This ain't love

The problem is your definition of what a hair band is is too broad and mine is perhaps too narrow.

I compare the hair band era to the disco era. Initially, you had some bands doing some relatively good stuff incorporating the disco sound. The huge surge in popularity led to a flood of product that ultimately ruined disco as something to be reviled and rejected. The hair band era is no different.

That was awful. That song deserved to be a hit, even though it wasn't written by the band. It was much better than Euphoria's Goodbye, up there with their old ballads.

No, I do not think that is the reason. I still stand by my statement. If AC/DC can keep releasing an AC/DC album year in and year out, and still survives well, other bands who have made a solid diamond album and stick to their guns should be as well.

Def Leppard isn't AC/DC.

By your logic, Def Leppard should have stuck with the sound they had for "On Through the Night." Then if you dismiss that as just the freshman outing, they should have stuck with the "High n Dry" sound. Perhaps you mean the sound that they hit success with? Then perhaps they should have stuck with "Pyromania."

Why is it you think they should have stuck with the Hysteria sound? Both Pyromania and Hysteria were cutting edge and trend setting upon release.... and distinctive. In fact, all of their albums up to that point were distinctive except for Adrenalize, which was made up of Hysteria droppings. The public reacts to what you were last known for... in their case that would be Let's Get Rocked and Make Love Like A Man while practically parodying themselves image-wise.

They had the eyes of the world on them when they released Adrenalize. That was the time to demonstrate they had much more to offer and remind the world why Def Leppard was one of the biggest bands in the world. Adrenalize only served to cement them in the public's mind as an 80's hair band with nothing more to give than retreads.

Yes that's what I meant. Most band has an identifiable sound and in general I dislike bands that stray too much from that sound, especially if they do it because they want to 'escape the pigeonhole'.