Adrenalize is the fifth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 31 March 1992 through Mercury Records. The album was the first by the band following the death of guitarist Steve Clark in 1991. Instead of replacing him with a new member, the band recorded the album as a four-piece. "We had recorded demos on multitrack," recalled fellow guitarist Phil Collen. "I was sitting there with him when he played the original parts. I could relay that. But it was like playing along to a ghost."[6]
This was also the band's first album recorded without their longtime producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Instead, the band took matters in their own hands and produced the album themselves along with longtime engineer Mike Shipley;[7] with Lange credited as executive producer.[8] The album spawned seven singles, three of which – "Let's Get Rocked", "Make Love Like a Man" and "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" – were major hits. One of the tracks on the album, "White Lightning", is dedicated to the memory of Clark,[7] who has writing credits on six of the album's 10 tracks.
Adrenalize debuted at No. 1 on both the UK Albums Chart[9] and, in the following week, on the U.S. Billboard 200.[10] It stayed at No. 1 of the Billboard chart for five weeks keeping Bruce Springsteen's Human Touch off the top spot, and spent 65 weeks on the charts in total.
The album received mixed reviews: some critics praised its production values and instantly catchy and radio-friendly material, while others called it tired and formulaic.[11] In a four-star review for Rolling Stone, J.D. Considine wrote: "Adrenalize is so relentlessly catchy that it almost seems as if the band is about to abandon its heavy-metal roots for the greener fields of hard pop."[12] Other reviewers also noted the album's less metal sound and pointed out its lack of cohesion. A staff writer for Sputnikmusic said that, despite the slick production, the album doesn't match the standard set by the band’s previous two records, which they referred to as masterpieces."[13] Writing in 2009, after Pyromania and Adrenalize have been reissued, Toby Cook of The Quietus said that, despite Adrenalize's many flaws, "the record buying public of '92 cared not."[14] Indeed, the album would go on to sell more than seven million copies worldwide, remaining Def Leppard's last studio album to achieve major mainstream success.[7]
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