British Steel | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 11 April 1980 [1] | |||
Studio | Tittenhurst Park, Ascot | |||
Genre | Heavy metal | |||
Length | 36:10 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Tom Allom | |||
Judas Priest chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Singles from British Steel | ||||
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British Steel is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest,released on 11 April 1980 by Columbia Records. It was the band's first album to feature Dave Holland on drums.
During an interview with Wall of Sound's Educate Ebony podcast,Max Cavalera stated British Steel is the "essential thrash metal" album everyone needs to hear and says "I’m sure you can ask Metallica,if it wasn’t for British Steel they wouldn’t be here." [3]
British Steel saw the band reprise the commercial sound they had established on Killing Machine . This time,they abandoned some of the dark lyrical themes which had been prominent on their previous releases,but some of it still remains. In a June 2017 appearance on Sirius radio podcast "Rolling Stone Music Now," [4] Rob Halford said the band may have been inspired by AC/DC on some tracks after supporting them on a European tour in 1979. [5] British Steel was recorded at Tittenhurst Park,home of former Beatle Ringo Starr,after a false start at Startling Studios,also located on the grounds of Tittenhurst Park,due to the band preferring Starr's house to the recording studio itself. Digital sampling was not yet widely available at the time of recording,so the band used analog recording of smashing milk bottles to be included in "Breaking the Law",as well as various sounds in "Metal Gods" produced by billiard cues and trays of cutlery. [6] It is the first Judas Priest album to feature drummer Dave Holland,and it was released in the UK at a discount price of £3.99,with the advertisements in the music press bearing the legend "British Steal". The songs "Breaking the Law","United",and "Living After Midnight" were released as singles. [6]
The album was remastered in 2001 with two bonus tracks added. Bonus studio track "Red,White,and Blue" was written in the sessions for the Twin Turbos album (which would become Turbo ) and recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau in July 1985. [6] The second bonus track,a live performance of "Grinder",was recorded on 5 May 1984,in Los Angeles during the Defenders of the Faith tour.
In 2009,Judas Priest kicked off their 30th anniversary tour in the US by playing British Steel live in its entirety for the first time. The only other Judas Priest albums of which all the songs have been performed live are Defenders of the Faith and Rocka Rolla ,but neither of them were played in the original LP running order or during the same tour (though the original US debut LP had a different running order than the UK version).
The 30th anniversary release of the album came with a DVD and CD of a live show recorded on 17 August 2009 at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood,Florida as part of the British Steel 30th Anniversary tour. [7] The live versions of all the British Steel tracks from this release were also made available as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series beginning 11 May 2010. [8]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
About.com | (30th anniv. edition) [9] |
AllMusic | [10] |
BBC Music | (favourable) (30th anniv. edition) [11] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [12] |
PopMatters | 8/10 (30th anniv. edition) [13] |
Record Collector | (30th anniv. edition) [14] |
Rolling Stone | (favourable) [15] |
Sputnikmusic | 2.0/5 [16] |
The album received positive reviews. AllMusic gave the album five stars out of five,explaining that the album "kick-started heavy metal's glory days of the 1980s",and saying that "There are still uptempo slices of metallic mayhem bookending the album in 'Rapid Fire' and 'Steeler',plus effective moodier pieces in 'Metal Gods '". [17]
Rolling Stone and BBC Music rated the album favourably,and PopMatters gave the album an 8 out of 10 rating. In 2017,it was ranked third on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". [18] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [19]
All tracks are written by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K. K. Downing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Breaking the Law" | 2:33 |
2. | "Rapid Fire" | 4:00 |
3. | "Metal Gods" | 4:04 |
4. | "Grinder" | 3:57 |
5. | "United" | 3:31 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
6. | "Living After Midnight" | 3:30 |
7. | "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise" | 5:03 |
8. | "The Rage" | 4:44 |
9. | "Steeler" | 4:30 |
All tracks are written by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K. K. Downing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Rapid Fire" | 4:08 |
2. | "Metal Gods" | 4:00 |
3. | "Breaking the Law" | 2:35 |
4. | "Grinder" | 3:58 |
5. | "United" | 3:35 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise" | 5:04 |
2. | "Living After Midnight" | 3:31 |
3. | "The Rage" | 4:44 |
4. | "Steeler" | 4:30 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
10. | "Red, White & Blue" (Recorded during the 1985 Turbo sessions) | 3:49 |
11. | "Grinder" (Live at Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California; 5 May 1984) | 4:49 |
All tracks are written by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K. K. Downing except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Rapid Fire" | 4:18 |
2. | "Metal Gods" | 4:34 |
3. | "Breaking the Law" | 2:43 |
4. | "Grinder" | 4:06 |
5. | "United" | 3:45 |
6. | "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise" | 5:24 |
7. | "Living After Midnight" | 4:53 |
8. | "The Rage" | 5:04 |
9. | "Steeler" | 5:23 |
10. | "The Ripper" (Tipton) | 3:09 |
11. | "Prophecy" (Omitted on CD. Some streaming services place this track at the end.) | 6:12 |
12. | "Hell Patrol" | 3:57 |
13. | "Victim of Changes" (Al Atkins, Downing, Halford, Tipton) | 9:29 |
14. | "Freewheel Burning" | 5:49 |
15. | "Diamonds & Rust" (Joan Baez) | 4:07 |
16. | "You've Got Another Thing Coming" | 8:58 |
Chart (1980) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [20] | 45 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [21] | 69 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [22] | 20 |
UK Albums (OCC) [23] | 4 |
US Billboard 200 [24] | 34 |
Chart (2010) | Peak position |
---|---|
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [25] | 46 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [26] | 59 |
Greek Albums (IFPI) [27] | 4 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [28] | 74 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [29] | 55 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [30] | 92 |
UK Albums (OCC) [31] | 78 |
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [32] | 5 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [33] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Sweden (GLF) [34] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [35] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [36] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) movement, and are cited as a formative influence on various heavy metal subgenres, including speed metal, thrash metal, power metal, and the hard rock/glam metal scene of the 1980s. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band had struggled with poor record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when their sixth studio album British Steel brought them notable mainstream attention.
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"Breaking the Law" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, originally released on their 1980 album British Steel. The song is one of the band's better known singles, and is readily recognised by its opening guitar riff.
"Living After Midnight" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was originally featured on their 1980 album British Steel, which was their first gold album in the United States selling more than 500,000 copies. The song speaks to the hedonistic, rebellious spirit of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and is among the band's most popular songs.
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