Reviews (page 6 of 12)
Liked this a lot more than I expected to. Goes hard! Quite a bit vocally made me think of Jack Black to be honest. Breaking the Law was probably my top track. Will be checking out more of their stuff.
I haven't listened to a ton of Judas Priest before but I had a good time with it. Interested to listen to more.
Boring
Pretty solid. Prob 2.5
Thrash metal at it's finest. I completely understand the historical significance of the album and deeply appreciate it. Listening to albums like this does take me out of my comfort zone and I didn't particularly like the album with my tastes but good music deserves to be recognized even if you don't get it. A bit like art if you think about it.
3/5 probably
Richtig starke Platte
No song more unintentionally hilarious in hindsight than Grinder
metal
Absolute banger
been a while since I got a heavy metal album , a cool switch up from the recent run It’s very well done , a few classics tracks and clearly ahead of its time . Enjoyed it
great album !
Great staple in the timeline of what would eventually lead to Metallica and the like and the hair metal of the 80’s. The two obvious bangers, plus I also enjoyed “Steeler”. The rest of the album is solid and rocks.
An obvious foundation layer for so many bands that would soon come. It’s probably safe to say that bands like Metallica, Anthrax, etc. do not achieve their level of success without this album. I wavered between a 4 and 5, but either way this is just some good ‘ol rock n roll that shouldn’t be overthought as you reach for the dial to turn it up to 11.
This rocks. Glad to have another album to add to the gym playlist. Or to throw on while I’m giving the hot rod a tune up in the garage.
Don’t think I’ve listened to a full Judas Priest album until now. Shame on me. This was great! And consistent all the way through. Of course a couple of hits but all the songs rocked my pants. Grinder……looking for meat 🤣🤣🤣
Sometimes you need some good old fashioned metal in your life. Classic goodness. 3.75/5
Man metal has grown leaps and bounds beyond British Steel. But this album goes so hard. Blistering bombastic drums and groovy basslines with perfectly intonated metal riffs. Coupled with Halford delighful vocals, this album is a hit. Its aged itself into a new genre, that being hard rock/dad rock. But its so damn good. Don't you ever forget that Rob Halford has homophobic men in the 1980s dressing like gay bikers in assless chaps and bedazzled leather jackets. And in the ultimate trump card he was literally like "If you listen to the lyrics closely i was talking about getting [my back blown out by another dude.]"
I have a high tolerance for silly classic metal, but this pushed it a bit. The guitar work and attitude are something to behold, but if I'm looking for a classic British metal fix, it's going to be Maiden or Sabbath, not this.
# 468 : 28/04/2025 : British Steel They've done a pretty decent job. Short, effective, energetic. A great metal album. Favourite Track : Breaking The Law
Summer bbq music but I wouldn't put this on by myself
Hell yes!
As a kid I thought they said “back in the car” instead of “breaking the law”. I wasn’t allowed to listen to “the devils music” but that song was on the radio a lot.
not my music at all. im a little annoyed by it. cant believe i listened to all of that.
Okay Judas Priest, what do ya got. Wondering if we got another "1-star" rating coming down the pipe from me. What are we singing about? Laser beams and axes and robots? God damn I hate this kinda shit hahaha. Breaking the law? Yeah, breaking the law is pretty cool. Singing a silly little song about breaking the law, though? Dorky beyond measure. Living After Midnight > United > Grinder > Steeler > Breaking the Law > Metal Gods > The Rage > Rapid Fire > You Don't Have to Be Old to be Wise Living After Midnight maybe the most I can stand of these, I like that it's poppy and catchy and lyrics a little less annoying, but it's still doesn't quite push the album to a 2.
I expected to hate this. But honestly it kind of slaps. Is it for me? No. Am I glad I listened to it? Yeah! By the time we got to United and You don't have to be old to be wise I was like hell yes!!!!!
Was going to give this a 4, but felt hard not to give it a 5. I guess that means 4.5, rounded up.
Interesting to see the blueprint for how to get heavy metal break into the mainstream. But as someone who is not a fan of heavy metal as such or the thrash and speed sub genres that came from this, I can only appreciate it so much. I prefer a little less polish. Some great solos though.
Didn't go as hard as i expected
What a sick album. Breaking the law is a perfect song. We all knew that but there's alot of other songs here too and they mostly rock. As a whole it's a little slow tempo wise for my hard rock/metal tastes but I almost didn't notice. Also the vocals are a bit too hair mentally bullshit I don't like but only a little. Guitars rip. And it just kills
Not my cup of tea, but just not the kind of music I'm into.
Tidlig hard rock. Typ heavy metal
Good enough. Middle of the road.
Not my thing by a long shot. If people enjoy this, great.
The decline of British Steel was quite unfairly put on the shoulders of Houmous & Chutney. Apparently we delivered too much hope to the Sheffield community. Following our tour the locals got so enthused about their lives they refused to work in bad conditions. On the plus side, without the decline of British steel we never would have had The Full Monty. So…….4.1
Of all the big players in the NWOBHM, Priest were the one that passed me by. I didn’t hate the music, but the image was just a little too overblown for me (and how anyone was surprised when Rob Halford came out is amazing). Listening now, a few decades later, I can see why they were so big. It’s not quite my flavour of metal, but it’s a really good album. Happy today.
I am not a huge fan of heavy metal but this album is pretty good. 3 stars or C+.
Almost a 4 - just a bit cheesy and off the rails a couple of times. A few tracks had me really boppin' along for sure.
Niet geluisterd geen fan
this was a fun listen! I've never actually checked out priest in full before, beyond the hits anyways. I'm not too much of a metalhead, I obviously know about British Steel's significance to the genre but now I actually know why it's as influential and every (thrash-)metal band that followed ripped it. there's some great riffs on here and the overall sound couldn't be more fitting. the songs build a cohesive unit, back to back, if I had to pick a favorite it'd probably be The Rage (or BTL, of course). Rapid Fire reminded me of Motorhead, which is always a good reference. although United and Living After Midnight sounded too cheesy for my taste, the rest of the songs are strong enough to compensate that, so it doesn't effect my opinion of the album too much, altogether.
Cosplay.
I am sure that there are people out there who can make a compelling argument for this album. I am also sure that it, like this album will fall on my deaf ears. There is just no appeal for this kind of sonic and philosophical assault. Moving right along.
rating the law, rating the law rating the law, rating the law
Always like me some Judas!
This was a bit disappointing. It's still nowhere near bad, and I swear I'm not one to gatekeep genres but this felt more like slick hard rock than something that possessed the requisite heaviness of, well, Heavy Metal. Maybe I listen to too much Extreme Metal, but I still get a lot of enjoyment out of Black Sabbath and even JP's magnum opus, Painkiller, which really should've been on here instead. Biggest highlight was definitely the vocals.
Excellent metal album
Muy bueno
Eh typ det jag inte gillar med hårdrock, känns så plastigt ofta.
\m/( >.< )\m/
I don’t think it’s anything spectacular but I did enjoy it. I was already familiar with some of the tracks
After a pretty unforgettable track in Rapid Fire I thought this one would be a disappointment. My brother was a huge metal head and I definitely recognized the singles when the album kicked in. The rest of the tracks are really good and I was happy to be surprised. Solid 4.
Tricky review for me because I mostly have listened to bands like Metallica or Black Sabbath who moreso followed the lead of Judas Priest. They're stuff is good and probably kicked ass at the time, but it doesn't quite compare to a Metallica, who took this genre to another stratosphere. That said, there were some really good songs here like Breaking The Law, Living After Midnight, and Steeler. But then you listen to a song like United and it just feels dull and dated. Out of respect, this gets a 4 though.
I never fully got into Priest when my friends went through their hair metal phase. I recognize a few on here and welcome this tour post-puberty. First thing that stands out are the vocals -- relative to other metal acts, Halford is in the upper echelon of technical capability. The man had pipes and a hell of a range. Rapid Fire opens us off with pretty much what I would expect for Priest. Maybe a little less flashy, but the production is extremely tight, there are some very tasty guitar riffs, and towards the end Halford gives a taste of his characteristic hair metal vocal range. Clean bleed into Metal Gods is a nice touch. I can get down with this one -- it has a nice pocketed groove that is really satisfying. Breaking the Law is a classic. Deserves all of its flowers. As far as metal tracks go it isn't in your face hardcore, but the ethos is foundational. Living After Midnight is fine in its own right, but doesn't hold the same weight IMO. The Rage is a new one to me, and probably my favorite of the album so far. Kind of a weird fusion piece that straddles Police-like influences with some gritty guitar work. Absolute jam. Short and sweet and more varied than I expected going in. This was an extremely solid metal album. High 4.
Liked it!
Been a while since I have listened to this album and I always forget how random it is for a Judas Priest album in my opinion. Some really out of place slower rock songs after the first 3 or 4 songs heavier metal songs. Still has some bangers like Breaking the Law. But i'd probably rank this third in the Judas Priest library for albums. This is on the lower side of 4
Never really got into Judas Priest. Pretty rad first song. Breaking the Law is a jam as well. Gets pretty hair rocky with United. Didn't enjoy that sing-a-long I must say. The bass on the Rage is great. Really vibing with this one. Red White and Blue is pretty lame. High's were pretty high and lows were super low.
Great singles and great cover art, 3.5*
PRIEEEEEESSSTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!
It's not for me, but it was a lot better than I was expecting.
Ok so I like his voice a lot but something about the backing music doesn’t hit for me. BUT I think that’s a genre thing because I never enjoy the instrument portion of metal music as much as I think I should. I think it’s a balance thing, like it’s too sharp and high pitched compared to what I think of as more dad classic rock. Taking all that into account I give it a 4.5 rounded up to a 5.
Not really my thing, but it was fine. Except that Red, White & Blue track. What the hell?
Classic metal album. Fun listen.
Just classic
Really great would listen to again.
Not bad for Metal but still not something I would want to listen to again.
I honestly really like this. It's fun, not too edgy (but maybe that's because "Breakin the Law" has lost all meaning), sometimes anthemic.
Good stuff!
Classic metal album by Judas Priest. It's truly excellent and it's only overshadowed by their later album Screaming for Vengeance (I'm really fond of Painkiller as well). This is an album everyone should give a listen.
3/5
I'm not a heavy metal fan. But if you're going to do it, this is the way to do it. This album was actually kind of fun, and not every song sounded the same.
What the fuck is going ON
7.5/10 Favorite Tracks: Red White & Blue, Steeler, Rapid Fire Least Favorite: You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise, Living After Midnight, Grinder
Ha this was sweet. I didn't realize how thrash Judas Priest was, and also didn't realize that the well known songs on this record were Judas Priest songs. Sweet for sure, nothing incredible by any means.
Quaint but charming.
It’s cool. I’ve never really listened to Judas Priest besides some hits.
Perhaps the most iconic album from a band that was releasing an iconic album every year at this point. 5.0/5.0: Iconic
Good album, nice to hear metals roots
This is undeniably a quintessential metal album. Breaking the Law, Living After Midnight and United are all amazing and catchy especially for this typically uncatchy genre. And just when you think being an 80’s metal bass player was the easiest job in the world they throw in a song that isn’t straight 8th notes like The Rage. I enjoyed it. 4.5/5
All hair metal bands sound the same, this one brought nothing new to the table 2*.
Classic
🤘
7.5/10 Fave track: Breaking the law
Bit of proper old school British Metal. Nothing unexpected and nothing to argue with here.
Not my style
I liked this more than I thought I would.
Great album! Right up my alley but one I've never listened to before. Not sure why Judas priest slipped through my listening arc. Will rectify that!
Like a more British AC/DC. I enjoyed the simple hard rock of this. Not my bag but good, honest, double denim clad, inappropriately haired, pot bellied, middle aged hard rock.
One of the original metal bands finally breaks through. The album is good in its' own right, but what's best about this is how much other 80's metal you can hear between the covers.
That was fun!
This gets upgraded from a 2 to a 3 solely for Breaking the Law. I love how rebelliously non-specific the sentiment is. Which laws are we breaking? Who knows, we're just breaking em.
I get that this is important to the genre and that they are super talented, but this is too safe a play & feels boring as the album goes on. I don’t hate it & there’s a few good songs here - there’s just nothing here that does anything for me. It’s largely just noise - repetitive beat, screeching guitar riff, back to repetitive beat. Where’s the passion guys??
So did AC/DC sneak into the studio and record You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise? Some excellent 80s metal there. Some really punchy production on this that makes it both perfectly of its time and somehow timeless. The drums on Living After Midnight are so clean and forceful. The twin guitars are so good here too. The main issue I have is that it's too consistent for me to listen to it often. I'd mostly listen to a few songs from this and not the whole album. United kinda brings a break in the album to help with this but for me that songs is a skip. Highlight: Steeler
The liked this album. Fantastic selection of songs. Was great music to listen to while running.
It’s obviously good, but not my cup of tea.
Not my fav music to listen too but it wasn’t bad for heavy metal. Nice guitar riffs. Cool
Surprisingly enjoyed this one
Not my kind of mudic
No private session used for Spotify. This album was big with cool kids in junior high, it was a let to metal and heavy for a Presbyterian boy like me, I stuck with my mellow Styx and Yes. Anyway, this is a good metal album.
It would have been interesting to hear this stuff with fresh ears, when it was evil and urgent, not campy. Highlight(s): The Rage Lowlight(s): United/You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise
Get me one of those Judas Priest shirts everyone on the planet already has!
Great album! Fun to listen to and just good rock music! This is the type of stuff I grew up adjacent to, and I never was really like a devoted fan but I liked them, them as I got older they were just yes awesome! This album makes me think of the awesome power of rock lol
Never been a fan of this type of metal. I like Breaking The Law but only as a punch line when I do something I shouldn’t.
Feels like a lot of other metal at the time. Still enjoyable though
100% Biased. One of my fathers childhood albums and i heard allot of Judas when I grew up. This album is essential for metal head's I would say, classic British Heavy Metal. As far as 1001 albums it might be a good representative of heavy metal and pretty easy listened and catchy for the average listener I would say. If you only heard breaking the law I the tracks United and living after midnight be in the same vein.
Not a fan in the day, and still not. But worth listening to.
Not my thing, but I can respect the guitar solos
Not even me remembering fondly my adolescent self running around screaming "Breaking the Law, Breaking the Law" a la Beavis and Butthead could save this album. It was terrible.
A great classic metal album. Not their best album, but some proper bangers on it.
Не могу долго слушать такую музыку, начинает болеть голова. Не моё, в топку.
Pre-Metallica, mid-tempo heavy metal with low frequencies being cut and cliched vocals style.
Not for me. This is like old biker music and I found it a bit corny
Red, White & Blue moved this from a 4 to a 2.
Judas Priest have never been on my regular rotation like Iron Maiden. I do understand their huge influence on Metal as a whole, including the adoption of leather clothing as the genre's unofficial uniform. This is a good album, probably their best. Key tracks: Breaking in the Law Living After Midnight
Not my thing - but pretty rocking.
This is just one of my absolute least favorite genres. The 80s power/glam rock with screetching guitars and vocals. This album did seem to go by quickly at least but not one I'm going to pick up again. 4.25/10 (2.125/5)
Yeah it was Judas Priest music that Judas Priest made
Eh, if this is their best album then the rest must be crap. Proper Nathan music. For one of the most influential metal albums it kinda misses
Nikki would be froffin this one ‘ey
Gotta be in a very particular mood. And not for very long.
The first chunk of this album is some pretty bland rock and roll. It's not really metal, imo. But the middle of the album turns things around. I still don't think I would label it as metal, personally. Hard rock for sure, but metal seems like a stretch. The album is very much a bell curve. The beginning and end are bad, boring, or both. There are some solid songs in there, but it's not a good album in total. Listen to the good songs and move on with your life. Favorite Song(s): Living After Midnight, The Rage
its ok i guess but i like it when metal kills me and this is not that
Not a fan of the genre but the reggae tinged song is fun.
It's alright. Very mighty chords, tremolo voice, epic drums. I'd listen to it when I play PnP or astral project my body into a 6'6 berserk with a war rage buff.
Very good, love classic rock.
An extremely tight and energetic album. That brand of classic hard rock is quite my jam, not gonna lie.
BREAKING THE LAW BREAKING THE LAW Best Song: Breaking the Law Rating: 7.0/10 3 Stars
I had never listened to this all the way through. Great for mornings.
Badass metal album. Not gratuitous, killer cover, and songs that make you wanna run through walls. Enough imagery to be edgy but not too campy (impossible to completely avoid that in the genre). This one is the perfect balance between mainstream-sensible songs (Breaking the Law and Living After Midnight) and harder songs to bring you in deeper. Drags on a little long, could have taken a nod from the punks on length. Definitely an amp-up keeper.
Fantastic!
Nada que decir. Mucho mejor de lo que esperaba. Grindr, y si. Nota: 3.8
Great album.
What a pleasant surprise. Definitely not a metal guy, but the melodies and songwriting are pretty incredible on this.
Wow, I haven't listened to this album since high school. Listening now years later, I can notice that this album contains the essential basis of all heavy metal from the 80s. Mainly Iron Maiden, in which I found several similarities. And now I'm a Manchester United fan.
Not really a fan
There’s something nice and comforting about British Metal from this era. Great album.
3.5
some headbangers and some buttwigglers
Honestly I think this is my second Judas Priest album here. They are just good rock. Not like crazy metal like I always thought.
Pretty good album. Not my jazz but I enjoyed the vocals
Not bad. I can't even name a Judas Priest song off the top of my head.
Pretty decent 80s power metal.
Old school British eavy metal. Rob Halford is a badass.
eh ok mas nao chega nem perto do screaming for vengeance. e nem united nem red white & blue deveriam existir, especialmente essa última (mas até que united não é tão horrível). resumindo: meu-pai-core (daria 2 estrelas e meio se pudesse)
This is a 2 but I'll give it an extra star for the Guitar Hero nostalgia of "Breaking the Law"
British steel: jerky metal with simple base lines and even simpler, very repetitive lyrics. Weak start then picks up with United, You Don’t Have to Be Old to be Wise (best song), and Living After Midnight - which combine for a worthy threefer. This and the album cover get Judas on the 1001 List. Red, White & Blue was a good finish, no need for Grinder - Live. L = (1.85s) J = (2.6s)
Some decent old school metal, checks all the boxes but gets a bit repetitive. Still a solid album, very good guitar work with sometimes cheesy (but authentic) lyrics thrown in. Middle of "Grinder" was good enough so don't need the live cut at the end. Better to finish on "Red, White & Blue" but overall a better listen than anticipated. 2.0 for being a little dated.
Some grungy metal. Not that great but credited as one of the foundations of the genre. I never really liked the hit "Breaking the Law" as much as so many do. It's fine but I think people like it more for the message. Over all I can't say the album was that enjoyable but I didn't suffer either. 1.65 stars.
Judas Priest puts in a pretty solid album that from start to finish. It's got some signature heavy bass/drum, good guitar work and distinct vocals from Rob Halford. While I understand that it is likely a grassroots heavy metal album it's hard for me to wrap my head around it. Due to how the genre has evolved and what it currently represents it's hard for me to lump it into the same place. It's clear I've previously overlooked some of the early pioneers like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, etc. because I don't consider metal to be one of my favorite genres. As we get through this list I'm realizing that what was once considered heavy metal or hard rock from the 70's is a lighter sound that is much more palatable than I expected. I'm hoping more early heavy metal shows up as I feel I may have unfairly overlooked some quality stuff. Solid marks for British Steel for me. 3.31 stars
Super fun, pure, simple rock.
no me encanta el heavy metal pero good
Absolute classic. This album has two of Judas Priest’s biggest hit songs and the other songs on the album are good but not great. They kinda feel like filler unfortunately. That’s what makes this album really hard to review, it has music that I grew up listening to and loving a lot, but the album as whole is not perfect. It gets alittle stagnant after “living after midnight” but honestly I’d still recommend it.
Honestly I misjudged this album. When I think Judas Priest I think deathcore kinda music but it’s wasn’t like that (for most of it). I loved United it gave We are the Champions vibes. Wouldn’t listen to it again but it wasn’t horrible listening to it this time. Oh and it gave Black Sabbath vibes which is never a bad thing AND it was recorded at Ringo’s house and we love Ringo.
British Steel- Judas Priest ||2/5⭐️ ༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚ judas judas judas…. priest. what can i say about you❤️ very forgettable. and perhaps it’s because i didn’t do my usual method of write and listen but i just felt like most of these songs were. meh. good background noise for bio class tho. and maybe i’m being harsh and unfair but tbh i am not the biggest metal fan. stand out song: breaking the law
⭐️⭐️— — — 2[.4] of 5 stars. It has some iconic tracks on it, but the rest of the album starts to feel rather same-y as you listen. Love the guitar on the first track, and on “Breaking The Law,” but nothing else really stood out for me. Favourites: Rapid Fire⭐️, Breaking The Law.
rating - 3/5. > tbh just classic 80s hard rock/dad rock. not much else to say. Not bad, just wouldnt listen again. Very ac/dc-ey like victor mentioned today lol…. Idk > thumbs up: breaking the law Sorry Mr. Priest we’ll get em next time (no we wont)
3- Stars (7/15)
I used to hate this genre but now its my favorite and I really liked this album
Too corny for my liking but generally well done. Needs more shredding.
Listened to this too early in the day to be able to appreciate it much but I did like “The Rage”
I recently re-started using the gym at my office, and was reminded of the phenomenon wherein, the music in a predominantly "macho" environment is never what I expect. The 2010s weight rooms were always playing pseudo country era T-Swift. The high school football team would be bumping Nelly Furtado's first album. And now the weight room at work is playing slow K-Pop or something equally sleepy. Why is this? Why is it not Judas Priest? This is not my cup of tea, but god damn I'd rather have Judas Priest than anymore bubblegum ballads.
Enjoyed this much more than I thought I would
As I am neither a Beevis nor a Butthead this is not my cup of tea.
This is absolutely fine. I'm just not into Judas Priest. And after having listened to British Steel? I'm still just not that into Judas Priest.
Classic metal. Love to hear the simpler structure and emphasis on vocals. Breaking the Law is an all time classic metal song.
Wasn’t great when released either.
Didn’t enjoy, didn’t even finish, sorry JP
Eh, it's fine. At least it's got "Living After Midnight"
The metal god... What else is there to say, this album has been praised by members of many legendary bands, that has to have a reason. Loved it!
Nicht so meins aber soweit ichs checke gut executed
Amazing
cool rock album
Cartoonishly simple music and overwrought lyrics. Most songs sound the same and the others are barroom anthems. Lead singer has pipes, but almost all lyrics are spoken rather than sung. Still, it’s better executed than i thought it would be.
Þetta er gamaldagsrokk sem ég fíla og get hlustað á oft og mörgum sinnum. Einhverra hluta vegna nær Judas Priest samt aldrei að brjótast út úr lögunum sínum (pun intended) þannig að ég þekki þá aðallega í gegnum Breaking the Law og Living After Midnight. Hin eru samt alveg fín líka. Þarf að gefa þeim meiri séns.
Enjoyed the energy, some of the later songs in the album like Rage and Red White Blue were really good.
Noped out of this one in the first track. Currently I'm bedridden with abdominal pain, so suffering through metal is a hard no.
Classic Metal. Very good album
badass. the name of the game with British Steel is mid-tempo, meaty riffs with some tremendous hooks delivered by Rob Halford, one of metal's greatest melodic vocalists. in general, I like my metal a little speedier than what Judas Priest offers here, but the performances are just so great I didn't really mind. you can tell they were aiming for radio play with this one, but the things that make them a great band are still very much intact. this is the only Priest album on the 1001, so I'll have to revisit their other classics (and late-career masterstrokes) on my own time. decent 7/10.
LP
This fucking rocks
I didn't know what to expect from this album. I'm not usually a fan of metal but I actually really enjoyed this.
Judas Priest, along with Black Sabbath, influenced pretty much every metal band for the rest of time. This isn't the one album from them I would choose though. Sure it has their biggest hit, but I think it's one of their weaker offerings, mostly due to how fucking bad the two song run of "United" and "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise" is. Some killer tunes are here but my god those 2 songs left a stain on the album. Rob Halford kicks fucking ass
Ehhh little too rocky.
Not my jam, but I see why a generation loved it.
7/10 Very enjoyable. Merging the sounds of metal and eventually 80s stadium rock to create a nice palatable product that also appeals to metal fans. This genre has its place and is a fun listen when in the mood but I don’t feel anything revolutionary is happening here. Very good at what it’s trying to be and definitely will take a song or two from this album into future playlists. Fav song: living after midnight
CLASSIC
Entertaining rockin’ 80s metal
I liked the opener (Rapid Fire) but after that it got a little too clean and a bit dull. It wasn't quite cheesy, but it headed that way sometimes (Living After Midnight). A bit of post-punk (The Rage) was nice to break things up. Iron Maiden did it better though
Classic metal Can't tell if nothing is really outstanding or if it was at the time and I'm just accustomed tho this kind of stuff Breaking the law is an earworm
I've never listened that much to Judas Priest. I was introduced to them by Beavis and Butthead. "Breaking the law! Breaking the law! Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh-huh." I always thought the vocals were cheesy and it just sounded too much like the 80's to me. I was right. The music is cheesy, and it is very much rooted in the 80's. But, that's okay. I'm a pretty big metal fan and it's easy to see the influence Judas Priest had on the genre. As soon as I heard the bridge of "Rapid Fire," the second track on the album, I thought I was listening to "Motorbreath" by Metallica even though their album "Kill 'Em All" didn't come out til 1983. 4 stars for being pioneers of a musical genre that I love and because "Breaking The Law" is a straight up classic.
No juju
Got a lot of respect for them as a band and for Rob Halford as a singer and individual but a lot of this is samey and I find the songs boring and dull for the most part. Some are ok though but to be honest I've overdone a lot of the songs in the past.
nope. not for me. I know this is like a proto-metallica. But man...I like metallica so much more than this...
Some banging classics.
Heavy metal isn't my preferred genre, but this album was enjoyable to listen to it. it wasn't the 'scream and distortion and nothing else' sort of style, it had a lot of really clever stuff going on throughout it while still being clearly within that heavy metal genre, particularly as it was in it's early stages of development.
I never really listen to priest in my youth. I know most of the singles and never loved them, but hot damn those deep cuts are great.. Great example of the NWOHM that influenced a lot of thrash bands in the 80’s Grinder is so good; love the heavy bridge breakdown. Least favourite is red white and blue. What a terrible way to end an album.
I loved every track on this record. It didn't disappoint. The guitar and drums were insane
I’m ok with a bit of hard rock but this went around two clear times and never remotely piqued my interest. Next.
Y'know, instead of spending half the review on prose like I did the last time I talked about a legend of British heavy metal, let's cut straight to the point: this album kicks serious ass. Front to back, it's 36 minutes of nonstop riffing and soloing, and it's **awesome**. As you can tell, I'm not particularly complex when it comes to what I want from metal albums. Heck, I'd probably even call myself a little simple, or even shallow. It's probably why I have so little trouble loving hair metal as much as I do. I mean, if a metal album makes me scrunch up my face like "Aw, hell yeah, that's **sick**," then it did its job right and **I'M A HAPPY GIRL**. And seriously, this album has all the right things going for it. Like my tastes in metal, they're not terribly complicated, but... Goodness. You take that twin guitar attack from K.K. and Glen... Those just awe-inspiring vocals from Halford... Not to mention, the **choruses** he gets to sing throughout — you might call 'em cheesy and commercial; I call 'em **AMAZING**... And you just lock it all down with Holland's rocksteady drumming... I've called Black Sabbath's "classical metal" for being the prometheus flame of metal, and honestly, I'm incredibly tempted to call this album the same for 80's metal. At the very least I'd call it traditional metal for how much it clearly inspired bands that came afterwards. I can hear so many of them in this album, from Maiden to Metallica... It's inspiring, honestly. (Seriously, though, "Rapid Fire" sounds so much like an Iron Maiden song it honestly kind of stuns me. You just so easily hear Bruce Dickinson singing it, goodness. Gawd, the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal — that's really the good shit right there.) No "duh" this album is a full 5 outta 5 for me. It's just so... Fwoof, man, I feel like I've run out of synonyms for "kickass." 'Cuz that's just what it is, without question, and that's all I have and need to say about it. Unless you're just **that snobbish** about metal — and I know some people can be **really** snobbish — I can't imagine not having a good time with this. And I really don't envy the random 60's singer-songwriter psychedelic folk album The Randomizer is gonna give my group after this, 'cuz, boy, ain't it gonna look like an absolute smoldering nothing next to this absolute face-melter. Seriously, jus' give us MASTER OF PUPPETS or Iron Maiden's debut already, I swear...
First with Motorhead, and now with Judas Priest, this just goes to show how absolutely kickass the New Wave of British Heavy Metal was. Solid 5 Stars.
I’m at a 10, and I think I’m learning that I’m actually really into metal. I’ve heard of Judas Priest – I sort of knew their place in the heavy metal canon, but I’ve never *heard* Judas Priest. We’re 10 years after Black Sabbath dropped their debut, so heavy metal was already well established by this point. This is also 6 albums deep into their own discography, so while I was expecting this to be really refined and really good, I still wasn’t really prepared for just how much this feels like *the* precursor to 1980s heavy metal, and specifically, the sound Metallica would refine even further. This feels a lot like a Metallica album, but with just enough of the late 70s present to keep it sort of unique. Didn’t stop me from comparing it to a lot of 90s bands, though. The album just kicks ass, dude. I don’t even want to be super flowery about it – from the opening riffs of the guitar, and the power in Rob Halford’s voice, the album immediately shoots out of a cannon and never looks back. Honestly, though, what struck me the most about the first track, and really set the tone for the rest of the album, is just how fucking good the percussion is. It’s deeply crucial to making each track work, and every single time a fill cuts through the power of the guitar and his vocals, it’s immediately striking & powerful. I could go on an aside about Dave Holland being convicted of sexual abuse in 2002, but that’s the sort of thing that doesn’t drag down the quality of the music, just my opinion on the asshole. I’m just kinda stunned, really – I thought of several bands & artists while listening to this: Metallica, Crush 40, AC/DC, Chicago, Boston, Men Without Hats (somehow), Capcom’s sound team (You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise is just Storm Eagle’s theme), the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Police, Phil Collins (the percussion on Steeler has that same effect from In The Air Tonight), and more. All of it is there, and it’s baked right into 36 minutes of some of the slickest heavy metal I’ve heard yet. It just fucking ruled, and I was encapsulated into every second. Eventually, some of the allure will wear off, and I’ll pick apart some of the more repetitive parts of the album, or how the lyricism isn’t as tight as it could be on some of the songs… but right now, I could fucking care less. It’s a kick-ass album, and it just clicked perfectly for me. Definitely worth a 10. Oh, oh, I do have one thing – I would’ve flipped “Steeler” & “The Rage”. “The Rage” is a way better closer; imagine if the ending of Steeler just kept going and transitioned. That shit would’ve been sick. That’s the only thing I got. Still a 10.
cover album smash it
Day385 - a treat to listen to. seeing them inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame was awesome
Some good songs and stuff and much more enjoyable (heavy?) metal than another certain album. Lowkey got bored tho I feel like the tracks just all blend into one. If it was 1980s I’d give it a 4 probably
Not a huge amount to say about this one, some pretty good tracks on here although did struggle to keep my attention all the way through though as lots of the songs seemed to blur into one. Fav song: Breaking the law
good power
I just think it sounds a bit 'wrong'?
Fuck ja. Heerlijk. Een beetje fout, maar vooral heerlijk. Dit is de shit die je wilt luisteren als je je vierde Guinness bestelt. (enkel jammer dat ik dit beluister op een maandagochtend) 3.5
Great album, including the infamous "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight". 7/10
muy buen album, me encantó, rock en su clara definición, tiene unos solos de guitarra que fua, hacen volar, se siente un poco repetitivo pero eso no quiere decir que sea malo, tocará escucharlo más veces
hell yeah man
Great album.
basically just black sabbath but with little to no vocal talent
This is a high 3 (perhaps 3 and half) for me. It wasn't boring, it came out the gate swinging, but it also didn't have that song that got you fired up.
An epic metal album by the God of metal himself, Rob Halford. :)
Sounds alright, but also sounds like every other metal album I've listened to Fav Songs: The first three
Classic heavy metal, head banging
Just a lot of clunkers - United, you don't have to be old to be wise, red white and blue etc Breaking the law is so much better than every other track it's notable. 3/5 for that alone otherwise would be lower
I'm metal-curious and this hits the spot
Not my bag
An influential album that sounds pretty tame to modern ears. A few bangers that have aged well.
non il top ascoltare sta roba appena sveglia
Yeah. Not for me. This is just so overdramatic
It'd be breaking the law to go any lower!
voila... meer moet dat niet zijn... stevige rockers, goeie vocals, goeie muzikanten, trip down memory lane ook natuurlijk
No. Not under any circumstances.
Judas Priest is my favorite metal band and I have listened to them for many years. They have defined the genre and Rob Halford is probably the vocalist with the widest range of the great metal bands. I highly recommend their earlier stuff as well. Always 5 stars!
First Judas Priest album I've ever listened to. Not too shabby.
Favorite Track: Grinder
Another band I should have gotten into, but never really did. At least it had two songs I know. The other songs are just as hard-rocking as "Breaking The Law" and "Living After Midnight". The song title "Grinder" seems to have a different connotation to it now, doesn't it? But seriously, this is definitely a b***s to the wall hard rocking album. I know it's supposed to be heavy metal, but it seems more rock when you compare it to the heavy metal that came out soon afterward. I think the only song I didn't really like was "Red White and Blue," and I did not hate it. It just was... okay. So I dug this album a lot, I would definitely listen to it again or other works of JP. It's probably at about a 4.25 for me, so 4 it is. Top tracks: "The Rage," "Living After Midnight," "Breaking The Law"
Oh, I enjoyed this album a lot. I've known about this album for awhile. My favorite band / artist, the Matthew Good Band, makes reference to it on their song Middle Class Gangsters. And I've known that Judas Priest were metal icons, but I hadn't listened to them outside of the radio. They are not as heavy as Iron Maiden or as dark as Sabbath but I think I understand their place in metal royalty. They are like the link from denser 70's metal to 80's party metal (think Quiet Riot). They still have a bit of fantasy or macabre in pulsing songs like Metal Gods (bang your head), Grinder (great tempo), and The Rage (weird but cool reggae thing but also big riffs) or frantic songs like Rapid Fire (high intensity opener) or Steeler (love the thrash). But they also crank out party anthem, stadium singalong songs like United (a little cheesy but so fun) and Living After Midnight (slick beat, so infectious). And there's still a bit of that stick-it-to-the-man attitude in songs like Breaking the Law (a big anthem itself) and even You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise (again, just fun). If you like your metal real heavy and dark, you probably think these guys watered it down. But if you like music in all shapes and sizes, I think you'll really like it. I loved it.
RAWK. Verges towards metal cheese (including the lyrics), but manages not to go too far over that edge. Great musicianship, Halford has pipes, and every track just rocks. Good stuff. Favorite tracks: Rapid Fire, Metal Gods, Living After Midnight.
Rating: 7.5/10 Overall very good, has some cringe songs but most of this is great.
Okay
Classic metal album. Rob Halford's voice is just commanding. I like Painkiller more but this is undeniably a great record for metal music.
I was surprised at how much I was jamming to this.
🤘🏼
Just not my thing, Generic 80s metal. Might have been groundbreaking at the time but not in the context of todays music.
It was ok, but not great. I found myself wanting to skip past the tracks which all sounded pretty similar after a while
I’m not a metal fan generally. But this wasn’t bad at all! No frills. Straightforward rock without the painful screaming, both vocally and on the guitar, that metal sometimes has.
Best Priest album.
It's never good if I can tell with a degree of confidence that an album is from the 80s. Breaking the Law and Rapid Fire are cool. Living After Midnight and United are awful. A bunch of this album sounded too much like AC/DC for me.
jahas ulos astuttiin ja vesusade ropiaa. katsokaas herrasväki päivämäärää. toki aurattu pikkulumi pois tieltä..heh..nyt turvallisemmat tiet kato ku aurattu heh. ja toki pieni tuulenvire 30metriä sekunnissa pikkupuuskat pikkutihkua työntää naamalle..raikastavaahaan se on.. hyvää joulua ja uutta vuotta herrasväki..kyllä suomi winter wonderland. taistelijat: kaikilla on oma syy miksi taistella, onko perhe..jumala..vai tämä kaumis maa joka meitä elättää..taistelijat..täytyy löytää syyy..(real speech) breaking the law
Not sure what I expected from this but it’s basically cheesy rock with some laughably silly lyrics.
Felt like a classic 80s rock metal album. Nothing I’d probably purposefully listen to again, but not a bad listen.
норм, но не зашло. лютый рок.
Weak
This is lowk sweet asf
It's a classic, I love old-school rock and roll.
Perfect for: • Car Chases • Crushing Beer Cans Over Forehead • Bowling Hype Videos • Revenge
Yawn
metal
I don’t know if metal will ever click for me but Judas Priest tried their best <3
Perfect music for Breaking the Law.
Ok ok we get it, you are breaking the law.
Пару песен интересных есть
A very well produced metal album, hard, rude, aggressive and cool. Well played too.
Hear me out— the beginning of United (hilariously) sounds like the beginning of The Stroke. I’m sure you can imagine how excited I was when this album was revealed. I am a huge heavy metal fan, you know. But I didn’t hate it. This feels more classic rock than metal. For the most part, take the performative raspy rock voice out and I liked the music for what it is. The Rage was a standout for me. I liked the evolution throughout the song.
🤘🏻😝🤘🏻 This is not my…jam. Lol get it? But I bet I could mow my lawn about twice as fast if I was listening to this.
3.5
Good listen
++: Breaking the Law, Rapid Fire, Metal Gods, United, Living After Midnight, You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise, The Rage, Steeler +: United 9,5/10
Fantastic. A bit poppy in places for Piest but killer tracks through and through. Well deserved breakthrough album for a wider audience. Highly recommended
I'm not a metal fan but this was surprisingly listenable. (But what's up with "United"? It doesn't seem to belong here.) This album doesn't reach an outright 3 in my books but I recognize that it's probably excellent for it's genre. 2.75/5
yeah. I'll give this a 5. I mean how else does heavy metal and leather meet? Plus the album wails.
God damn, I wish I could give this album a 5 just because METAL. But I can't in good conscience. While there is undeniable catchiness to the songs that gets you going, the lyrics seem like a very watered down rebellion (TM). There's just a general anger that seemed to try to cater to as many different people as possible instead of just focusing on bringing a message. But it is still headbanging good metal.
It straddles a fine line between camp and punk, serious and kitschy. The sound on the standout hits is more dry than some of the others which feature nice uses of modulation. Consider this a low 4.
Really good heavy metal. Maybe it just got assigned when that's what I was in the mood for, but had fun with the album
i saw a review that was like the songs sound the same after a while and like thats so real omg hard asf cover though united is also good, in terms of chorus, it plays with the expectations you build of the musicality of the album breaking the law is a bop of course you know i don't understand non-album listeners, albums are so much fun to listen to all at once,, why would you put your music on shuffle living after midnight is kinda meh like basic, only thing that makes it notable is its hook "loaded, loaded" i much prefer the rage
Album 616 of 1001 Judas Priest - British Steel (1980) Rating : 4 / 5 Metal isn't a go-to for me but I really like this album. Great overall sound. Awesome vocals, guitar riffs and even some melodies thrown in there. This is one band that I have came to enjoy more over the past year or so. Probably a favorite metal album.
One of the 🐐s
Never listened to Judas Priest before especially not when this album came out. To be fair it’s not as bad as I expected.
Never heard the album before. Good solid rock/metal album with solid guitar riffs and vocals.
Metal is so much better when it’s fucking stupid. It’s the dumbest genre, and Judas Priest knows that. Which makes this way better than a lot of other metal albums. Also Rob Halford seems like a nice guy. But the albums also doesn’t reach the absolutely stupid heights the later ones do when they almost become a parody of themselves. Look at the album cover for Defender of the Faith. It’s amazing. But uh. 3.5 I guess
British Steel was almost shockingly melodic, I came in not know what to expect. Outside of Metallica, metal typically falls very flat for me. But this album, while not overly complex is dynamic and way ahead of its time. Could even be called revolutionary. 6.9/10
Svinbra rakt igenom. Den utgåvan som finns på Spotify har två extra spår som ABSOLUT inte behövs.
enjoyed it!
I guess they hadn’t really figured out metal vocals yet. The instrumentals are cool though. Favorite Song: Breaking the Law Least Favorite Song: The Rage
Good
Cool, would rather listen to paranoid though. "United" and "Red, White and Blue" are bad and boring.
8/10 Went in skeptical and came out with a new perspective Favourite Song=Red,White and Blue Least Favourite Song=Metal Gods
Waste of time and waste of space on this list.
Starts decent enough but like most metal from this era I simply find it interminably boring.
🤘
Okay i guess
Þetta fannst mér skemmtilegt. Óperumetall. Þetta er einfalt og gott stöff. Gítarglamrið ekki óþarflega krúsídúllulegt, flottur bassi og solid trommuleikur. Söngurinn er ekki allra en ég fíla þetta. Sami stíll og Iron Maiden. Breaking the law er all time classic metall.
Breaking the law er gott en restin var ekki að gera mikið fyrir mig. Er svo lélegur metalhaus.
It was nice.
The Iron Maiden and ACDC 1980 albums were both better, but this is still good Metal
This is #day98 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... let's break the law, shall we? When I first dove into heavy metal, British Steel (along with Sad Wings of Destiny, I believe) became one of those albums I kept on hand as a Priest classic. While I don't revisit it often, if ever, it's still undeniable how the album set the blueprint for '80s heavy metal. Tracks like "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight" are metal staples, the rhythm section is tight, the riffs are contagious, the drums are crisp... The record rocks hard (or, rather, heavy). I also appreciate Rob Halford's outspoken support for Ukraine against russian aggression. This is a 3 out of 5, though, as I'm not sure I'd be playing this in full soon. Looking forward to #day99.
I didn’t really know these guys when I was younger but this was easily the best 80’s metal so far
Uh huh huh. Hey Beavis. Judas Priest rocks!
Breaking the Law is a great anthem to play when committing minor crimes, like going out for a second walk during the Covid lockdowns Can’t say I loved any particular song, but everything was consistent and the album as whole came together nicely; good drums, decent riffs, nothing overstayed it’s welcome, can’t complain.
Pretty forgettable but fine. Simpsons: Yes
Was looking forward to this one. Haven't listened to Judas Priest before really, but keep seeing them headlining rock festivals in Spain. They seem to be really popular here. I enjoyed the album, nothing massively stood out but it was a solid album and I'll check out more Judas Priest.
I loved playing this loud while in my van at work; just wish it didn’t end so soon. Definitely gonna check out more from these guys!
Didn't like the flag shagging but that wasn't in the original release so I'm going to ignore it. They're like shit, but in a good, fun way.
This was interesting. I know Judas Priest as the "Painkiller" band from Rock Band, pretty much exclusively. I didn't know Living After Midnight or Breaking The Law were their songs! I had assumed Judas Priest was closer to Slayer than anything else, so this album was a solid surprise. Pretty good music overall, although to be honest I do like the more hardcore sound of Painkiller compared to this album.
No creí que me gustaría tanto un disco de este tipo
Två klassiska låtar ger två i betyg.
Breaking the Law… You know that JP sound.