Killing Machine

The album was retitled Hell Bent for Leather for its US release on 28 February 1979. Singer Rob Halford simply said that their US-label found Killing Machine too much of a heavy statement to use, and suggested the alternative title to the band. It was feared that the ‘murderous implications’ of the original title would be too much for the larger record retailers to want to put the LP on its racks. Both album titles are drawn from the titles of songs on the album with "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)", an early Fleetwood Mac cover, being added to the US release. The album was also pressed in red vinyl in the UK.

With Killing Machine, Judas Priest began moving to a more accessible, commercial format that abandoned the complex, fantasy-themed songs of their previous three albums. While this album still had dark undertones, it was more grounded in realism. This was reflected in their change of stage costumes from flowing Gothic robes to leather, but was also a reaction to the rising punk and new wave movements. K. K. Downing had expressed doubts about the new wave of British heavy metal stating "everybody was totally dedicated to having their own show, their own images". Priest were part of the influence on the NWOBHM, but not part of it. The band's new, simpler sound was the result of several factors, amongst them being a desire to compete with the energy and speed of punk rock, the need to produce songs that were easier to perform live, and the wish to appeal more to American audiences. Tracks such as "Burnin' Up" and "Evil Fantasies" are replete with S&M themes while "Running Wild" is about late-night partying and "Before the Dawn" a depressing ballad. "Hell Bent for Leather" reflected their newly adopted leather costumes as well as Rob Halford's soon-to-be-trademark entrances on stage riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

The single "Take On the World" was an attempt at producing a stadium shoutalong tune in the mould of Queen's "We Will Rock You", and was also covered by new wave band The Human League on their 1980 tour. The song's influence endures: in 2021, the band Spoon released the single "Wild", which samples its drum patterns from "Take On the World". The record was released as a 7-inch single and was backed with a remix by Dennis Bovell which features the same drum pattern.

"Hell Bent For Leather" and a cover version of the Fleetwood Mac song "The Green Manalishi" were the two songs from Killing Machine which became standard parts of the band's live setlist, with the other songs being performed rarely ("Evil Fantasies", "Running Wild", "Rock Forever and "Take On the World") or not at all. "Running Wild" and "Delivering The Goods" became regulars on the Firepower tour setlists in 2018 after not being played since 1980, and the title track returned to the band's setlists at a show in Paris in January 2019 after being absent for 40 years.

The lyrics on the album were simplified somewhat in comparison with the band's previous albums, adapted into a more mainstream arena rock format, but the instrumentation retains the band's characteristic aggressiveness with heavier guitar riffing and elements of blues influence returning on some songs. The album is certified gold by the RIAA.

The album was remastered in 2001, with two bonus tracks added (three in the UK). The bonus track "Fight for Your Life" was the "original" version of Judas Priest's "Rock Hard Ride Free" from their Defenders of the Faith album. "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" is considered a bonus track on the UK remaster, but a regular track on the U.S. version.

In 2010, audiophile label Audio Fidelity released a limited-edition 24-karat gold CD of Hell Bent for Leather. Mastering was done by Steve Hoffman. This does not contain the bonus tracks from the 2001 edition.

This is the first Judas Priest album where Glenn Tipton incorporated the guitar technique of tapping into his soloing style, which had been popularized by Eddie Van Halen earlier that year with the release of Van Halen's popular debut album (which incidentally was released the same day as Stained Class). This can be heard in the solos of "Hell Bent for Leather" and "Killing Machine".

This is also the final studio album for drummer Les Binks who had joined the band in early 1977 in time for the Sin After Sin tour; he is credited with helping develop the traditional Priest percussive sound. Binks was dropped and replaced by drummer Dave Holland after the 1979 tour because of a financial disagreement where the band's manager Mike Dolan wanted Binks to "waive his fees" for performing on the platinum-selling 1979 live album Unleashed in the East.

In 2005, Killing Machine was ranked number 321 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. This album, as well as subsequent albums by the band, has somewhat divided fans, with some preferring the complexity and darkness of the early albums, while others prefer the more mainstream and polished later albums.

The song "Hell Bent for Leather" is featured in Ari Gold's 2008 film Adventures of Power, the 2004 episode of the sitcom That '70s Show entitled "Surprise, Surprise" and also featured in 2009 game Guitar Hero: Metallica.

Judas Priest

• Rob Halford, vocals
• K. K. Downing, guitars
• Glenn Tipton, guitars, keyboards on "Evening Star", "Burning Up", "Killing Machine" and "Before the Dawn",
• Ian Hill, bass guitar
• Les Binks, drums (all tracks except "Before the Dawn")

Additional musicians

• Dave Holland, drums (bonus tracks 12 and 13)

Production

• Produced by James Guthrie and Judas Priest
• Engineered by James Guthrie, assisted by Damian Korner, Andrew Jackson, Kevin Dallimore, and Andrew Clark
• Cover design by Rosław Szaybo
• Photography by Bob Elsdale