JUDAS PRIEST — Killing Machine (review)

JUDAS PRIEST — Killing Machine album cover Album · 1978 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Time Signature
Delivering the goods...

Genre: heavy metal

"Killing Machine", or "Hell Bent for Leather" as many Americans call this album, was Judas Priest's last album of the 1970s, and what a way to turn the key on that decade!

This album is an all out heavy metal attack, starting with the solid metal tracks "Delivering the Goods" and "Rock Forever" both of which lyrically describe this album and its legacy very well. "Evening Star" is a more uplifting, melodic and, perhaps, commercial track, but it is catchy as hell, and with that chorus it has earned a special place in my heart as my favorite Judas Priest track from the 1970s (well, that and "The Ripper" from "Sad Wings of Destiny"). "Hell Bent for Leather" is another headbanging classic, and along with "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)", "Running Wild", "Killing Machine", "Evil Fantasies" and "Burning Up", it constitutes the solid heavy metal backbone of the album, which makes the overly anthemic "Take On The World" and the ballad "Before the Dawn" seem more forgivable (well, actually, "Before the Dawn" is a quite nice ballad).

This album is a must in any metal collection, as is its successor.
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