Euphoria

On their last album Slang, Def Leppard moved away from the stomping, Glam-influenced anthems with which they'd earned their fame and fortune and slipped into experimental mode but that album's looser, funkier structures were met with a distinct lack of interest from their fanbase and so, for Euphoria, they're back on more familiar ground.

In fairness, the Leps didn't come across as entirely comfortable with their last excursion but the reason they sound so invigorated on Euphoria undoubtedly has something to do with getting that diversion out of their system. The opening 'Demolition Man' (not the Sting/Grace Jones song) sets out their stall immediately, consisting of a high-speed riff with added techno bubblings and a cameo appearance on guitar from, gulp, Damon Hill (shouldn't he really be guesting with The Grid?). Like all the best Def Leppard songs this is a collison between Pop and Metal, an area where chorus meets clout - and it's in like-minded company here.

'Promises' recalls the heyday of Pyromania and Hysteria but it's 'Back In Your Face' which really shows why the Leps have few peers at this game. Beginning with a "Hey!Hey!Hey!" chant which sounds like it was pilfered from a Glitter Band demo, Joe Elliott launches into the kind of cod-macho word association which made "I suppose a rock's out of the question?" one of the great dumb lines in Pop history, and all the while the band are keeping it hard but tight behind him.

When they're on this kind of form Def Leppard are irresistible and the standard is maintained by the synth-driven '21st Century Sha La La La Girl', the Beatles-ish 'It's Only Love' and the loose-limbed 'All Night', with 'Goodbye' and 'To Be Alive' taking care of the Zippo factor for the forthcoming world tour.

Having more in common with Sweet than Slayer, Def Leppard's bounce back to form is commendable and never at any point reeks of desperation, which it could so easily have done. They've gone back to the basic instincts of their '80s heyday and, as US sales figures show, been backed by the public.

And I'm sure it's no coincidence that the titles of their biggest-selling albums from that period also ended with the letters 'IA'. Superstitious buggers!