“Rock Hard, Ride Free” by Judas Priest

"Rock Hard, Ride Free" roars out of Defenders of the Faith, Judas Priest's ninth studio album, released in January 1984, and the title reads like the band's whole creed stitched across the back of a leather jacket. Rob Halford wrote it with guitarists Glenn Tipton and Kenneth Downing, and sings it; Ian Hill plays bass and Dave Holland drums.

Tom Allom produced and Mark Dodson engineered. The album was cut in the summer of 1983 at Ibiza Sound Studios in Spain, then mixed that autumn in Coconut Grove, Miami, at DB Recording Studios and Bayshore Recording Studios. The singles went to "Freewheel Burning", "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" and "Love Bites", but this one rides under the same banner as the sleeve's Metallian, a horned, tiger-ish war beast on tank treads with Gatling guns, dreamed up by the band themselves.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.