Hell Bent for Leather cover

Hell Bent for Leather

Released

Judas Priest’s fifth album was a transitional effort; they stripped the songs down, opting for a hard-charging style closer to punk than their previous, somewhat progressive work. This was also the record on which they adopted the black-leather-and-studs image that became not only their own trademark, but something to be regarded as essentially metal. There were still plenty of surprises, though, like the almost Lynyrd Skynyrd-esque guitar solo on “Rock Forever,” their somewhat silly attempt to write their own Queen-style stomp-and-shout anthem, “Take On The World,” and the funk-metal “Burnin’ Up” with its eerie synth intro and disco drum flourishes. But the title track is a speeding-down-the-highway anthem, and on the tour for this record, frontman Rob Halford began riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle onstage for the encore.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Drawing Down the Moon cover

Drawing Down the Moon

Beherit
Arise cover

Arise

Sepultura
Covenant cover

Covenant

Morbid Angel
Hell Awaits cover

Hell Awaits

Slayer
Ghost in the Machine cover

Ghost in the Machine

the Police
Desolation Boulevard cover

Desolation Boulevard

Sweet
Among the Living cover

Among the Living

Anthrax
John Barleycorn Must Die cover

John Barleycorn Must Die

Traffic
Nightingales & Bombers cover

Nightingales & Bombers

Manfred Mann's Earth Band
L.A. Woman cover

L.A. Woman

The Doors
Mental Vortex cover

Mental Vortex

Coroner
The Real Thing cover

The Real Thing

Faith No More