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 orchestrating. No other rock 'n' roller besides Meat Loaf could pull off the humor and theatricality of Back Into Hell and make it seem real. and several sources imply that Steinman's re-appearance was the real reason for the album's rejection.

According to Meat Loaf, he and Steinman had only one "big fight" throughout the album's production, which occurred during the mixing of "Life Is a Lemon". By the time Meat Loaf set about finally recording Bat II in the early 1990s, the industry's enthusiasm for the project had waned. This album is not a modern DSD recording but an 1977 rock album transfered to a new medium so there are some issues with it's sonics.Right at the beginning of the first track, you can hear the drums very well, nice tom-tom rolls with real attack (the snapping noise made by the stick when it hits the drum’s skin) and nicely developed sustain (the low-frequency resonance of the skin). Todd Rundgren, however, whom Meat initially found cocky but grew to like and whom Steinman labeled "the only genuine genius I've ever worked with" in a 1989 interview with Classic Rock magazine, found the album hilarious. One of its lyrics is "You're never alone, 'cause you can put on the 'phones and let the drummer tell your heart what to do. Bat Out of Hell is often compared to the music of Bruce Springsteen, particularly the album Born to Run. A BBC article added, "That Max Weinberg and Roy Bittan from Springsteen's E Street Band played on the album only helped reinforce the comparison.

In 1994, the three films were released as the VHS tape Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell 2 – Picture Show, which also included alternate versions of "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", "Life Is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back" and "I'd Do Anything for Love", all featuring lead vocalist Patti Russo.It spent seven weeks atop the UK Singles Chart, making it the most successful single in the UK that year. The booklet contains all of the lyrics to the songs, each accompanied by a small Whelan illustration, which were used as the respective single covers. In 2001, Q magazine listed the cover as number 71 in its list of "The Hundred Best Record Covers of All Time". However, as Crosby had recorded her part as guide vocals, she did not receive any royalties from the song. Finding themselves without a record contract, but needing one to work with Rundgren, they told the producer that they had been signed to RCA, who had actually rejected them on the basis of their desire to use Rundgren as producer.