Judas Priest - Killing Machine (1979)

At the time of Killing Machine, Judas Priest were going through something of a metamorphosis both in terms of musical style and dress style. Gone was the long hair and hippy styling that adorned front man Rob Halford during their early career along with lengthy plodding rock and in came leather and studs (inspired by Rob Halford’s visit to an ‘adult’ shop) and shorter, more commercial numbers with catchy hook-lines and anthemic choruses.

The move paid dividends with Killing Machine not only achieving chart success in its own right but also spawning three singles of which Take On The World reached a lofty 14 in the UK singles charts: not bad for a self-proclaimed ‘heavy metal’ band from Birmingham!

Indeed, Killing Machine is an archetype ‘heavy metal’ album: if you programmed all the variables of rock music into a computer and asked it to produce a heavy metal album, it would come up with Killing Machine! Grinding riffs, screeching guitar solos and screaming vocals – along with the subject matter of the tracks and their anthemic nature – make for a very enjoyable album if you’re into the heavier end of the 1970s spectrum.

Whilst Priest albums can tend to be pummeling on the ears – and indeed they should be – there is some light and shade on Killing Machine: Rock Forever has a great riff , harmony guitar solo and catchy chorus, Evening Star is a reasonably commercial number (and was released as a single and was one of the first examples of a melodic acoustic guitar intro being used to lead into a heavy number; a trick utilised heavily throughout the 1980s by a myriad of ‘metal’ bands) along with one of Priest’s defining moments, Hell Bent For Leather.

If you like your rock heavy, with no frills or overly melodic pretensions then Killing Machine is an album for your collection from one of the true pioneers of the heavy metal genre.

• Rob Halford – Vocals
• K.K. Downing – Guitars
• Glenn Tipton – Guitars
• Ian Hill – Bass
• Les Binks – Drums