Bat Out Of Hell

The only ‘70s hard rock show tunes I’d fuck with are Alice Coopers.

Too overwrought for my tastes

Best Song: Bat Out Of Hell. The song takes like 2 minutes to get started, "ends" three or four times, and yet is still somehow the perfect amount of camp and energy to really rip. Worst Song: You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth. That scripted intro must be the most cringeworthy thing I've heard in this list. Good god, like the opening plenary to a furry convention. Overall: Apart from the two standout tracks (Bat Out of Hell and Paradise By The Dashboard Light), which are brilliantly campy and theatrical, everything else is a bit boring and plain. The middle of the album almost sounds like a poor Elton John impersonation, which is disappointing given the creativity in the two aforementioned tracks.

lol

I only like Meatloaf in Rocky Horror, where he has his place but is used sparingly.

hit after AOR hit on this album, just not music that holds any interest for me. Still can't ignore the incredible success of this album. 2.5 stars

Not for me thanks

😭 Make it stop 😭 A thoroughly unpleasant experience. If I have to listen to another Meat Loaf album it will get 1 star. It only gets 2 in this case because I acknowledge that is should probably be included in this list.

Não chamou a atenção o suficiente para considerar escutar mais.

It's not music, is it? It's musical theatre.

It’s okay. Only like 7 songs and an hour length though??? Songs seem to drag on. Pretty good after the first 2/3 songs

Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf (1977) This record remains the best selling album of all time In Australia, which probably says less about the record than in does about Australia. Don’t get me wrong—I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Australia, where I had originally planned to emigrate right about the time Bat Out of Hell was released, with my high school sweetheart, a co-captain of the pom-pom team who had introduced me to ‘paradise by the dashboard light’ (if ya know what I mean) when I was seventeen. She dumped me via long distance telephone, however, so I took the money I was saving for the trip and bought me a used 1968 Mercury Cougar—the third best decision I ever made in my life. Don’t press me for details. The point of this sad happy tale is that of the three major life goals I had set for myself as a high school senior, this Australia one didn’t pan out. Well, two out of three ain’t bad. But this album hit the market in 1977 all over the English-speaking world like a cultural exclamation point. Jim Steinman wrote the songs, composing each of them like an earwormy overture to a bad Off-Broadway musical, with a relentlessly campy appropriations of stale rock ‘n roll tropes, set in grimy, immature little narratives which are duly theatrical without rising to the level of the operatic. The arrangements have some nice grooves, but they are fatally fragmented—a most unintelligent songwriting effort. But they are intelligently performed by one Meat Loaf (friends call him ‘Meat’, but formally it’s ‘Mr. Loaf’), who has a voice well suited to the rock drama genre, with plenty of power and range, and a dramatic wildness like a bat out of hell that quite fits the bill. The big hit from this album “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” is corny, pompous, and trite all at once. Much better is the track “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”, which tells a naughty tale focused on certain adolescent male motivations. It really does capture the ambience, much to an old man’s embarrassment. But the great artistic weakness of this record is that it strings together admittedly clever bits that are both musically and lyrically disjointed. Not the stuff for evoking nostalgia. 2/5

Oof- yeah I’m probably gonna skip this one. It’s a rock opera from the late 70s, about a decade too late for relevancy. I mean, Meat was a great singer- my dude has some RANGE but this shit is corny AF. You know it. I know it. You know I know it. Let’s just walk away from this…

Would have given it 2.5 if I could just for 'Two out of Three'.

pas vraiment mon truc du tout mais par contre je m’attendais pas du tout à ça : ne pas juger un album à sa couverture ainsi qu’au nom de son artiste même si celui-ci est littéralement pain de viande, rip

Was originally written to be a musical... and it shows. Sounds like music that a 70's theater kid would enjoy. It doesn't take itself too seriously while trying to be "an epic rock opera". Reminds me of The Wall but if Roger Waters had a sense of humor. I see the appeal, but ultimately I am not a fan. Favorite song: All Revved Up with No Place to Go

I could write this review the same as album one. But Meatloaf is a love child of Rock and Opera. Bat Out of Hell a all time classic but the rest of the album is a exact representation of the 70’s, a mix match of strong guitar and finger bashing piano. A mix match that would works in the musical theatre so maybe I’ve just created an idea or said something that already exists but either way. It’s a 70’s album not my favourite but at least I can say I’ve listened to it.

You wanna love it but I can't. Its unique but quichy. I couldnt wait for it to be over.

It wasn't *as bad* as I expected. If Elton John is too theatrical and bombastic for me, I don't even know what to call Meatloaf. Not my jam, at all.

First track rules. Creative album but ultimately not for me.

its like a rock ballad made by a horny tenacious d fan

Classic but too cheesy for me, then and now

I get why it's popular. It's very much of its time. Never going to be an album that sees heavy rotation with me.

Wird gegen Ende immer öder, trotz aller Oppulenz. Klingt an einigen Stellen sehr nach Rocky Horror Picture Show, was aber wohl auch der Zeit geschuldet ist.

Overplayed.

One Meatloaf song at the time like Paradise by the Dashboard Light is ok, an album full of wagnerian rock is a crime. Over the top is an understatement. If Phil Spector makes Wall of Sound productions, what should we call what Steinman does?

You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)

Heavy ballad themed album. Meatloaf combines dramatic opera with rock music. I don’t find it interesting but it’s different. Two out of three ain’t bad is a decent song. Overall it’s just ok. 5.4/10

It's certainly an aesthetic. Really repetitive.

When this suggestion came up, I was happy that it wasn't "Bat Out of Hell II" and I wasn't going to have to listen to "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)". I still wasn't happy that this album came up as a suggestion. I have heard enough of Meat Loaf's music to know that his music is overly dramatic and generally not my preference. Listening to the whole album did not improve my impression of Meat Loaf. Most of the album scored at best 2 stars (did not like), but "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" is at least as dumb as "I'd Do Anything for Love...", and deserves 1 star (because there is no 0).

Ahhh Meatloaf - the album has some well known tracks on it....but am not a fan, maybe because radio killed these songs in the 80s??? I am sure I will upset people but its 2 stars. Listened to it, bit not again!!!

Weird

Damit war ich eigentlich durch bevor ich mit Alkohol angefangen habe. Ein Bonus dafür, dass ich es mal gut fand und ein Bonus dafür, dass Hugo es teilweise tanzbar fand

Cheesy pap. Most of the songs sound the same. Hard to hate it, because it's light-hearted enough - but I can't even be bothered finishing the whole thing.

I have similiar feelings to Meat Loaf as I do Queen, although Meat Loaf's voice is less annoying than Mercury's. Too many of the songs go on for too long with the sole purpose of building to one last crescendo where Loaf can impart one more of his sub retarded idioms e.g 'two out of three ain't bad', 'you took the words right out of my mouth, it must have been when I was kissing you'.

Why are the songs so damn long

It's weird to write that in an album with only 7 songs, it feels like there's so much padding. Steinman wrote 2 really good songs and handful of others to make it an album, which brings the whole thing down.

Gisteren niet geluisterd maar dit album ken ik wel. Soms best leuk maar alleen als je er voor in de stemming bent.

2e nummer vind ik nog wel catchy. Maar dat theatrale van die dikzak trek ik nu niet meer. Vond ik vroeger nog wel leuk, maar toen had ik zero smaak😅

Nou vooruit, vanwege nostalgische redenen toch nog 2 sterren vanwege Paradise by the Dashboard Light. Maar de rest is nu ik het zo hoor eigenlijk gewoon pathetisch gejammer.

4

Not good

Cheese af. Not the kind of thing I enjoy listening too normally.

Great musicianship. Not my cup of tea though.

Meh

Fun to listen to but another I won't again.

Can see why. But not for me.

Mielikuva Meat Loafista oli jonkinlaistan slovarimuniinpuhaltelua Amerikkalaiseen makuun, kenties johtuen siitä että olin kuullut pelkästään paria nyyhkyhittibiisiä aiemmin. Tämähän oli kuitenkin yllättävän räväkkää ja teatraalista menoa. Ehkä jotain samaa tunnelmaa Elton Johnin kanssa mutta ei lähellekään yhtä laadukkaalla biisimateriaalilla. Ei ollenkaan oma juttu, mutta ymmärrän kyllä että tästäkin voi joku tykätä. Taas kerran 2,5, joka pyöristyy alaspäin.

Fav Song: Bat Out of Hell

It's all very epic and Meatloafy. It's fun enough, I did put off listening to it though. I've heard it a bunch before, and it's all just too over the top, and we've all heard it a billion times before. It belongs on the list just becuase of what it is, but it doesn't do much for me.

too long on the first song and not a massive fan of the ballads

Meh...

Pop/rock, storslået, Jim Steinman, velkomponeret, lange sange

the album cover and title go hard. it was easy enough to listen to but i think some songs were a little too long. i wouldnt listen to it again but i didn't hate it, 2.5

A hard listen, feels like he really just wanted to write a broadway show. I give albums I don’t like 2 stars. I give albums that I don’t understand why anyone would like it 1 star. This was a borderline. So if someone who does like it can explain why I might revise this.

If this is what hell sounds like I need to start praying.

This album is just tragic. I will give Meatloaf credit for an entertaining appearance in The Rocky Horror Picture Show but musically? What are we even doing here? It sounds like he wants to be a Springsteen-esque story teller, but the stories are boring and kind of sexist. He also wants to present as some sort of motorcycle riding bad boy rocker but he sounds like what you would get if Elton John donned a leather jacket and said “hey boys, I’m a rebel outlaw now.” Let me fire up the Harley and listen to some synth piano bullshit. All of this might, and I emphasize might, be tolerable if the songs weren’t 8 minutes long. You expect me to listen to 8 minutes of this drivel? How this album has clung to the belly of rock and roll like a tick on dog is beyond me. Probably still deserves 2 stars but, as Clint Eastwood said Unforgiven, “deserving’s got nothing to do with it.”

I wish I were kidding, but this really happened: The morning after I listened to this unappetizing album for this stupid project I walked into work and the FIRST SONG playing on the insipid playlist was "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad." It felt like a cutting commentary on contemporary American culture, dredging up yesteryear's mediocrity in an effort to sell Protein Doritos and Honey Glazed Donuts that contain no honey. I always detested this music, even when it was played all the time on the radio, not yet relegated to AI music programs. A few years ago I heard an episode of "Hit Parade" (a fantastic podcast that tracks various musical trends through their appearances on Billboard charts) that focused on Jim Steinman and his influence on American pop music. I can't say the episode persuaded me to ever listen to Steinman's creations, but I do kind of understand why this album is on the list. I mean it has sold 40 million copies... and this is how we know we are in the minority when we rhapsodize about the albums we love which only sell a tenth of that number, if that. Anyway, I hated this record.

Nope. Just nope. This is terrible. The songs are way too long. Too many power ballads. The last song is called "For Crying Out Loud". Well if my ears could cry, they would do the same. Now they bleed. Bleed a lot. Oh, and I really really hate "Paradise By The Dashboard Light". So: 1/5 (Too bad I couldn't give 0/5)

Ik was een beetje geschrokken van het niveau van dit album. Dit album van gehaktbrood is wereldwijd ontzettend veel verkocht en komt voor in lijstjes als deze maar het is zo ontzettend cringe. Het voelt als een hele slechte musical (er blijkt ook echt een musical van te zijn) . Je hoort ook wel waar Jack Black het allemaal van heeft. Jack Black vind ik ook cringe. Ik geef dit net zo veel sterren als de soundtrack van high school musical.

Maybe it was because it was a Monday morning and I wasn’t in the mood for a cheesy third rate rock opera with songs that feel longer than 25 minute prog epics because they drag SO much. Or maybe this album is an absolute crock of shit. Day ruined

Yeah….no thanks

Music sucks and the recording sounds like shit. I hate it

NO

1/1

Not for me

Reading that this was the soundtrack for a rock opera made it all make more sense. The cover to the album is amazing but makes you think the music will be very different from what you actually get. This always bothered me. Definitely not for me but i appreciate it a little bit more than before.

i think a downer to this "project" is the abudant number of rock sort-of-music-that-is-overpraised records that do absolute nothing to me (personally) that i'll have to endure. even if this isn't terrible or as bad as other of the same rating (the rating scale doesn't help), i forgot all the songs. plus it makes me feel like the grumpiest person for disliking musicals

meat

Gross

Pompous songs that sound like they belong in a musical, with too much exposition and not a single unanswered question. It’s Steinman to blame, Meat’s voice is fine but the songs and the overly dense arrangements are sickly.

Maybe I don't get what's going on here but this was sooooo cheesy. Bob had bitch tits.

The second this album started, I wanted it to end. Too cheesy. I do own it on CD though- 10cents from goodwill. It makes sense.

One of the best selling albums of its time, and I just can’t vibe with it. Meatloaf always sounded pretty cheesy to me. Guy’s life story is cool but I just never could get with it.

couldnt care less

Music does not match the cover at all. I couldn’t believe how popular this was because I’ve never heard a Meat Loaf song in my life, but now I know why because this is so boring.

It annoyed me as fuck, faux-prog rock

Wuf, this was not so fun for me. I'm committed to listening to the entirety of every album, but I wanted to put this on 2x speed to get it over with more quickly. I was hysterically entertained by the intro of You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth, but I definitely would not offer my throat to the wolf with the red roses... I wouldn't offer anything to this album or to the good Mr. Loaf. No thanks.

I have hated this album my entire life. Meatloaf the singer is an insult to meatloaf the tasty entree.

Hard rock, progressive rock, pop.

i really really didn't want to listen to this, and have this sully my otherwise spotless last.fm account. BUT in the true spirit of this project.... it's everything i thought it was, cheesy, corny, hilarious, and i guess if i'm not taking myself too seriously it's pretty fun. sure, everyone should hear this album before you die. but it still sucks.

Exactly what I expected. Was hoping for a pleasant surprise but it didn’t come.

Absolutely abysmal. Had to stop listening after the third song

Not good.

Not my thing. Wasn't expecting ballads.

I now realise I know most of these songs from their single edits, and I don't mind embracing the silliness for that long. But this is too much too muchness

Not for me. Way too different from what I expect, just not a genre I like.

Could not give any less of a shit

not for me. too theatrical, can't do this. sorry.

parecia heavy metal y es rock raro, con piano y melodico, 1/5

not my style at all, actually this was pretty bad. One time i worked at a gas station and a customer told me that i looked like a gay meatloaf. i never did listen to the music afterwards but i knew who he was lol.

the songs r WAY 2 long n lwk js boring.. sounds like xmas music idfk

Maybe it was because it was a Monday morning and I wasn’t in the mood for a cheesy third rate rock opera with songs that feel longer than 25 minute prog epics because they drag SO much. Or maybe this album is an absolute crock of shit. Day ruined

God awful.

Pageantry with nothing to show.

I heard from many discussions that this album sounds totally different from what the cover implies, and they are right, as the art suggest this is going to be a hard rock / metal album. Regardless of being aware of that fact, I wasn't prepare for the absolute levels of corniness of this album. This thing combines all that I hate from piano rock and opera rock, being very cliché and overly dramatic. There are some aspects that are a bit admirable (to say something). The guy can certainly sing, the song writing can be quite ambitious and there are even some moments of fast tempo with a frenetic energy, like the fast piano at the intro. However, everything is so incredibly over the top, that instead of moving my head along the rhythms or melodies, I'm dragging my face with my hands hoping for it to stop. I usually listen to these albums about 5 to 10 times, but with only having listened to this project 3 times, I already had enough. To me this is like feeding moldy cheese to an lactose intolerant. I cannot digest it at all, and it is a really bad time.

I am predisposed to dislike musical theatre.

its fine but its not for me

I think this is severely overrated. I kind of hated it

Not a fan. Music is to dramatic

i aint listening to alll that

haunts my every waking moment

Mid, mellow-dramatic, predictable. Maybe in its day it sounded more dynamic, but I can not hear it with those ears. Meatloaf does have a skilled voice, but it is applied to tepid mediocracy.

Hate it. I get it’s theatrical and over the top but it’s like listening to opera by guns n roses. Not for me

Another terrible one. 0.5/9, 23.57%

I can confidently say i’ll never listen to this album ever again

First meat loaf album who cheered. Ok devious piano. Is meat loaf a guy or a band. Is this like a tame impala situation. Interesting. Holy shit I don't gaf. Like I genuinely don't care. What the fuck is this. What are we doing. I actually don't like any of these. Mr. Loaf I'm not a fan. Somehow this is not what I thought Meat Loaf would sound like. Favourite: You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth Least favourite: You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth

If this doesn't make you realize why punk rock exists, I don't know what will.

No

20# ABBA if they we're rockin instead of poppin. You have an album cover that looks like the most metalcore metal has ever been and then give clapping session in a middle of a song, what? Um, this is not for me, no no. It's teatrical... feels fake, premeditaded, like too calculated, previsible. Don't throw this kind of rock ballads to me. I like teatrical in projects like Black Midi's Hellfire, i don't have the words to describe what they do right, but they hit it like a needle in my butt, wait what? And I don't like to be that guy, but the mixing..? flat, i like my drums not that faraway of my ear. Listening to this at full was hard, geez

Not a musical fan, so I wasn't surprised to find out this was adapted from a musical. No thanks.

Bombastic cheese. Mr. Loaf is treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry.

nah

I really didn't enjoy this over the top, paint by numbers, soft rock. I liked none of the songs. I feel bad giving it this score, especially because I suspect a teenage me may have quite liked it, but I would actively avoid listening to again, so it's got to be my second one.

No

Dearest god no…

Unbelievable cheese.

Granted I'm only one song in but my god this is the worst. To me, this is noisy. Too much melodrama and overblown singing. I am surprised how much it reminds me of Springsteen's later stuff, but that might be a similar Broadway influence, and just the typical soundscapes of the day. I will try to listen to it all...

Such a corny and outdated sound. The coverart is borderline clickbait lmao. Every one of these songs has it's place on the soundtrack of some 3-star family movie from the 80s, in the worst way possible

His music was inescapable while it was current. I never really liked it.

I had to work away once and the person i was working with was a huge Meat Loaf fan. Had to listen to this for 3 hours there and then 3 hours back, i hate Meat Loaf, refusing to listen

I'm learning that prog rock is not my thing

The second. The first time i've thought it's the metal album however i checked and it turns out it is hard rock. The album cover is so misleading. Though i could glance on the year and supposed it is not so heavy heavy metal. I am listening to the first song now and it's honestly basic hard rock, nothing impressive. Chill.

Not for me! Powerful sound. The theatrics and storytelling were fun but could have been better.

Yes, it's Meat Loaf so I tried it, nothing for me

1/1

Mr. Loaf himself gets 5/5. He has soul and talent. The monster who wrote the music is the exact opposite: a soulless parasite with zero talent, exists only to subvert, pollute, and ultimately destroy everything it touches.

I'm tried to be impartial, but this is utter tripe

Not a fan

Its honestly whatever. It feels very musical in a bad way which is kinda funny bc right after I said that to my friend, she told me he had played some part in Rocky Horror Picture Show (which I love). He is actually responsible for my least favorite song and character from that musical (I love Rocky Horror Picture Show, I just hated Eddie and Hot Patootie Bless My Soul 💀). I saved 2/9 songs that I didn’t find hard to listen to, 1 out 5 bats out of hell.

I fucking hated this and had to take a break halfway through

I know this has its fans, but I just can't stand it.

Dogshit

I just can Not get into this meatloaf

Because zero outta three, it's bad.

Wow, worse than I ever imagined. A real slog to get through this cheesy overblown nonsense

Theatrical, pompous, bloated stage-school rock novelty which is unfathomably popular. To me the production sounds like it is always being heard through the speaker of an 80s portable TV set wherever and however you are listening. Easy to hate if you have ever endured anyone opting to sing Paradise By The Dashboard Light on karaoke, thus ruining a whole eight and a half minutes of your life rather than the standard three or so.

Not for me. Also, the artwork is so out of sync with the music.

Meatloaf. There's a name I was happy to forget until now. I remember my first close dance in grade 6 was with a girl to "Anything for Love." That's about where my fondness for Meatloaf ends. Even back then I was never sure how to take Meatloaf. The whole album artwork and his vibe seemed metal, but his vibe was mostly love ballads. Chock it up to just 80s glam I guess. It makes sense that this album was spawned by Rocky Horror Picture Show in a sense, or at least at the same time. Anyway, onto the music itself. Really sounds more like a broadway soundtrack than an album. So if you're into ballads and broadway showtunes with tinges of metal, then this is for you. I, for one, am not, and this was a struggle to get through. 1/5

1. bad - 0 2. mouth - 0 3. heaven - 1 4. Place - 1 5. Bad - 1 6. Paradise - 1 7. Crying - 1.5

Deeply annoying music.

I'm familiar with this album and don't like it. I'm not even gonna bother giving it my usual "well, 1001albumsgenerator picked it for today, so I'll listen to it anyway" customary spin. I'm just not interested in listening to this album again.

I cannot get into this, just plain boring!

OMG, No, No, No! Please, don't do this to me! So far I have been the classroom's most obedient boy, listening to records from this list from the beginning to the end, even if it is the most tedious or awful record I've heard in years. But listening to a whole album of Meatloaf, the man that wrote the two most horrible, pathetic, overrated songs that I've ever heard in my life? Why?? I truly hate "I'll Do Anything For Love" but if there is any song that I hate more than any other song that has ever been written, performed or covered since time began and will always, forever continue to be the one song that can make me run screaming from a wedding, a party at a friend's house or even a fucking funeral, it's the song that can reduce grown men and women to pantomiming actors in a surreal line dance of lust. The song that has been played so many goddamn times that I can't even stand the first chords of it. The song that last forever and comes straight out of hell, yeah, the song "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". I can't stand the theatrics, the bombast, the over the top production, and most of all, I can't stand musicals, I hate them. I truly can't believe that I ever, ever had to endure a whole album of this "artist". I tried, but I didn't make it. Before I would jump from the nearest bridge, I had to put a stop to it. "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad", and indeed, that was the limit. What a pathetic, terrible attempt to create the most overrated album of all times. 1/5

Whenever I watch high level sports I like to try to imagine how it would feel to have a body that could do the things an athlete can do. It’s a fun line of thinking, especially when it turns out I basically can’t imagine it at all. I know how to skate, but I really can’t even picture myself being able to hit 40km/h or whatever. I get a sort of similar feeling when I imagine having a body that would enjoy listening to Meatloaf. Musical theatre sensibilities, uncanny but too earnest to come off as funny, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Americana, and also every song is about four and a half minutes too long. It’s like if a future civilization discovered the fragments of rock music and tried to reconstruct it, and did a pretty bad job. Massive waste of a great album title, too.

I don't really like it. The artist has passion and can sing. Not my type of music.

musiquinhas enjoadas, 0 emoção e produções nada c nada. 1/5

I mean no offense to Mr Loaf but this is the perfect cross-section of two styles of music I deeply dislike. You’ve got this rock opera sound on tracks that never know how to end, and a rockabilly swing undertone… I understand how people can like this, but boy howdy is it not for me.

Tedious as fuck

Bof

Absolut fruktansvärt! ...jag saknar ord Kan vara det sämsta vi har tilldelats

Sentimental smörja och ordbajseri. Musikalrock är inte min grej.

1/1

Hated it then, hate it now.

It has an artificial feel to it.

When I saw this, I actually said ‘ooof’. I’ve never been into theatrical rock stuff, and this is no exception. The album imagery is cool and seems like something I’d be into based on appearances and the fact that I listen to a lot of metal, but alas. Right off the bat, the title track starts off with some crazy piano pounding bullshit and I knew I was in trouble. Then the vocals kick in and I officially tap out. I somehow made it 3 minutes but it felt like an eternity. ‘Ooof’ indeed.

Deserves 10 stars!

I hated this album. I hated it a lot more than I thought I would. Its theatrical in the most amateur way. His voice is bad; the songs are bad. It's just a weird novelty act. I want my 47 minutes back!

Thought this would be a fun listen but I didn't care for it at all.

No. Just no.

Bloated, pretentious and overproduced. Everything punk rock saved us from

It's big, brash, bombastic, bold and I hated every second of it. Never liked Meat Loaf. This is so over the top that it hurts. Painful listen.

Not my thing at all

Broadway musical with distortion no thanks

I always thought my contempt for this was just some residual teenaged snobbery but now that I've listened to the whole album, no, this just absolutely sucks. Musical/opera sounding bullshit with strings and nonsense. Get it to fuck.

smece

Yeah this kinda sucks. Albumcover blijft leip, maar de bijkomstige muziek klinkt alsof ik naar een Grease companion album luister.

I don't understand why this was ever popular.

Not a chance in hell I am voluntarily listening to this. Meatloaf is right behind Darius Rucker in my list of least favorite vocalist. Yuck. This list really has some of my least favorite music on it. Which is funny because I really like an ENORMOUS variety. But really? More fking Phil Spektor production influence, on top of Meat Loaf's cringe-inducing voice, on top of the fact that it's impossible to take a musician named 'Meat Loaf' seriously... 🤢 I can tolerate "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" from 1993, but only as a fking joke, because that long-ass music video used to come on VH1 constantly when I was young and my brothers and I would sing it as a complete parody when we could not find anything else to watch on TV. I can't say enough how much I dislike Michael Aday. Not as much as Darius Rucker, but close. I'd rather listen to fking Nickelback than either of them.

Not listening to the loaf

Ugghhhhh.... meatloaf.. never been a fan. After a listen, im still not a fan. American Elton John

Too old

Il est des albums que l'histoire de la musique a érigés en monuments intouchables, des œuvres dont la simple évocation du nom impose le respect et l'admiration. Et "Bat Out of Hell", l'opéra-rock titanesque de Meat Loaf et de son acolyte Jim Steinman, fait incontestablement partie de cette catégorie. Vendu à des dizaines de millions d'exemplaires, célébré pour son ambition démesurée et son souffle épique, il est souvent présenté comme un chef-d'œuvre incontournable de la fin des années 70. Pourtant, une écoute en 2025, révèle une tout autre réalité, bien plus amère et décevante, "Bat Out of Hell" n'est rien de plus qu'une relique qui a bien mal vieilli. J'avoue, je ne connaissais pas cet album, et le premier contact que j'ai eu avec lui a été une véritable épreuve. On m'avait promis une déferlante d'énergie, un "mur du son" wagnérien appliqué au rock'n'roll. Et ce que j'ai reçu au final, n'est qu'une bouillie sonore pompeuse. La production, signée Todd Rundgren, est emblématique des excès de l'époque. Chaque espace est comblé, chaque instrument semble crier plus fort que le précédent, créant une saturation permanente qui confond puissance et vacarme. Les pianos, omniprésents et martelés avec une grandiloquence de concert de fin d'année, les guitares saturées qui manquent de tranchant, les chœurs à la théâtralité forcée... tout concourt à un sentiment d'étouffement. L'ambition est là, certes, mais elle est mal canalisée, se perdant dans une production boursouflée qui a aujourd'hui le charme désuet d'un vieux péplum hollywoodien. Le problème fondamental de "Bat Out of Hell" réside dans sa longueur et son absence totale de concision. C'est un album qui s'écoute la montre à la main, un marathon musical dont on ne voit jamais le bout. Les morceaux ne sont pas des chansons, ce sont des suites interminables, des pièces montées indigestes qui étirent à l'infini des idées souvent bien minces. Le morceau-titre, avec ses presque dix minutes, est un cas d'école. Il multiplie les ruptures de rythme, les solos interminables et les envolées lyriques sans jamais parvenir à justifier sa durée. On attend une explosion, un climax, mais on ne récolte qu'une succession de faux départs et de sections qui s'enchaînent sans réelle cohérence. Le paroxysme du supplice est atteint avec "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". Cette bluette adolescente, étirée sur plus de huit minutes, est d'un ennui mortel. La structure narrative, avec son commentaire de match de baseball en guise de métaphore sexuelle, est une gimmick qui, si elle pouvait paraître amusante en 1977, est aujourd'hui d'une lourdeur et d'une niaiserie confondantes. C'est long, c'est répétitif, et l'intermède parlé casse le peu de dynamique que la chanson avait réussi à installer. On subit le morceau plus qu'on ne l'écoute, attendant avec impatience que le calvaire se termine enfin. Au-delà de la structure, c'est le fond qui pose problème. Les thèmes abordés – les amours adolescentes, la rébellion en blouson de cuir, les rêves de liberté sur une moto – étaient déjà des clichés à l'époque. Traités avec la subtilité d'un rouleau compresseur par la plume de Steinman, ils sombrent dans le ridicule. Les paroles, dégoulinantes de pathos et de romantisme de pacotille, peinent à émouvoir ou à susciter le moindre intérêt. On a l'impression d'assister à une comédie musicale de lycée avec un budget illimité, où chaque émotion est surjouée, chaque sentiment hurlé à pleins poumons par un Meat Loaf en roue libre. La performance vocale de ce dernier est d'ailleurs à double tranchant. Si personne ne peut nier la puissance de sa voix, son utilisation constante du registre de la puissance maximale devient rapidement lassante. Il n'y a aucune nuance, aucune retenue. Tout est crié, tout est déclamé avec une ferveur qui frise l'hystérie. C'est une performance épuisante pour l'auditeur, une démonstration de force vocale qui oublie l'essentiel : l'émotion ne naît pas du volume, mais de la finesse et de la variation. Finalement, "Bat Out of Hell" est un album profondément sans intérêt pour une oreille contemporaine. Il représente le chant du cygne d'une certaine idée du rock, celle de l'excès et du gigantisme, juste avant que le punk et la new wave ne viennent balayer tout cela avec une énergie brute, une urgence et une pertinence qui, elles, n'ont pas pris une ride. Écouter cet album aujourd'hui, c'est mesurer le fossé qui le sépare d'œuvres véritablement intemporelles. Il n'a ni la rage viscérale d'un "Never Mind the Bollocks", ni l'intelligence froide d'un "Marquee Moon", sortis la même année. Il est simplement un vestige, le témoin assourdissant d'une époque révolue. Un album long, chiant, et dont la réputation est l'une des plus grandes énigmes de l'histoire de la musique populaire. Une chauve-souris sortie de l'enfer, certes, mais qui aurait mieux fait d'y rester. Une note justifiée et méritée, un petit 1 sur 5.

I hated it. Voice annoyed me. Uninteresting music. Irritation from moments made it not even a good background listen.

this shit is so ass </3

Mind numbingly boring. This exact album had been done 1000 times before and after. Every track sounds the same. Also extremely corny

Seems my review didn’t save last week, that or I didn’t care enough to check. That says all you need to know about my thoughts on this one.

Gross!

Didn’t know it was a musical. ML has great range and power. JS obvs a talented arranger. Campy nonsense. Title track is the best.

Never liked this. Over produced, overwrought, just too … Another one which I feel shouldn’t be on lists like this.

No, this was terrible. I tried, but I couldnt.

1 good track

Great storytelling, a lot of guitar-rock fun. But too romantic and songs similar to each other. Nothing stays on my list of favorites. I prefer audiobooks or other rock sounds.

Way too melodramatic for me. This is a musical, right?

no

This is the music the Rock Horror Picture Show people rejected for the actual show. Rock musical music is exactly the genre Meat Loaf resides in. That people in the 70s and then the 90s took this seriously, and that it made this list, makes me question humanity. The intro to You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night) is like the dialogue from a werewolf musical too! I hate musicals and rock musicals especially. This is one of the worst albums I've ever heard. And now stupid baseball play-by-play as part of one of the most overrated songs ever performed. Eight and a half minutes of terrible, corny rock about having sex in a car. This is the worst album that is not made up of noises and sounds.

This shit is baffling. The title and cover are such misleading marketing. All my life I’ve seen them and figured it was some kind of early 1970s power metal or at least hard rock. No. This is Elton John with a touch of Springsteen and a sprinkle of The Who, with lyrical preoccupations less nuanced than Robert Plant’s. I mean compositionally the bigger songs are decent. Why does it feel like half the album is piano ballads though? That’s not very bat out of hell. I was going to give it a two but I’m just getting mad again thinking about it.

Boring!

This isn't a rock album. It's opera-inspired musical theater and I'm not into it. Rocky Horror Picture Show should replace this one. The baseball sex thing makes me feel gross on "Paradise".

60 year old woman music

Didn’t like it

Rock Operas are already a tough sell for me but it's worse when they are annoying and repetitive like this. 2/10

Is there a Flaming Bag of Shit rating?

horrible. awful. would rather have my head smashed open by a real bat. whenever i thought any given song would end it kept going. this is way too extra and really just has nothing to say

no.

stupid album . And we share a birthday too

1.5

I just didn’t enjoy this one at all :(

If we were going to have to listen to a musical soundtrack I would have preferred “Annie”.

Rock opera not my style

Rock for theatre kids and twinks

N/A. Receiving this album nearly tipped me over the edge for this challenge. Call me ignorant but I just wasn’t interested and I know it wouldn’t fit my mood. I’d love to say ‘it’s not you Meatloaf, it’s me’ - but in this case, it’s very much Meatloaf’s fault.

This was as predictably cheesy as I expected. I really did not like it at all. It probably doesn't deserve 1 star but I'm feeling wronged. 1.3/5

Jesus wept that was awful. Don't care how intentional this album's camp indulgences are, the result is utter dog shit. Complete earwash that manages to miss every one of its comedic notes, and just leave you cringing from the opening track to its last. Absolute wank.

I found myself getting bored halfway through. Meat Loaf has a powerful voice, but the whole album feels stuck in one gear. I can appreciate the effort, but it’s definitely not for me.

Not for me!

lost me 2 songs in, kinda sounds like queen but worse

I would give this negative stars if I could. One of the worst records ever

I cannot stand this kind of music.

3.45 as a global score? Really??? How many boomers just simply nostalgic for the huge commercial success of this cheesefest, overblown rock-opera in 1977 are using this app? In all seriousness, parts of *Bat Out Of Hell* are still somewhat listenable today, I guess, at least if you can enjoy camp with your tongue firmly planted in your cheek. But the manner in which the "rock" songs in this record--using all the ropes once used by Springsteen and the E-Street band--alternate with full-blown saccharine "ballads" neither rhymes nor reasons. Worse, the whole quickly become unsurprising, boring and mundane. Which takes the cake when you try so hard to be 'over-the-top'. I mean, just listen to "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad" and please prove to me this is not the most formulaic slow-rock cut that has ever been written. I have no beef with the silly lyrics and overall concept for this project, they go with the territory here. But musically speaking, this is just self-indulgent, derivative drivel pandering to the lowest common denominator. Alice Cooper's schlock shock-rock was ten times more interesting. *Destroyer*-era Kiss went to the same sorts of turf (rockers + ballads), yet with a far livelier (and decidedly off-kilter) energy, thanks to Bob Ezrin's spacious production values. The one on *Bat Out Of Hell* feels decidedly paper-thin in comparison, in spite of the piling-up of instruments, arrangements and orchestrations. I can have fun listening to those sorts of extravagant, "bad-taste", hard-rock burritos. But this one here leaves me totally cold. Probably because it is only a Broadway farce parading as "rock", and that as such, it has absolutely nothing essential to offer to the latter genre. One last thing: I always thought hit single "I'd Anything For Love" was part of this record, but it turns out it's part of its sequel, released in the early nineties... So I won't even have *one* truly famous track somehow showing the sort of cultural long-term impact Meat Loaf has had. I give up. As an album artist, the man has absolutely nothing to offer me. And he didn't even write those songs himself anyway... 1/5 for the purposes of this list of "essential" albums. And 6/10 for more general purposes (5+1). Number of albums left to review: 78 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 397 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 230 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 296 (including this one)

Terrible and pathetic.

Complete turd. This is music for people who don’t like music.

Unbearable.

Hur kan en person som slayade så hårt i Rocky horror picture show leverera ett sånt här album??

ska ljuga det var fire. Brast nästan ut i skratt flera gånger (hans sista high note i första låten, andra låtens asmr-från-helvetet-intro och även hela resten av låten KLAPPANDET PÅ SLUTET PAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAG, tredje låten när kören kommer in och bara oooohhhh jag bara neeeeeeeejjjjj och STRÅKET pahaha, saxsolot i låt fyra och när han börjar sjunga ÖVER det åh herre hjärtanes, hur innerliga och DRAMATISKA vissa delar är och hur mycket det bara inte funkar typ slutet på låt sju med BOMBASTIC stråk asså näääääeee💀💀, SJÄTTE LÅTEN HJÄLP HJÄLP HJÄLP när voice overn kommer och är sportkommentator när han ska ha sex och där är STÖN I BAKGRUNDEN jag ville kanske dö. Och mamma vad jag mådde dåligt när kvinnan kom och det blev en duett??? tonartshöjningen efteråt var droppen ta mig härifrån) Aldrig lyssnat på meat loaf förr och ser nu att det var väldigt klokt. Alltså är alltihopa ett epic prank och han ett troll eller är det meningen att det ska vara bra? På ett sätt väckte det ändå känslor - förfäran, illamående och framförallt pinsamhet. Skäms å hans vägnar vad tänkte han. Min broders heartbreak låter så innerligt på ett komiskt sätt. Har han blivit heartbroken av en oompa loompa eller för det är så mega goofy Sämsta låt: all revved up with no place to go varför sjunger han om att ingen vill ligga med honom😭😭😭😭 ”all revved up with no place to go, oh baby I’m a hunter in the dark of forest, I’ve been stalking you and tracking you down” är inte en okej rad😭 aldrig mer meat loaf för min del ska typ faktiskt bli vegetarian efter detta

So much in the con column: rock opera, piano based rock, pompous but slight themes, kitsch without camp, show tunes with 0 sense of fun, slow ass over composed songs that last for ever, nothing musically interesting, it's very long So little in the pro column: impressive vocals, sometimes it fleetingly sounds like some better (if only slightly) 70s band (Bruce, Elton, Queen), the cover would be great for a thrash band, the odd raging sax solo

Heard before Saved 1/7 Top track: Bat Out of Hell

This one isn’t for me - I’m not so much into the rock opera/theatrical rock genre. Tried to like it, but didn’t at all.

I wanted to give credit where it's due even if rock opera is something I passionately don't care about (put nicely) but by the time All Revved Up played... "if I'll never hear a sliding rock'n'roll piano again, it'll be too soon" is what I wrote yesterday. THIS RIGHT HERE WAS WAY TOO SOON! The whole thing? Just awful. My deepest condolences to the people from the Meat Loaf Karaoke place I learned about in the reviews.

Er zijn weinig dingen waarbij mijn nekharen zo overeind gaan staan als bij het aanhoren Meat Loaf. De enige reden dat ik blij ben met dit album is omdat ik nog een hele reeks albums moet inhalen. Scheelt weer luistertijd, want dit album mag van mij direct een vette 1 krijgen. Bleh theatrale irritante musicalstemmetjes. Koen nodig me alsjeblieft niet uit voor je PBTDL feestje :p

Ik toen ik zag dat dit album op het menu stond: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/obituaries/2022/01/21/TELEMMGLPICT000283412535_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqBoAHBNnsOk47ZzuFbgUwCt_dQaCFRv4gzXWA0yvVKWM.jpeg?imwidth=480 Ik toen ik het een cijfer mocht geven: https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1500w,f_auto,q_auto:best/newscms/2016_24/1583366/160617-meat_loaf-0359.jpg

More theatrical/musical than rock to me ear, and not really my kind of sound.

awful added to playlist: bat out of hell

Not really my thing, was waiting for it to end

If I ever have to hear this album again it will be too soon. Pomp musical rock drama is awful, pretentious nonsense.

Growing up, seeing the album cover of this made me think I was getting was Black Sabbath was but instead what I got was Jefferson Starship. 🥇Paradise By the Dashboard 🥈 Bat out of Hell 🥉You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth

OMG this is so bad. I hate Meat Loaf so much. If I never hear another ML song ever again it will be too soon. How to I give this (-) points? I assume this is something that you would have to have grown up with to even consider as something worth listening to again. Please 1001 Albums Generator, do not feed me anymore of this trash.

Didn't love it. Was boring and was glad when it ended. No songs really stood out - I already knew bat out of hell, other than that, I can't really remember any of the songs, and I only just finished listening to it. The songs are way too long - album is over an hour and there's only 9 tracks! Might be better live? Might be better as a musical? Not sure! 1*

Not my cup of tea.

This album was incredibly popular when I was a kid. I'm still tired of it. The songs have not aged well. I am rapidly losing interest in listening to these albums. Why is there so much cheesy early rock on this list?

Not for me

Naaah

I am sure this is a classic to some but not for me.

Fad

Just a trashy album. Made for people who think they like rock but actually like the theatre

Nicht anhörbar :-)

Meat Loaf is Hell

could not finish it

No.

Nope, not a fan.

I couldn't even listen to it. I don't like his voice and think the music is tedious and boring. I could see him putting on a good live concert though.

Oh lawdy I am with Clive Davis who said that Steinman didn't know how to write rock music, this is more like the most ridiculous musical ever made - which is how it started. He could craft an ear-worm, but surely the only missing thing from this absurdly OTT outing is the Liza Minelli version of this album. Should add that all the singles - title track and 2 out of 3 - were inescapable on the wonderful Radio 1 of the early eighties.

Sorry. I know I should appreciate this but I can’t!!

Honestly, I hated this album.

If the options were to five up music forever or listen to this album once per week, I would take a bath with a toaster.

I’ve never really listen to Meat Loaf. I can think of 1 song I know by them. I’m surprised I actually made it through this album. I did skip ahead on a couple songs. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Heaven Can Wait and For Crying Out Loud. Obviously for people who like this genre, it was probably a great album. It just wasn’t the album for me.

Mega corny. Very theatrical and drug-out hard rock. Almost feels like a musical at times. Hard to get through.

One man's trash is another man's trash.

Well, I did laugh a lot. Honestly even if this had been good, I would have a hard time forgiving Meatloaf for being responsible for my being subjected to 1,000 renditions of "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" when I was younger and hung out in karaoke bars a lot. There's really nothing gay kids love more than an endless ballad about the bleakest heterosexual relationship imaginable. Actually now that I've paid attention to a Meatloaf album for the first time ever, it occurs to me that all of his songs seem to be endless ballads about extremely bleak heterosexual relationships. Couldn't be me.

No.

Not for me, bat out of hell is okay but the rest it’s long and drawn out.

Dreading this. Why does Bat out of Hell end with the refrain from the Lion Sleeps Tonight? Heaven Can Wait steals from Thunder Road. I don't even really care that much for Springsteen. Yes it's like listening to a musical. I like a good musical but I have to be in the mood. Stuff like this while I'm watching Little Shop of Horrors= fine. I don't understand why people would listen to this when they want to listen to actual proper music. Maybe they don't and that's the point. Look I can see how people could get carried away with this and it's definitely a mood, but I just found it really tiresome long before it ended. More tiresome than the late period U2 album I got yesterday, so... Last track called For Crying Out Loud, and it's nearly 9 minutes of liquid shite, so that's at least appropriate. Was going to get a two before that.

I ALREADY RATED THIS YOU IDIOTS

Not my thing

horrible couldnt finish

This album starts well enougth with Bat out of Hell a catchy rock opera type thang. I start to challenge my thinking, maybe I've been too harsh. After the 56th minute of the same song I started to lose the will to live, distracting myself by pouring a kettle of boiling water over my feet . Relived the second song starts, however the relief is short as you are then tortured with what can only be described as a form of audio waterboarding. There is nothing about this album that is good or enjoyable. Who is more to blame Jim or Meat what a pair of w****s

blegh! meatloaf schmeatloaf ⭐

What are we doing here?

I was not into the vibe of this record at all. Pretty sure I won't ever listen to this record front-to-back again. There were a lot of talented musicians and composers working on this music but it didn't do much for me. As an 'imitation' it was impressive - I’m hearing SO MANY influences - It’s like Grease/Rocky Horror/Jesus Christ Superstar, but with Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street band, Queen, Boston, 1970s Elton John (the one true Elton obvs) and Bob Seger as the backing band, Alice Cooper is the producer.

This was the rock that Fez from that 70s show listened to with his foster parents when Eric, Donna, Kelso, Jackie, and Hyde weren’t around.

inescuchable

Good lord this felt like an eternity. I’m stuck at someone’s theater performance and waiting for the curtain-fall to free me.

Was enjoying the novelty factor in the beginning but then Elton Osbourne began to overstay his welcome and the song lengths started to become a crude slap to the face.

Не понравилось

I really don't know why this got popular.

Eeeeehhhh

I am not listening to this too hungover

My first album from the list. Bombastic, silly, pretentious. Not worth a repeat listen.

Bailed after the intro to the title track. Terrible.

1.5

Eurk. De un, il s'agit de la pochette la plus trompeuse de l'histoire des pochettes. Je m'attendais à du métal Britannique à la Judas Priest. Ça doit être l'album le plus retourné de l'histoire chez les disquaires pour fausse représentation. De deux, je déteste les comédies musicales. La pièce Paradise by the Dashboard est un vrai calvaire. Les seules choses que je peux reconnaître, c'est qu'il a une bonne voix, que c'est bien produit, que ça doit sûrement plaire à des gens, mais ce n'est définitivement pas pour moi. Est-ce qu'il a sa place sur cette liste? Oui parce que j'ai souvent vu cette pochette, mais Bat Out Of Hell II aurait été suffisant.

No sir, I don't like it.

meh, this album didn't do anything for me

Atrocious. Bloated. Overblown. Overproduced. Overplayed. Pompous. If I could do zero stars I would do zero stars.

Too loud

As a kid, great album. Decades later, it sounds like the worst rock opera ever. Terrible lyrics. How did Paradise by the Dashboard Lights become such a massive hit? Didn't add.

At least I laughed a little. I don't think there will ever be a reason or urge to play Meatloaf ever again...might never eat it again also. Kept thinking if Fight Club...Bob.

Cringe

I just didn't really vibe with it.

No se si es por el taladreo de mi padre cuando era pequeño, pero movida hell, diablitos, fueguitos, motoretas y tias vestidas de poli en tetas no es mi movida. Dicho esto, me ha medio molado Paradise by the dashboard porque mete bastantes cambios locos dentro de la canción. Pues yo que se pastel de carne... Bobby out

Typical American pop/rock, musics over produced and I just can't stand his voice!

A load of old bollocks.

Nooit begrepen waarom dit nou zo 'goed' zou moeten zijn.

Too much heavy

Eh. Intro song good but otherwise not for me.

Sorry, I hate this kind of bombastic, theatrical rock'n'roll. It's literally one of the most boring forms of music for me.

Too proggy, did not vibe

N

Meh, so dated!

hmmmm this is pretty good

Meh

xcasdv

Hell yeah! Motivation!