10 Underrated Metal Albums Of The 1990s
6. Adrenalize - Def Leppard
The start of the 90's were not a great time to be a hair metal band. With acts like Pearl Jam and Nirvana just on the horizon, the era of spandex and party anthems seemed destined to fall into obscurity in the coming years. Given the situation, Def Leppard's Adrenalize should probably suck, but the results are pretty respectable for one of the giants of the hair metal scene.
This album is certainly not as good as their blockbuster album Hysteria, but the tracks are still perfectly refined attempts at mixing the pop formula with metallic hard rock riffs. The opener "Let's Get Rocked" has been a fan favorite ever since it was released, while the band still show their rock and roll chops on "Tear It Down." The most surprising cut on here has gone to be "White Lightning," which is a moody 7 minute track that was written in tribute to the band's late guitarist Steve Clark.
The initial rollout of the record did pretty well, but the glam metal aesthetic didn't have a prayer when competing with the moody songs coming from the Northwest of America. Def Leppard may not have had the proper time to relish in the glory of this release, but any fan of hair metal would be proud to have this album sitting in their collection.