‘British Steel’ remains fresh more than four decades after its release
Judas Priest, the bad boys of heavy metal for nearly five decades, soon will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It’s an honor that the group’s faithful legion of fans certainly feel is overdue.
The band has cranked out heavy metal for years, and while the genre has changed in that time (but not necessarily for the better), Judas Priest continues to perform and compose hard rock at a high level. The band has a straight-ahead performance style and delivery, and frontman Rob Halford remains one of rock’s finest vocalists. The group’s accomplishments are numerous, and despite being shunned by most critics (like most of the heavy metal bands of the day), they will be enshrined in Cleveland.
In 1980, Halford and the boys released “British Steel,” a nine-song collection which brought Judas Priest some commercial success, as it spawned hit singles in “Breaking the Law” and “Living After Midnight,” both of which remain in heavy rotation on classic rock radio stations. The LP experienced a bit of a renaissance in the ‘90s, as well, as the former track appeared regularly on the MTV program “Beavis and Butt-Head.” The latter song has become one of the band’s signature songs, while the third single, “United,” appearing to many to be a call for unity in a turbulent time.
While “British Steel” remains the band’s most accessible and commercially viable work, it has all the elements of the quintessential rock ‘n’ roll album. The plea for togetherness mingles with a healthy dose of rebellion, as one would expect from most great heavy metal, but, most of all, it flat-out rocks. The band sounds as tight and together as any in modern recorded history, and Halford’s vocals are flawless. The entertainment value is unquestionable, and it delivers everything that every great album should. It easily could be re-released today, and it would introduce Judas Priest to new generations of fans, as teenage angst and the desire to rebel remain constant staples of youth culture, no matter the time period.
The album helped kickstart the ‘80s metal movement, elements of which can be heard in hard-core tunes such as “Grinder” and “Steeler.” It also took a shot at the conformist establishment with “Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise.” As a whole, “British Steel” definitely laid the groundwork for groups such as Twisted Sister, Ratt and many others who dominated the hard-rock charts in the ‘80s and early ‘90s.
