80's (+3) Jams: Def Leppard "Love Bites" (1988)

Naturally, "Love Bites" had the signature big, polished Def Leppard sound, but it wasn't choked with the melodramatic sentiment of most '80s power ballads, nor the usual power ballad pose of bad boys with sensitive hearts of gold. In fact, "Love Bites" is moody and even kind of sinister, creeping along quietly until bursting into a chorus featuring lines like "love bites, love bleeds...love leaves, love dies." Actually, the darker tone was a refreshing departure, its themes of fear and unsentimentalized pain making the song seem much less calculated than the commercial sheen of the music itself would suggest. -- Allmusic http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:kifyxcr5ldje