By 1996, Def Leppard needed to try something different. Their 80s heyday had long since passed and the grunge/nu metal era made them unwanted icons of a forgotten age. They got a new wardrobe, split up to write their songs and even left the stylized Def Leppard logo off of their album Slang to tread new paths without longtime producer Mutt Lange. Some saw it as a reaction to grunge as it sounded nothing like Hysteria or Adrenalize which had preceded it - the high harmonies and big, hooky riffs were gone. But Def Leppard fans saw it as the boys stretching out after a decade with Mutt and expressing themselves as mature men dealing with life on their terms.

Though The Wolf and Action didn't take to this album when it was released May 13, 1996, a teenaged Neil from Def Lep Pod was all about the Slang record. It came at the right time in his life and Neil knows Slang (as he does so many things Def Leppard) back to front and then some. He knows every demo version of every song and brings not only his generational point of view of the English fans story in contrast to that of Action and The Wolf.

Vivian Campbell finally earned songwriting credits on a Def Leppard album and his solo write Work It Out was the 1st single released in the US. Gift of Flesh is as heavy as anything in their catalog and All I Want Is Everything is a huge favorite among the Def Lep faithful. They experiment with Indian instruments on Turn to Dust and achieved three #1 hit singles on the UK Rock/Heavy Metal chart.

Though it's the first Def Leppard album to not achieve platinum status in 15+ years, it's an album with individual viewpoints that goes in many directions and offers fans something different than anything else in their catalog.

Listen to Neil on ⁠Def Lep Pod⁠

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