is one of three studio tracks on the band's new 'Mirror Ball & More' live album, and reportedly will also be on the band's next studio album. Collectively, the new tracks paint a pretty clear picture of what we can potentially expect that album to sound like.

Set against a tribal beat from drummer Rick Allen, singer Joe Elliott lays out his case in 'Undefeated.' It's a pretty simple one, as you can probably guess from the title. Whoever Elliott's adversary might be can consider themselves warned that Joe is loaded for bear and won't go down without a fight.

Why's that? Because he's "undefeated," of course. Your investment in these lyrics ultimately depends on your ability to buy into the vision of Elliott as a prize fighter in love or war.

While it's not a bad song, the whole thing just comes across as something that's been done before. At times the music feels like 'Pour Some Sugar On Me,' a similarity that Rick Allen himself acknowledged in our recent interview with him. Add in random cheeseball lyrics such as "I walk through the fire / With the flames on my skin" and you might get the sense that you've crossed over into Manowar song territory.

As you can expect from any Def Leppard song, the background vocals are stacked and guitars are plentiful thanks to long-time duo Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen. Elliott himself even sounds relatively good vocally, despite his diminishing range. But overall, 'Undefeated' doesn't really leave a lot to hold onto.

Ultimately, fans will probably enjoy the live material more than the studio work on 'Mirror Ball.' Which is logical, as that's probably the reason that many music fans will pick up the collection in the first place.

Listen to Def Leppard 'Undefeated'