Hell Bent for Leather

iTunes Review

With their flashy spikes, studs and handcuffs, black leather, and motorcycle iconography, Judas Priest defined heavy metal for the turn of the ‘70s-‘80s decade. Their tight, tough, twin-guitar attack managed to walk the dangerous line between heavy metal thunder and catchy pop hooks. Guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing traded leads and powerchords with deft assurance leaving just enough room for singer Rob Halford to stretch his vocal cords to maximum operatic effect. While the band often mined dark imagery, by the time of 1979’s Hell Bent for Leather they’d discovered an unusual populism with surefire arena crowdpleasers such as “Delivering the Goods,” “Rock Forever,” and the title track. Their cover of Peter Green’s blues-based edition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)” proved a stroke of genius, as the tune became one of the group’s rousing encores. The production is slightly restrained (especially in comparison with the feral ride of their live album Unleashed in the East), but from the aforementioned tunes to “Killing Machine” and “Running Wild,” these are heavy metal essentials nonetheless.