This is simple. British Steel is the best album of the Heavy Metal 80s era, hard to believe it is 20 years old now. I first bought this album when it was released in 1980 (I was 14), I recently bought the CD, the songs still sound powerful, you can easily damage your hearing cranking each tune louder and louder. No cheesy sythesizers here. I only wish a digital remastered version was available. I am a big fan of American bands, Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, Blue Oyster Cult ect..but Judas Priest set the benchmark with this one, and all that followed fell short. This is a must have CD for Rockers, it will blow your head off!

This was a great review:

"This was one of those rare ocasions when everything falls into place to make a masterpiece since the band line-up to the chemistry between band producer, recording company and even the studio chosen to record the album. The result: an unforgetable metal album, one of the best of all times. Raw, simple and diect to the point, but not vulgar or cheap"

As a drummer, I loved Dave Hollands pure groove and metronomic timekeeping. His drum sound was perfect and it stands up today. The general reviewer who said this recording sounds dated is insane. This recording is fresh and it comes.

Les Binks was a great drummer as well. His stuff on Hell Bent for Leather and JP Live in Japan is so underrated. That guys was a perfectionist and played perfect parts for the songs. No wasted notes, just brillant drumming. His drums sound was also great and the double bass work tasty. Great bass drum sound as well. The recording back in the 70's is superior to today. Ya gotta have a great booming Bonham-esq BD sound!

British Steel is perfection and Steeler in mindboggling rock N roll. The guitar sounds are what metal is about. BUY THIS CD!

Also, Hell Bent & BS have two of the best looking album covers!

I don't really know how to describe it but I'd have to say that "Rapid Fire","Breaking the Law" and Steeler are the best songs on there. I'd probably pick Rapid Fire as my fav. It's fast and powerful and Prieset's guitar solos are awesome.

This is absolutely a must have for any serious rock and roll fan. How anyone could consider their collection complete without including this CD is beyond me. Every single track is prime metal. Everybody knows "Living After Midnight" and "Breaking the Law", but there is so much more here. "Metal Gods", "You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise", and "The Rage" are among the best Priest had to offer. Do yourself a favor - get this CD!

1980 was a watershed year in Heavy Metal. Judas Priest would be at the forefront with their breakout hit, British Steel. Like Black Sabbath before them, Priest was a band from the industrial midlands of England. Pop songs about puppy love, ice cream, and holding hands were definitely not their thing. Theirs was a different reality.

The album cover features a close up of a hand holding a razor blade with the band insignia and British Steel emblazoned on it over a black background. It's simple, but effective.

Breaking the Law is a quick and catchy tale of a desperado on the edge of society. It's a favorite of lawmen, outlaws, and square john citizens alike. Who hasn't thought of just abandoning their responsibilities to live the life of a nomadic bandit? This is a two minute thirty three second escape from the mundane. It's hard to say the title without chanting the repeated chorus. Downing and Tipton's twin lead attack propel this head banging, fist pumping classic. At one minute and twenty two seconds things shift into overdrive as Rob Halford belts, "You don't know what it's like!" You hear the sound of sirens and speeding cars as a story is told with sound.

Rapid Fire begins manically "pounding the world, like a battering ram". Halford's angry piercing voice continues to sing about "hammering anvils with muscle and might". The arpeggio laden guitar solo trades licks with Halford's shouted lyrics. You can actually imagine molten "British Steel" emerging from the furnace during this track.

You get a couple of seconds to catch your breath as Rapid Fire segues into Metal Gods with a slowed tempo and the leaden, staccato "dragging of iron feet". Contrary to popular belief, the song is not autobiographical. The band and Rob Halford in particular, would later be dubbed the Metal Gods. This is a sci-fi tale of robots and technology conquering mankind. It's a Precursor to

. Hearing Metal Gods makes me harken back to my pre-teen years when every kid in America was obsessed with Transformers, Go-bots, Robotics, and Voltron. I love the harmonious chorus and accompanying riff. Producer Tom Allom again paints a picture with sound as the iron feet march out again at the end.

Grinder is "looking for meat", and, "wants you, to eat!" A blazing solo punctuates crunchy staccato riffs that create subtle yet brilliant leads.

United is the closest thing to a ballad that you'll hear on this disc. Dig the sing along chorus.

Living After Midnight begins with the simple recognizable drum riff, then the rest of the band jumps in and the song explodes. This is a true rock-n-roll tale of one night stands and partying. "My body's coming." I wonder what he's referring to. Whenever I hear this tune I picture gleaming polished Harleys thundering down the highway at night. Living after midnight features the best solo on the album and is another fist pumper.

You Don't Have to be old to be Wise opens with a solitary guitar riff. The second guitar, drums, and eventually the bass kick into a catchy chord progression. Halford's searing, sustained, and reverberated vocals on the chorus underscore the young individual proclaiming his freedom from the daily grind. Tipton and Downing trade licks during the solo, and then the chorus/title is repeatedly chanted through the fade out. This is the longest track on the album at five minutes and three seconds.

The Rage begins with a funky Ian Hill bass intro. Halford exhales, a guitar feeds back and tension builds as the main riff thunders in. There's a frantic solo, then back to the funky bass and building tension again. Halford proclaims, "Like a tiger in a cage, we begin to shake with rage". Guitars wail and lament during an out-going solo ending featuring a giant symbol splash.

Another fast paced number, Steeler wraps the record up with some classic Priest riffing. Solos drone in and out during the final minutes of this cut building up to one long sustained note to end it all.

British Steel is some of the first metal I heard as a wee lad in the South Jersey suburbs back at the dawn of MTV. Not only did MTV actually play videos back then, but rock videos at that. I couldn't describe it exactly, but once I heard and saw Priest I knew what heavy metal was about.

Are you really a metal fan if you don't have Judas Priest's British Steel in your collection? I don't think so.