This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
“I’m always around, wired for sound, shakin’ it for all it’s worth,” boasts Joe Elliott on Back In Your Face, and he ain’t whistlin’ Dixie, bub.
Def Leppard’s ninth outing finds the lads rejuvenated — or is that Adrenalized? — and picking up where classic ’80s discs like Hysteria and Pyromania left off, right down to the chrome-plated, Morse-code guitar riffs, multi-tracked vocals and stadium-sized drum beats. Whether this surprisingly satisfying collection of Mutt Lange-produced riff rockers and bombastic power ballads will be viewed as retro-cool or rewarmed tripe is anybody’s guess. All I know is that it puts a whole new spin on the phrase Rock Of Ages.
