Last month, British rock legends Def Leppard appeared on Rockline Radio to promote their 10th studio album Songs From the Sparkle Lounge, slated for release under Universal Music Group's Mercury Records label on April 29. During the Q&A portion of the show, guitarist Phil Collen said that the band's hit singles "Photograph," "Animal," and "Rock of Ages" will appear in Activision's upcoming Guitar Hero IV.

　　As it would turn out, being a rock star in the '80s can have an addling affect on the brain. The band's label announced today that Def Leppard will indeed be lending several songs to Guitar Hero, but there's apparently been a venue and setlist change. Beginning on April 24, "Rock of Ages," "Photograph," and "Nine Lives," the upcoming single from the band's new album, will be available for download over Xbox Live for Activision's current rhythm game, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The song pack for the PlayStation 3 edition will follow on May 8.

　　Def Leppard's publicist notes that the band will be the first to have "released a new single ahead of its traditional launch through a video game." Thrash-metal legends Metallica have reportedly been in discussions with Harmonix and MTV Games to take a similar tack by debuting the first single from their next album as a song download in Rock Band.

　　With "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages" accounted for, no mention was made of the other track Def Leppard confirmed would be appearing in Guitar Hero, "Animal." However, the band was quite adamant about being included in Guitar Hero IV, so it seems highly likely that this final song has been slated for Activision's follow-up to the wildly successful rhythm game, which is rumored to be shipping later this year. Activision had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.