Additional personnel: Phil Nicholas (keyboards); The Sideways Mob (background vocals).

Recorded in Holland and Eire.

Released nearly five years after the world-dominating, multi-platinum success of HYSTERIA, Def Leppard's ADRENALIZE was a poor candidate for success. Surprisingly, considering it emerged in the wake of both the grunge explosion and the alcohol-related death of Leppard lead guitarist Steve Clark, the album topped the charts. Hits like "Let's Get Rocked" and "Stand Up" delivered the same combination of fist pounding arena rock and smooth power balladry that characterized the group's biggest hits, but with an even slicker sheen. The last of Def Leppard's Mutt Lange-produced efforts, ADRENALIZE brought one chapter of the group's history to a close, setting the stage for the stripped-down sound of the follow-up, 1996's SLANG.

After two straight blockbusters that delivered the goods both musically and commercially, anticipation ran high for Def Leppard's follow-up to Hysteria, in spite of the tragic death of guitarist Steve Clark. Unfortunately, Adrenalize sounds somewhat tired, formulaic, and bland, qualities absent from the band's best pop-metal work. Perhaps somewhat understandably, Leppard doesn't sound like their heart is really in the party anthems, and their ballads sound more calculated and generic. But most of all, the songs don't really have the effortlessly anthemic feel Leppard achieved so well on their past two albums, even though they try mightily. Adrenalize is competent, workmanlike, and impeccably produced, but not much more. ~ Steve Huey

The jury may still be out on Adrenalize, but with the band's misfortunes (guitarist Steve Clark died of a drug overdose), they can be forgiven for slipping a bit after the mega-success of Hysteria. That's not to dismiss Adrenalize, however, which still has a heaping helping of Leppard's patented Brit-pop crash-and-burn fusion. ~ Tom Graves