Unleashed in the East

Unleashed in the East
Live album by
Released21 September 1979
Recorded10, 15 February 1979
VenueKosei Nenkin Hall and Nakano Sun Plaza, Tokyo
GenreHeavy metal
Length44:35
LabelColumbia
Producer
Judas Priest chronology
Killing Machine
(1978)
Unleashed in the East
(1979)
British Steel
(1980)
Singles from Unleashed in the East
  1. "Diamonds and Rust"
    Released: December 1979 (US)

Unleashed in the East is the first live album by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in September 1979 on Columbia Records. It was recorded live over two nights in Tokyo during their Hell Bent for Leather Tour in February 1979. Upon release Unleashed became the band's best-selling album up to that point, reaching the US Top 100 and the UK Top Ten, eventually the album became one of the five Judas Priest albums to gain a RIAA platinum certification. It is the first Priest album to be produced by Tom Allom who would remain at the helm for the next decade for the band, and the last release to feature drummer Les Binks.

To what extent the album was really live remains a matter of contention, with the album being nicknamed Unleashed in the Studio by some listeners. Years later, after he had left Priest, Rob Halford noted in various interviews that the music was indeed live, but that his vocals had been ruined in the original recording and were later dubbed in a concert-like studio setting.