(Take These) Chains

"(Take These) Chains" is a song written by Bob Halligan, Jr. and performed by British heavy metal band Judas Priest on their 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance. The song was released as the second single from the album.

The B-side was a unique 8 minute plus medley of Judas Priest studio tracks with a voice-over chronicling the history of the band^[1]

Lead singer Rob Halford said about the song:

It's a wonderful song in terms of composure and the riffage in it. For the first time, maybe after what we were doing with Point of Entry, we were feeling a bit more comfortable with talking about songs that dealt with relationships — it's not really seen as a metal thing is it? But even metalheads have boyfriends and girlfriends.^[2]

Reception

AllMusic reviewer Steve Huey was positive about the song, calling "(Take These) Chains" an "unfairly forgotten single" as well as a great song.^[3]

Decibel named "(Take These) Chains" the second greatest heavy metal song about chains, saying "this is the closest thing to a ballad that Screaming for Vengeance has to offer. The lyrics don’t necessarily talk about destroying or decimating any chains like many on this list. Rather, The Metal God himself pleads that they simply be removed from his heart."^[4]

Miranda Yardley of Terrorizer called the song "a sweet slice of unobtrusively catchy AOR pop-metal".^[5]

Loudwire thought that "(Take These) Chains" "offers a subtle diversion from the rest of the crashing and pounding on the album."^[6]

Craig Hayes of PopMatters was more negative about the song, calling it "characterless filler".^[7]

References