1996年，乐队出版新专辑《SLANG》，这是一张融合了目前摇滚乐和经典的“莱帕德之音”的专辑。乐队在专辑中里面加入了宗教和另类音乐成份，Techno 的成份在D ef Leppard 以前的专辑中从来没那么浓过。当第一首充斥着工业金属风格的单曲 “The Truth” 咆哮而至时，每一个人都大吃一惊，但后面的歌曲还是回到了乐队原来的老路上。专辑的总体色彩显得比较沧桑，乐队成员似乎一下子都变老了，这种既求变又保守的风格在很大程度上的限制了乐队的发展。 {摘自：水滴音乐} by Stephen Thomas Erlewine After the lackluster performance of Adrenalize, Def Leppard realized it was time to abandon their trademark wall-of-guitars sound. Jettisoning producer Mutt Lange -- who, admittedly, was busy producing his wife, country singer Shania Twain -- the group stripped its sound to the basics for Slang. There are very few layers-of-guitar effects on the album, just straight, crunching chords. Most notably, Rick Allen has returned to playing acoustic drums after playing an electronic kit for nearly a decade. The change in approach is apparent and welcome -- Def Leppard hasn't sounded so immediate since Pyromania. Furthermore, they decided to expand their musical vocabulary slightly, working elements of R&B and funk into the rhythms. Not all of the experiments work, but Def Leppard sound revitalized, particularly when they attack a straightforward rocker. Slang would have been even better if they had come up with a set of hooks that sounded as alive as their performance, but the album is a much-needed return to form for the group.