Hell Bent for Leather [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster] (CD - 1979)

Judas Priest: Rob Halford (vocals); Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing (guitar); Ian Hill (bass); Les Binks (drums).

Principally recorded at Utopia, Basing Street and CBS Studios, London, England in 1978. Includes liner notes by Judas Priest.

Digitally remastered by Jon Astley.

Personnel: Glenn Tipton (guitar); Ian Hill (bass guitar); Les Binks (drums).

Audio Remasterer: Jon Astley.

Recording information: Basing Street (1978); CBS Studios, London, England (1978); Utopia (1978).

Photographers: Robert Ellis ; Bob Elsdale; Terry Lott; Fin Costello.

Titled Killing Machine in the U.K., but given a less violent moniker for U.S. release (as if that makes any sense), Hell Bent for Leather is a transitional album between the progressive-minded complexity of Stained Class and the more commercialized stadium rock of British Steel. In terms of image, however, Judas Priest comes into their own here, creating modern heavy metal fashion by donning studded leather outfits that recalled biker subculture (a connection Rob Halford supported by riding a Harley-Davidson on-stage) but -- in one of metal's supreme ironies -- actually came from gay S&M clubs. Now looking as fierce as their music sounded, Priest set about scaling back the ambition of Stained Class, making the songs more concise and immediate, with simpler structures and fewer underlying subtleties. However, the band largely maintains its then-trademark aggression; the simpler songs actually allow them to hike the tempo on the proto-speed metal numbers even more, and there are hints of blues-rock creeping back into the overall sound, complementing the newfound tough-guy swagger in the band's attitude. At the same time, the relative simplicity also provides the first glimpse of the band's more commercial instincts. If these competing impulses don't make for their most cohesive album, it's also true that most of what's here was still pretty peerless for its time. If Stained Class was the death album, Hell Bent for Leather is the sex album -- "Delivering the Goods," the title track, "Burnin' Up," and "Evil Fantasies" are all loaded with S&M imagery, while "Running Wild" is a nightlife party anthem, and "Before the Dawn" a morose heartbreak ballad that nonetheless works in context as the downside of all this carnality. "Delivering the Goods" in particular ranks with their best straightforward rockers, while "Hell Bent for Leather" pushes ever farther towards speed metal proper, crystallizing Halford's leather-and-motorcycle obsessions into one of the band's signature statements. The other title track, "Killing Machine," is a midtempo stomper about a contract hitman, and there's yet another brilliantly reinvented cover song, as the band transforms the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac chestnut "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" into a heavy, sinister groover. Of the more commercial material, the anthemic chorus of "Evening Star" leaves the best impression, while "Rock Forever" is their first explicit ode to heavy metal itself (and there would be many, many more to come). The uneasiest implications for the future come from "Take on the World," a lunkheaded stadium shout-along that gave the band its first British hit single, and is clearly patterned after Queen's "We Will Rock You." Occasional missteps and all, Hell Bent for Leather closes the book on Judas Priest's early period, which constitutes some of the most influential heavy metal ever recorded. The flood of NWOBHM talent they'd inspired was about to be unleashed on the record-buying public, and henceforth, Priest was intent on reaping the rewards. They would remain a vital force in their second, more commercial phase (more so than some fans of their late-'70s classics might care to admit), but their work of redefining the genre had largely been completed. ~ Steve Huey

Killing Machine was the British version of the album that was retitled Hell Bent for Leather upon its U.S. release. The American version appends a very well done cover of the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac's "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" to the original track listing, making it the preferred buy. ~ Steve Huey

Judas Priest's 1979 release, HELL BENT FOR LEATHER (titled KILLING MACHINE in Europe), continued the band's late '70s winning streak, which included such metal classics as SAD WINGS OF DESTINY, SIN AFTER SIN, and STAINED CLASS. Such deliciously heavy tracks as "Delivering the Goods," the title track, the U.K. hit single "Take On the World," and a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)," showed that nobody could touch singer Rob Halford and company when it came to power metal. Landing a spot as the opening act on Kiss' U.S. tour the same year, Priest were gearing up for a major worldwide breakthrough--eventually becoming one of the '80s top heavy metal acts.

In 1979, Judas Priest was growing more and more influential. And as the 1980s progressed, it would become crystal clear that the British headbangers -- who influenced everyone from Iron Maiden to Metallica to King Diamond -- had every bit as great an impact as fellow British headbangers Black Sabbath. One of the Priest's strongest albums, Hell Bent for Leather cannot be described in anything less than glowing terms. Although gothic themes are present on such treasures as "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" -- originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac -- "Evil Fantasies," and "Before the Dawn," the album generally isn't as dark or morbid as Stained Class or Sin After Sin. But musically, the band is as aggressive and brutally intense as ever. The two-guitar attack of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing is characteristically blistering, and lead singer Rob Halford never sounded more inspired. For those with even a casual interest in metal, Hell Bent for Leather is essential listening. [The 2001 reissue adds two bonus tracks: the studio outtake "Fight for Your Life" and a live version of "Riding on the Wind."] ~ Alex Henderson minimize