''British Steel'' is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal band

Judas Priest 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. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

, released on 11 April 1980 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. It was the band's first album to feature

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

on drums.

Overview

''British Steel'' saw the band reprise the commercial sound they had established on ''

Killing Machine Killing machine may refer to: Film * ''The Killing Machine'', English language title for ''Shorinji Kempo'' a 1975 Japanese action film with Sonny Chiba, Hiroyuki Sanada and Etsuko Shiomi * ''The Killing Machine'', a 1994 American action film with ...

''. 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," Rob Halford said the band may have been inspired by

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

on some tracks after supporting them on a European tour in 1979. ''British Steel'' was recorded in December 1979 at

Tittenhurst Park Tittenhurst Park is a Grade II listed early Georgian country house set in off London Road at Beggar's Bush near Ascot and over the parish border into Sunningdale, both in the English county of Berkshire. It was famously the home of musici ...

, home of former Beatle

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

, 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 "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 recognized by its opening guitar riff. Com ...

", as well as various sounds in "

Metal Gods "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 recognized by its opening guitar riff. Com ...

" produced by billiard cues and trays of cutlery. It is the first Judas Priest album to feature drummer

, 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 United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

", and "

Living After Midnight "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 (and eventua ...

" were released as singles. 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 In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

'') and recorded at

Compass Point Studios Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producer ...

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

in July 1985. The second bonus track, a live performance of " Grinder", was recorded on 5 May 1984, in Los Angeles during the ''

Defenders of the Faith ''Defenders of the Faith'' is the ninth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 13 January 1984 by Columbia Records. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA, and spawned the singles "Freewheel Burning", "Some ...

'' 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 ''

'' and ''

Rocka Rolla ''Rocka Rolla'' is the debut studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 6 September 1974 by Gull Records. It was produced by Rodger Bain, who had made a name for himself as the producer of Black Sabbath's first three ...

'', 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 Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

as part of the British Steel 30th Anniversary tour. The live versions of all the ''British Steel'' tracks from this release were also made available as downloadable content for the ''

Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

'' video game series beginning 11 May 2010.

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

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 '

. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' and

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

rated the album favourably, and

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

gave the album an 8 out of 10 rating. In 2017, it was ranked third on ''Rolling Stone'' list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". The album was also included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''. During an interview with ''Wall of Sound's Educate Ebony'' podcast,

Max Cavalera Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera (; born August 4, 1969) is a Brazilian musician. He co-founded the heavy metal band Sepultura in 1984 with his brother Igor Cavalera, and was the band's lead singer and rhythm guitarist until his departure i ...

stated British Steel is the "essential thrash metal" album everyone needs to hear and says "I’m sure you can ask

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

, if it wasn’t for British Steel they wouldn’t be here."

Track listing

1980 U.S. release

Other releases

30th Anniversary Edition – bonus live CD/DVD

Personnel

;Judas Priest *

Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has b ...

– vocals *

K. K. Downing Kenneth Keith Downing Jr. (born 27 October 1951) is an English guitarist and a former member of the heavy metal band Judas Priest. Early life and career Downing was born in West Bromwich, West Midlands. In the late 1960s, he developed a p ...

– guitars *

Glenn Tipton Glenn Raymond Tipton (born 25 October 1947) is an English guitarist. Often noted for his complex playing style and classically influenced solos, he is best known as one of the lead guitarists for heavy metal band Judas Priest. Early life and ...

– guitars *

Ian Hill Ian Frank Hill (born 20 January 1951) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and the sole continuous member for the heavy metal band Judas Priest. Biography Hill learned how to play the double bass from his father, a bass player ...

– bass *

– drums ;Production *Produced by

Tom Allom Thomas James Allom is an English record producer and sound engineer. His best-known work was in the 1970s and 1980s, working with artists such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Krokus, Loverboy, Def Leppard, Kix and Rough Cutt. Allom is a memb ...

*Engineered by Lou Austin *Cut by

Ray Staff Ray Staff is a British mastering engineer, best known for his work with a diverse mix of artists including Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Clash and Black Sabbath. Most recently he has mastered albums for Muse. Biography and career Joini ...

*Cover design by

Rosław Szaybo Rosław Szaybo (13 August 1933, Poznań – 21 May 2019, Warsaw) was a Polish painter, photographer and cover designer. He graduated in 1961 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and was mentored by Wojciech Fangor and Henryk Tomaszewski. I ...

*Photography by R. Elsdale and R. Ellis

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:British Steel (Album) 1980 albums Albums produced by Tom Allom Columbia Records albums Judas Priest albums