Def Leppard - Adrenalize
Mercury Records
Melodic Hard Rock
10 songs (45:25)
Release year: 1992
Mercury Records
Reviewed by Shane
Archive review

Def Leppard over came adversity and hit it huge with Hysteria back in 1987. Hysteria’s mix of hard rock, party anthems, melodies and slick production laid out a blue print for success for future releases. Unfortunately Def Leppard would face adversity yet again with the tragic death of guitarist Steve Clark. Understandably, this delayed the creation of Adrenalize until 1992. A lot had changed in the music scene between 1987 and 1992 and while Adrenalize sold well, its success was still disappointing by Def Leppard’s lofty standards. In hindsight, it appears that the blue print for success had changed drastically in five years.

Adrenalize is a lot like Hysteria, except it’s even cheesier. For me this is not a problem but it may be too much for others to stomach, as Hysteria rated fairly high on the cheese meter itself. Track seven, Personal Property, is the worst offender, as it features the following lyrics “You better hit the road jack…..and don’t come back!”. All cheesiness aside, if you enjoyed Hysteria and didn’t mind Def Leppard’s increasing attempts at a more commercialized sound, you should like this album. While I think that Def Leppard peaked with Pyromania, I still loved Hysteria and I think that this album is great as well.

Let’s Get Rocked starts off the album and it is a Def Leppard classic and a true party anthem. Every song on this album is solid, with the weakest probably being Personal Property. Tear It Down is the hardest rocking track on the album and rocks as hard as any track off of Hysteria. In fact, this song wouldn’t even be that out of place on Pyromania. The only problem with Tear It Down is that it is too short, as by the time you get into it, it’s over. Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad is a great power ballad that I’m sure just about anybody can or could relate to at some point in their lives. Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion) has a groove that reminds me of Animals off of Hysteria. In fact, almost everything that this album offers is reminiscent of Hysteria. White Lightning is the most serious song on the album as it deals with drug addiction and I’m sure was inspired by Steve Clark’s struggles. It is also the lenghtiest song on the album, as it is just over seven minutes long. Unfortunately the seriousness of this song is slightly undercut by the liberal use of signature Def Leppard harmonized vocals that really make it sound like every other song on the album. Def Leppard should not have made their serious side (Yes, they do have one) sound just like their party side.

All in all Adrenalize was an album that was made for the 80’s but unfortunately was released in the 90’s, when having a good time wasn’t “cool anymore”. Therefore, I believe that Adrenalize suffered undo criticism. Sure, Adrenalize didn’t exactly show that Def Leppard had matured past Hysteria but so what? Hysteria rocked and so does Adrenalize. If Adrenalize had been released a year after Hysteria instead of five, I’m sure that it would have been a smash hit. So if you liked Hysteria or melodic hard rock in general, don’t be afraid to check this album. All you really have to do is ask yourself one question….Do you wanna get rocked?

Killing Songs :
Let’s get Rocked, Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad, Tear It Down
Shane quoted 84 / 100
Aleksie quoted 82 / 100
Other albums by Def Leppard that we have reviewed:
Def Leppard - Songs From The Sparkle Lounge reviewed by Storm and quoted 81 / 100
Def Leppard - Hysteria reviewed by Storm and quoted CLASSIC
Def Leppard - Yeah! reviewed by Ben and quoted no quote
Def Leppard - X reviewed by Mike and quoted 56 / 100
Def Leppard - High 'n Dry reviewed by Jeff and quoted CLASSIC
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