Well it's not all 'Hell Bent for Leather' as this the debut from 'Judas Priest' shows. There's elements of classic 'Judas Priest', mainly that of 'Halfords' vocals, but the song structure and writing isn't comparable with other early classics like 'Stained Class' or 'Killing Machine'. Those looking for thundering 'British Metal', will be fairly disappointed as this album is definitely 'Hard Rock' at it's heaviest.

'One for the Road' opens 'Rocka Rolla', a mid tempo plodder, which is driven by a sort of 'Deep Purple' Mark III style bluesy chug, a pretty solid opener in which 'Rob Halford's' distinctive vocals are instantly discernible. The title track follows in quirky fashion, with rhythm work that I consider almost comical with it's out of key approach, lyrically it's fairly weak, but all said this track does have a certain appeal. 'Priest' dig deep into the experimental 'Sabbath' territory of the mid 70's with the trilogy 'Winter', 'Deep Freeze' and 'Winter Retreat', the former is a short eerie atmospheric piece that flows into 'Deep Freeze', a dark brooding rocker, that is the highlight of the three tracks, Lastly is 'Winter Retreat' which can only be described as a disappointing experiment with sound, Prog Rock style, it does close with some fine subtle vocal work though. Much better is the riff filled driving rocker 'Cheater', that features bits of 'Sabbath', 'Purple', 'AC/DC' and the soon to be familiar 'Priest' style, the use of harmonica is unusual but a nice touch, one of the albums best tracks. Continuing in good form is 'Never Satisfied' a mid tempo chugger, that has a definite classic 'Priest' sound about it, and makes for an enjoyable journey. The pace drops for the 'Zeppelin' inspired epic 'Run of the Mill' and while it doesn't equal 'Kashmir' or 'Into the Light' etc, its quite an accomplished track, which is well performed despite it's gloomy approach. 'Dying to Meet You' commences with slow brooding guitar work and unusually deep vocals for 'Rob', it does however pick up pace and transforms into a pretty worthy rocker, displaying plenty of early riffs. The album closes with a mellow instrumental 'Caviar and Meths' a fairly bland number by my reckoning.

A real mixed bag for a debut as they seem very uncertain of the kind of sound they want to pursue, 'Priest' do however get it spot on with their next release.