JUDAS PRIEST — British Steel (review)

JUDAS PRIEST — British Steel album cover Album · 1980 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
Stephen
All I can say is "wow!" to see an overwhelming positive response of this album. Nostalgic to some? I believe so, but calling it classic? Definitely no! Judas Priest is metal god, no doubt about it, both Halford cs, along with other names such as Motorhead, Iron Maiden, or Saxon shaped the early heavy metal form that invaded the world, but in this case, even god can fail. If not only for the anthemic commercial metal of "Breaking The Law" with its insanely memorable intro and the infectious hooks of "Living After Midnight", this album is pretty blunt as most of the tracks here are quite forgettable.

The third fave track is probably the closing track of "Steeler". It has nice and neat solos, a real deal of British heavy metal, and deserved a place in the same league as that two singles. "Rapid Fire" has the furious guitar duel of Downing/Tipton but the final arrangement isn't astonishing. "Grinder" and "Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise" are hardly heavy metal to my ears, hard rock probably, good at best. Now, "Metal Gods" is an embarrassing filler, "The Rage" probably should be named "The Reggae" as the intro kinda reminds me of Bob Marley's Jamaican groove, and "United" is the worst of them all. Sounds like an African peacecorps boyscout anthem to me.

I don't mind a band changing style, in this case, stripping off your metal jacket and gone softer is also okay in my book, but pay attention to the strong and impeccable songwriting which plays an important role on a great album. In order to be a true Priest fan, you have to have this album, but apparently they have to be old to be better as their newer releases such as "Vengeance" and "Painkiller" are much better.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
Time Signature wrote:
more than 2 years ago
You're not too far of with the reggae reference. I've seen a documentary about "British Steel" where they say that they were actually deliberately aiming at a reggae feel, because they thought it would be interesting with a reggae section on a metal record. Personally, I think that "British Steel" is much better than, say, "Point of Entry" or "Ram it Down".

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Suffocated By Fungal Odors Deathcore
VISCERAL EXECRATION
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lethargy Metalcore
HEARTLAPSE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Vitriol Deathcore
BEHEADING THE ICON
Buy this album from MMA partners
Cecità Atmospheric Sludge Metal
NITRITONO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Resiliencia Metalcore
SOURCE OF MYSTERIES
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Suicidal Tendencies - Send Me Your Money
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
UMUR· 11 hours ago
Suicidal Tendencies - Trip at the Brain
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
UMUR· 11 hours ago
Suicidal Tendencies - Nobody Hears
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
UMUR· 11 hours ago
Suicidal Tendencies - You Can't Bring Me Down
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
UMUR· 11 hours ago
Thanatos - Source Of Mysteries (Video Oficial)
SOURCE OF MYSTERIES
Bosh66· 1 day ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed