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    `80s big-hair rock band makes come back with new album

     By C.J. Hart

     Joe Elliot (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitars), Phil Collen
     (guitars), Rick Allen (drums) and Rick Savage (bass) take a somewhat
     different approach to Slang than they have with their past albums.
     Unlike all of the band's previous albums, Slang was recorded in a
     house on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The creative juices
     apparently flowed freely, and Slang is a rather experimental album.

     This album contains a great deal of beat sampling, so the band is
     capable of funkier, more exotic pieces. Slang also marks Allen's
     return to a traditional drum kit. He had been using a synthesizer
     drum kit since the multiplatinum Hysteria.

     Slang begins with the extremely hard, extremely gritty "Truth,"
     which is the band's best attempt to really crank up the decibels.
     The guitars are heavily distorted as are the voices in the chorus.
     One does not expect this kind of raw sound from Def Leppard, but it
     is pleasantly surprising.Of course, Slang would not be a Def Leppard
     album without a couple of power ballads, a musical form which Def
     Leppard and the rest of the big-hair bands perfected in the `80s. In
     this case, "Blood Runs Cold" and "Where Does Love Go When It Dies"
     fit the bill nicely.

     It is nice to see that Def Leppard is still capable of producing
     albums, but Iwonder if there is a market for this kind of music
     anymore. Only time will tell if audience reception to Slang will
     keep Def Leppard alive.

     Def Leppard is playing Austin, August 3, at the Southpark Meadows
     with special guest Tripping Daisy.


     Star Rating: 4.5
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     Copyright 1996, SWT Student Publications

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