Rob Halford’s 20 Most Hell Bent For Leather Looks

By Benjamin Smith

May 24, 2013 / 12:14 PM

Judas Priest are for all intents and purposes the first modern heavy metal band. Earlier groups laid the sonic and stylistic blueprints but Priest codified the various strains, melding Led Zeppelin’s wailing sense of grandeur to the dark heaviness of Black Sabbath and matching speeds with Deep Purple at their fastest. They were the first to proudly proclaim themselves a "heavy metal" band and pioneered the leather and studs look, which quickly became the defacto image for all subsequent metal groups. Influenced by punk and his extracurricular activities in the S&M underground, Judas Priest singer Rob Halford was the first to cover himself from head to toe in black leather and other kinky accouterments as immortalized in the classic song "Hell Bent for Leather." In honor of this weekend’s premiere on VH1 Classic of the new live concert film Judas Priest: Epitaph, we present Rob Halford’s 20 Most Hell Bent For Leather Looks.

Rob Halford

Tune in to VH1 Classic this Memorial Day for Metal Mania Weekend with the hardest hitting video blocks and special programming all weekend long including the broadcast premiere of Judas Priest: Epitaph this Saturday, May 25 at 8/8C.