Track Listing

1. Delivering the Goods
2. Rock Forever
3. Evening Star
4. Hell Bent for Leather
5. Take on the World
6. Burnin' Up
7. Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)
8. Killing Machine
9. Running Wild
10. Before the Dawn
11. Evil Fantasies

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #203078 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
While the title of this 1979 release perfectly fits the band's increasing S&M-inspired leather-and-chains imagery, it's a mature and fairly sharp thematic departure from its largely death-obsessed predecessor, Stained Class. While the Priest could have easily fallen into the same stultifying goth clichés as forebears like Black Sabbath, they expanded both their musical range and lyrical focus here, shrewdly burnishing the album's commercial potential in the bargain. Kicking off with the upbeat "Delivering the Goods" and the Skynyrd-worthy arena boogie of "Rock Forever," the band blasts through material that's as wide as Sin After Sin's, but better focused. There are expected metal clichés--a big rock ballad ("Before the Dawn") and some expected bad-ass posturing (the title track and "Killing Machine")--but even the band's occasional bowing to gothic expectations is informed with a sense of surprise and adventure, as witnessed by their cover of the disturbing Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac track "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Horn)." That much of this album's tack became inspiration--and then cliché--for the widespread metal revolution that Judas Priest helped foster is only testament to their enduring legacy. This digitally remastered edition features expanded artwork, new commentary by the band, and complete lyrics, as well as the bonus tracks "Fight for You Life" (a studio outtake later incorporated into "Rock Hard, Ride Free") and a manic live version "Riding on the Wind." --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Good, but not as awsome as Stained Class
Hmm. This album is pretty good, but it disapointed me a bit when I bought it. Stained Class is harder, more creative, and it looks like the band put much more effort into it than they put in Hell Bent for Leather. Check out Evil Fantasies. When you look at the name, something creepy comes to your mind, but when you listen to the song, you begin to wonder, is this really Piest ? Also, I expected much more from Killing Machine. Of course this is a must have album, but I sudgest that you get Stained Class instead. - The Ripper

Questionable production, but powerful metal tunes
While Hell Bent For Leather is not the masterpiece that Sad Wings of Destiny or Stained Class remains, it is still a highly worthy addition to one's Priest (or metal in general) collection. The production is less than stellar (at least they never worked with James Guthrie again, or did they?), but most of the tunes practically define unhypenated metal. "Delivering The Goods," "Hell Bent for Leather," "Killing Machine," and "Running Wild" are among the band's best, for sure. While "Take on the World" is a somewhat generic anthem, "The Green Manalishi" is somewhat overrated, and "Burnin' Up" loses its impact about three-quarters of the way through, the Priest remains one of the greatest forces in metal ever. So crank it up and "Rock, rock, rock, forr-evahhh!"

This is one of the best albums ever!
This is one great album.

I only recieved it in the mail today but I have already listened to it three times in full.

This is great collection of songs, songs that will surely make your fist rise into the air. Songs like the title track, 'Delivering the goods' and 'The green Manalishi' are abseloute classics.

The sound quality on this album is not perfect and you have to turn it up louder than a normal CD to get the same actual volume level (Meaning that when you play it on ten, it sounds like eight), but this is a truly great album and if you can't play it loud enough you should buy a louder stereo (I'm gonna!).

This album is a classic!