Def Leppard Recorded New Album in the Basement of Caesars Palace

Elliott said the band set up drums in the basement of the theatre at Caesars Palace and worked between shows rather than resting. 

Drummer Rick Allen laid down large amounts of material on his days off, guitar parts were captured in hotel rooms and Elliott records his vocals at home. The approach follows a remote, layered method the band adopted during the pandemic, with each member adding parts from wherever they happen to be. 

Elliott said the record is still being assembled piece by piece across different locations.

The sessions ran alongside Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace, the band's Las Vegas residency that opened on February 3, 2026. Long casino residencies by major acts have become a fixture of the modern Strip, tying extended runs to the resorts that host them and the surrounding hospitality and casino trade. 

Def Leppard used the downtime between dates to record rather than to gamble, folding studio work into a run of theatre shows inside the resort.

The album will follow 2022's Diamond Star Halos and stand as the band's 13th studio record. 

Elliott said Def Leppard have around 17 or 18 songs written, close to two albums' worth, and are still choosing the final track list for the first release. 

He described the material as varied and said some listeners will be surprised by the direction. The band put out the single Rejoice in late January 2026, ahead of the residency, as a first taste of the new music.

Elliott put the release in early 2027, with the band still recording and mixing between touring commitments through 2026. 

Def Leppard's schedule this year has taken in the Las Vegas run and a return to European dates, among them a Paris show on July 8, 2026, their first concert in the French capital in almost three decades. 

Allen, who has played a custom kit since losing his left arm in a car accident in 1984, remains central to the band's sound and to the new sessions.

The story is a small window into how casino resorts now work as entertainment hubs that reach well beyond the tables. A residency long enough for a band to build an album in the basement shows how far venues like Caesars Palace sit at the centre of the live music economy, blending gaming from the Strip's floors to online casinos with big-ticket shows.