British Steel A much stronger album that then one preceding it, but still flawed. Rapid Fire is a wonderful kick off, and while I find Metal Gods to be too plodding live, I do enjoy the studio version. Breaking The Law and Living After Midnight are scorchers and both catchy as hell. I can do without United and Grinder...though I will say United brought a tear to my eyes when I saw them do it post-9/11 (with Ripper.) The two underdogs are both very good; Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise and The Rage. But the album highlight is the closing song, Steeler, which could have easily been an opening song and a bold move to place it at the end. My favorite version of Steeler can be found here at the 45:00 mark
My US version starts off with Breaking the Law on Side 1 and Living After Midnight opening Side 2. That's how I hear it and prefer it. Anyway, they did a good job of balancing the commercial/non-commercial aspects of the band. Probably my favorite Priest album after Unleashed in the East. Steeler is my favorite on here: especially the last two minutes. Sometimes you just want to ride out a cool riff!
The British Steel album is chock full of awesomeness! I love the lyrics on every song, United is too repetitious but the message is valid - ".....they can get outta here! " I love Rob's voice on this record, its different from the previous records, his voice is more gravely and deeper - more mature. This album is great! Oh, Dave Holland does a fantastic job on the kit, giving each tune the right beat and fills - he is spot on! JP played the inaugural Monsters Of Rock, and ruled the day, coming on before the headliner - Rainbow, Ritchie didn't stand a chance!
Oh, for whatever reason, the band didn't record this tour, but you can get a really nice cd release on this on: I did get a chance to see them do the full album on their too brief summer tour for the 30th anniversary of BS. I saw them at Merriwether Post Pavilion. Kix opened for them on this show.
British Steel! Once my favorite JP album, still up there. Like the previous album it is a mix of classic metal/hard rock and some more catchy material. A great start - Breaking the Law is one of the all time best JP songs, everything comes together perfectly. Rapid Fire is a great rocker, another classic - shades of speed metal. Metal Gods is simplistic and has a real repetitive chorus, but gets stuck in my head every time I hear it - add some synths and it could be on Turbo. Grinder is a good rocker with a nice solo. United is one of my least favorite JP songs, a really simplistic sing a long that goes on and on. Living After Midnight is still a favorite, never gets overplayed and never sounded too commercial to me. A great hook. Don't Have to Be Old to be Wise sounds like they are pandering to the teenagers, terrible lyrics, but musically ok. The Rage is a good rocker with a basic beat. Steeler is a decent song, not a favorite but not bad either. Overall a very good album, heads above the next album that I won't put myself through to review.
Last time I cranked British Steel was a few months back for the thread here celebrating its 40th anniversary, and I have to say that it doesn't matter how many times I've heard it through the years, each time I play it it still grabs hold of me and works me way up. I keep ageing, yet British Steel never gets old. Judas Priest's tendency to streamline their songwriting continued on this album, but I think to greater effect here than on any of its predecessors. The tracks on British Steel hit their respective spots even more strongly and successfully than before, and this time around even the lesser tracks are memorable, making for (at last!) a well coherent, solid whole. Perhaps their most complete album since Sad Wings Of Destiny. But I think it's not only the songwriting that's to be "blamed" exclusively for the quality of the album - rather, I would attribute that to the perfect marriage of songs and production. The sound of this album compliments the material so well that one just couldn't imagine it sounding any other way. The mean crunch of the guitars, the violent slam of the drums and that thick, chunky bass, presented in such a raw, in-your-face way, all combine to convey this feeling of fury and rebelliousness, anger bordering on violence; like blood boiling under control, threatening to explode at the slightest provocation. On British Steel the band doesn't just rock, it bloody well roars. Because one characteristic of this album, one thing you can hear from beginning to end in the band's performances is their killer attitude - heads down, focused on squeezing every last drop of power out of their instruments, teeth clenched with fury and passion. Hell, I think I can even hear the creaking of leather and the clinking of chains. And so, with those ingredients - great material, sympathetic production, excellent performances - it's impossible to fail. Even those tracks which are comparatively weaker and could've fallen flat in a different context (like United) have that badass feel to them. The people in these songs may be partying or celebrating, but it's still a dangerous crowd throwing the party so watch out. That attitude I mentioned earlier, the band's collective sound and a lead singer in top form are elements that can turn even the album's more lightweight material into winners. The sound I'm alluding to, that tight, locked-in blend of the guitars, bass and drums is as thick and powerful as an olympic weight-lifter's arm, and just as overwhelming when it comes over you. Turn up the volume and watch with delight as Rapid Fire proceeds to scream its way into your room and knock stuff off the shelves as it takes control of your listening space. Metal Gods (forget about Take On The World, here's your hymn!) will only make you turn it up even louder, stomping and crushing everything in its path before Grinder arrives to finish the job and leave what's left of your house looking like a bomb-site. What a monster 3-track line-up to open the album with - undeniable highlights all. We may encounter comparatively lesser tracks like You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise, Living After Midnight or United along the way, but even though these particular songs may inflict household damage of lesser degrees, they are no less mean, no less full of strength, boldness and swagger - and they are no less fun to listen to. But looking again at what is the best stuff on this album, I would say it presents yet another step forward along the path of Judas Priest's development since Stained Class. Three such tracks are on side one (Rapid Fire, Metal Gods, Grinder), but there's more of it on side two - The Rage, a personal favourite of mine, never fails to get me with all its pent-up tension and Halford's incredible delivery, tension that finally finds release on the other scorcher that follows, Steeler. Finishing the album with as fast a pace as it began, Steeler sends me into a trance; it could go on for another ten minutes and I'd still be head-banging away, clenching teeth myself, possessed by the spirit of this British Steel. The mileage of your particular Harley-Davidson may vary but, as a whole, this album is pretty awesome. Remember Killing Machine? Well, this is better. It kills. It just rules. It rules like a goddamn king. A king who kills his enemies and eats their hearts. And devastates their lands. And rapes their women. And I'll stop here before people start thinking I'm Joey DiMaio. British f'kin Steel.
I love Steel but it's no Destiny Sin or Class for me. The Rage should cement Halford as the God of metal vocalist if there was any debate about it. Only tune I never liked from day one was Midnight and it still hasn't grown on me. United is OK but Heavy Duty/Defenders is the best of that type of song imo.
Priest before the Hamer days! Which were soon to come. My 67 RI Heritage Cherry Flying V looks exactly like that, though I changed my pickups to Dimarzio 36th Anniversary PAFs...Still looks the same though..
British Steel is a dead classic, but I don't like "United" very much. I love the album but it's my least favorite to this point outside the debut. That said, I do quite like Rock a Rolla, and like every song better than United.
Rhode Island? No but seriously, I think it means Re-Issue, as in it came out many years later but is made to look/act/feel/play/etc like the original 1967 model.
I'm pretty sure there are a lot of differences up close under the microscope....Mine is a 98 or 99 model...can't remember which but late 90s never the less. I believe in 67 the only humbucker pickup used in Gibson guitars was the T bucker, which is only slightly hotter if at all than the PAF pickups. The RI's in the era of mine all had pretty hot pickups, which to me lack a mid sweetness..I'm more a PAF kind of guy...but T buckers are awesome too, probably indistinguishable from PAFs in many cases. I'm 6' 3" and a Flying V looks good on me, with most guitars looking small when I hold them., Little guys look cooler than me with strats and most guitars, which on the other hand doesn't stop me from owning them. I'm in this slide show in 2007 with my V..... Short hair mode........these days past the center of my back.. and I know KK looks way cooler with his Flying V
Where do you go from here though? I reckon it's their finest hour and every album after was downhill. It's probably my only still regularly played Priest release. Well, this and 'Sin After Sin'. Definitely a band that peaked VERY early. Was lucky enough to see them in a small club when they toured 'Sad Wings..'. Unforgettable night.
I'd go along with that it's as good as they got, but IMO they equaled it or near to a few times.. That said, the vibe was never recaptured and Sad Wings stands apart in that way.
After all this backlash for United, I have to say that it's probably my favourite track off the LP, which may be largely because of the Axe Attack vol. 2 comp, plus before I bought/traded that LP from a friend I had that song on tape recorded by said friend with his own singing along on top of the chorus.
United is a cheesy Take On The World-type thing, ok until the chorus but then Ewwwww. See also several songs on Point Of Entry. But the album's true Limburger is Breaking The Law. Starts off badly with the type of brain-dead riff even Status Quo would be ashamed to commit to vinyl, and degenerates into a ridiculous knuckle-dragging lyric for the great unwashed. Hated it since 1980, never understood its popularity. The album has some top tier stuff - Rapid Fire, Metal Gods, Wise, Steeler - but the others are mediocre at best. However, the production is the main highlight - the first worthy studio production they'd had up to this point.
Breaking The Law followed by Hell Bent For Leather (as they have appeared in Priest comps) just sound so right together.
I never had the first one, looks cool too! The vol.2 must have been one of my most played LP's in the eighties. A brill selection of 1980/1981 metal.
Vol 2 is the one I've got. Phonogram's London office were giving out free copies to anyone who walked through the door. They were pushing Def Leppard in a big way. Didn't play it much at the time, but looking back at it now it's one hell of a selection. I think I gave it to my son in the 90s. Either that or it's still in the loft.
Moldy cheese infection infecting some brains. United the best on Steel , Law the worst of Steel . There I was completely wasted, out of work and down All inside it's so frustrating as I drift from town to town Feel as though nobody cares if I live or die So I might as well begin to put some action in my life Breaking the law, breaking the law Breaking the law, breaking the law Breaking the law, breaking the law Breaking the law, breaking the law So much for the golden future I can't even start I've had every promise broken, there's anger in my heart You don't know what it's like, you don't have a clue If you did you'd find yourselves doing the same thing too Breaking the law, breaking the law Breaking the law, breaking the law Breaking the law, breaking the law Breaking the law, breaking the law I must be unwashed . Maybe their best radio friendly single. The bit where Rob screams out You don't Know , the boys holding them chords and the snare roll before the final chorus gets me everytime. Its not the Sinner but it doesn't suck either. When I was 13 or so Axe in hand like every other Metal kid getting started learning Law was a right of passage.
