The dramatic, fantasy-style cover art was created by illustrator Richard Corben. The image of the leather-clad biker bursting from a graveyard is one of the most recognizable covers in rock history — and looks stunning at 12-inch vinyl size.

Steinman and Meat Loaf had difficulty finding a record company willing to sign them. According to Meat Loaf's autobiography, the band spent most of 1975 writing and recording material, and two and a half years auditioning the record and being rejected. Manager David Sonenberg jokes that new record companies were being created just so the album could be rejected. Multiple record labels initially rejected the album, claiming it was “too theatrical.” Ironically, that theatrical scale became its defining strength, helping it become one of rock’s greatest underdog success stories.

According to Meat Loaf, Rundgren put all the arrangements together because although "Jim could hear all the instruments" in his head, Steinman hummed rather than orchestrated. When Rundgren discovered that the deal with RCA did not actually exist, Albert Grossman, who had been Bob Dylan's manager, offered to put it on his Bearsville label but needed more money. Rundgren had essentially paid for the album himself.

TRACKLIST

Bat Out of Hell
You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)
Heaven Can Wait
All Revved Up With No Place To Go

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
Paradise By The Dashboard Light
   I. Paradise
  II. Let Me Sleep On It
 III. Praying For the End of Time
For Crying Out Loud