British Steel

Fun heavy metal album that is a classic.

Pretty standard early-80s metal/hair band sound. Not bad overall as an album, but not a lot to make it stand out from the crowd for me.

I had a student last year who re-introduced me to Judas Priest. They always seemed a bit campy with their black leather and studs but listened with their perspective changed my mind. Coming off the acid rock era following the sludgy (but beloved) sounds of Black Sabbath and Rainbow, JP figured out a way of polishing this Metal and make it shine. It was fast, clean tone, precise in its execution. The interplay between Glenn Tipton and KK Downing on guitar was tight. Then throw in the masculine vocals of Rob Halford brought it all together. Living after Midnight and Breaking the Law (which I always hear Beavis &Butthead singing as “Walking the Dog”) are classics but I think my new favorite song on this album is Steeler. This album may not their best, but it’s a revolutionary jump in the speed metal world!

Breakin the law! Breakin the law! I listened to this and nothing really caught me outside of Breakin' the Law. I know they are metal gods and I think the lead singer is gay. I guess I'll revisit this when I get into my metal phase. Julian is working on me but still has aways to go.

Those two huge hits aside, this kind of dipped too far into generic arena rock territory in the second half. Big ass album, but I prefer Painkiller musically. Both deserve to be on here though. I'll have "Breaking the Law" stuck in my head for the next three days.

I'm a Judas Priest fan but I tend to overlook this album a bit because "it's the one for casual fans". That's a stupid mentality that I've mostly eliminated over the years. This album is quite terrific feom beginning to end. Yeah, I've heard the big singles to death, but they're awesome songs just the same. The only shortcoming this album has is that Rob never unleashes his falsetto ala Painkiller. I can overlook that. This album is great and an easy 5 stars Just wanted to say that these guys are STILL putting out great albums. Their last 2 have no business being as good as they are coming from a band this long in the game. I guess that's what separates the true masters from the rest.

great rock album. fave track: the rage

British hard rock that ain't for me

It's a fun album with some good tracks which is influential for it's time

Mostly walks the line between cheesy and fun expertly, with only a few exceptions (United I’m looking at you).

Seminal.

British Steel is the sixth studio album by Judas Priest, originally released in 1980. It's hard to look back on the history of Metal without mentioning Judas Priest. I'm not a big fan of them but I sure respect what they did for the genre. I was expecting it to be more hair metal-ish but man this was pretty heavy. Especially for 1980. Sure, it maybe hasn't aged as well as, say, Metallica, but there's no Metallica without Priest. It's corny but fun.

This wasn't bad. I can see the musicality and talent for the genre. Not my particular jam though. Higher than a 2 but not quite a 3 star.

The Metal Gods were with them on this one! Saw them live at Manchester Apollo possibly on the tour for this album. Fab concert, every rock cliche to the MAX!!

A couple decent tracks, but mostly meh

Classic ultimate rock album. Always a goodie. Solid 4 just because there are others I enjoy more.

A true classic! One of the all-time greatest albums!

Breaking the law was my favorite. Generally like this one

Not my thing - though Breaking the Law was good.

One of my all time favorite albums and the one that was my introduction to Priest. I love the simple but hooky guitar riffs and soaring vocals. Every track on here is great.

Nej men det här var inte mitt album. Breaking The Law och You Dont Have to Be Old to Be Wise kan inte lyfta det här hårdrockande mer än till en 3a. Det är något med det här jagade soundet som är ganska enerverande och jobbigt.

För erkänna att jag typ aldrig lyssnat på JP. Men jag fastande omedelbart. Sköna trummor och riff. Gillar tempot och drivet. Stabilt.

Mycket pojkrumsnostalgi på denna då jag tror det var den första metal-skivan jag köpte själv efter att ha lyssnat på farsans Black Sabbath-skivor. Var 25 år sen jag lyssnade senast men tycker fortfarande det är riktigt bra.

Not my kind of music but it wasn’t bad.

This album is so much fun - it's melodic and energetic. Rob Halford's voice is wonderful. Knowing he's a black-leather-trendsetting queer icon makes it even more enjoyable. Breaking the law breaking the law!

Great metal. Beats and guitar are on point, lyrics discernable and overall enjoyable

Never thought I’d really appreciate metal but this is not bad

Not as heavy as I was expecting, more 'light and shade'.

Liked it more than expected! Some of the singaglong anthems seemed a little cheesy but I didn’t feel bored like some of the other listens so far.

this has been my first real surprise I never really gave this 'type of music' any thought, and to me, JP was Breaking the Law, their Behind the Music episode maybe, and Rob being a talking head on VH1 in the mid-00s But I thought this was awesome! I was delighted idk hell yeah Judas Priest

I understand that it’s the birth of thrash metal, but I felt that perhaps AC/DC, or Motörhead, or even Van Halen did it better, or at least thrashier, as contemporaries. It’s good but I found the pace of some of the songs a bit…sleepy. I’ll up-vote it a star for history. Maybe that’ll appease the Rock Gods. Probably not.

It's heavy. It's metal

This was fine. I still don’t like metal and I’ve made my peace with that.

Not my vibe but fun enough I guess. I find a lot of this type of early 80s heavy metal to be tedious, but I didn't mind it too much. Break the Law was fun but my god .... United and Red, White & Blue is bad. Not for me

bland, even breaking the law

Vocals! 3.8.

This brought me back to high school. Personal Enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 3/5

classic metal, uplifting message for the punks

I can see things to like, if you like this kind of thing. Band is tight, and the drummer has it down, and there are some good hard rock influences running through. But every heavy metal album is another reminder of how dumb, samey, adolescent amd portentous the genre is. Count me out.

So again we're saddled with a mediocre album from a niche band. I JP aren't necessarily niche but hair metal/Glam rock aren't for everyone. I prefer Doom over thrash so this didn't hit well with me. Real problem though is that fans of this band don't even have this record top 5 in the discography. Ham fisted beats and boring riffs.

iron maiden + acdc + a bit of Dio = this forgettable mix

Rad metal album

Metally

I’ve never been a huge Priest fan, sticking mainly with the mainstream hits. However, I really enjoyed the second half of British Steel, as it held up more than I expected.

Thrash metal doesn’t do anything for me. It’s the sort of music that’d be played in an action film - specifically a montage of the characters ‘tooling up’ for the big fight. Of course, it’s fun, especially the (surprisingly short) well-known Breaking the Law. But past that - it’s not... any good. I can perhaps appreciate the instrumentation somewhat, but other than this, it’s just run-of-the-mill metal.

absolutely insane production job for a niche genre in 1980...a level of clarity and expressiveness that would work well for just about any music played with a traditional guitar band setup. lots of room to appreciate the band's work here, which is vibrant and subtly diverse in terms of influence thruout...they can soar, they can chug, sometimes the rhythm section even has a little funk in it. releasing the same year as iron maiden's debut, its rly striking as The Shape Of Metal To Come, but also a short and sweet record of oiled-up rock music on its own...rly wanna fill in all my vast knowledge blanks of judas priests' evolution eventually!

Of the heavy metal I've listen too, this maybe some of the best overall. I still don't love it, but it's better than the rest.

its ok, like 2.44444444

Nothing special here. This list does seem to have a bias toward 80's rock.

Llegó el viernes. Ayer casualmente estuve viendo una entrevista a Claudio O'Connor, cantante de Hermética (banda fundamental en el heavy metal argentino) y citó a Judas Priest como una de sus influencias. Nunca escuché un disco completo de ellos y hoy toca. Sonido clásico, seguro. Proto-Iron Maiden y previo a todo lo que vino después. Imposible destacar una canción: todo el álbum una joyita, que después de tantos años demuestra que el Metal sigue siendo una salida que nos revitaliza.

not interested in this at all

Honestly not the worst thing I’ve ever heard but didn’t feel like finishing it.

Listened to the 1st 3 songs then moved on to the Clash. Not my thing

A Surprisingly Fun Album I Will (probably) Not Listen To Again

A bit dated Ynn

Living After Midnight Rapid Fire Red, White, and Blue

Was really looking forward to this one. But found it didn’t seem to age well.

Nice rock album :-)

Judas Priest really is seen as a founding metal band and has influenced many bands, from Iron Maiden to Anthrax. This is a solid album, however, I've never really cared for Rob Halford's voice. It's more subjective than anything. The band plays hard and tough, and the lineup here were at their peak in terms of delivering tough riffs with a couple of the best known songs in Living After Midnight and Breaking the Law. They'd go on to take this sound even further and perfect it on Screaming for Vengeance.

Közepesen unalmas tatarock.

transition from rapid fire to metal gods pounded me like a battering ram

I love 'Breaking the Law' and, from what I've heard, I love Judas Priest! But this earlier release in their discography is steeped in some of the more irritating hard-rock sounds of the time that I'm not so much a fan of. It's also missing those iconic Rob Halford theatric yelps and vocals that make the JP records iconic—I mean, they're still there, just to a lesser degree. 'The Rage' has hints of those incredible Rob Halford vocal cries and chops I love so much from JP's later albums - including a kickass solo to send the track off, it might be my favorite song on here. 'Steeler' follows suit and is equally as effective with its closing blazing guitar passages. 'Red White and Blue' is a unique change-up, though I'm not entirely sure how to feel about it upon first listen. Not the best crop of Judas Priest songs I've heard, but then again it's an earlier release in their discog.

I wouldn't call myself a metal fan. I really like this album.

A good album, with some punchy songs. I am missing a bit of variation between the songs. 3/5

It’s hard to take them seriously when every other song feels like it was written by some kid playing D&D in his moms basement. The instrumentation on this album really shreds but overall it lacks variety.

This one was punchy, heavy, and a fun listening experience

Great metal record I wasn't very familiar with. Solid sings and easy to listen to.

Awww yeah. I've never listened to this album before. Or really any Priest aside from "Breakin' the Law" which is silly but I get that it was an anthem of rebellion at the time. Although I'm guessing the band also probably thought it was silly. I would've recorded a silly "rebellion" tune and played it with a straight face at that age too because that's a great bit. Aaaaand... meh. It's kinda what I expected. Pre-Metallica, mid-tempo metal. The production is pretty bad. I'm guessing they were working with a limited budget and not everybody can afford to record with Mutt Lange in the Bahamas but like could the recording engineers have maybe not cut all the low frequencies out of the record? Later albums would see the band embrace the evolving styles of contemporary metal of the day and have access to much, much better production. Britisih Steel seems more like a curio, a peek at a genre that was still finding itself and a record that nobody would've cared about just a few years later. But they did it early enough that it helped define the decade to come.

I love the theatrics of this band, especially coming from singer Rob Halford. What a fun time it was to listen to this! Some obvious hits, but the entire album is a celebration of metal <3

decent. red white and blue was a bit wanky

Most of Judas Priest's biggest hits seems to be packed on this record, which is quite a feat. I still felt a bit let down though, the songs didn't punch as hard as I remembered. And though it might be an unfair and unnecessary comparison, I kind of feel like Rob Halford is just a bit of a less good singer than Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden. Getting 3 strong stars from me, but could definitely deserve more if this is your cup of tea.

I love me some Judas Priest and some Heavy metal! Was stoked coming into this album, the album art alone makes want to listen to it. Was a bit disappointed after listening to it though. While the singles are great, the rest you can kind of leave. I also truly believe that Judas Priest really hit their stride with "Screaming for Vengence". "Living after midnight" just sounds a bit flat in comparison (Breaking the Law still is one of their best songs though). Strong 3 stars! Listen to the singles and other Judas Priest albums!

4/5 Great metal album. Some weak choruses and inconsistency in the tracklist stop it going higher. Rapid Fire 2.5/5 (LEAST FAV) Metal Gods 4.5/5 Breaking the Law 5/5 Grinder 5/5 United 2.5/5 You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise 4.5/5 Living After Midnight 3.5/5 The Rage 5/5 (FAV) Steeler 3.5/5

Wasn’t expecting to like this much. I was wrong.

I thought it was going to be horrendous. And it was 'meh'. That's a compliment, even though it's trying hard not to be.

I would actually call it Rock/Hard-rock, but apparently it's metal. Not a bad album.

Hard rockin’! Leather jackets! Patches! Cigarettes! Long hair! Heavy metal!

I’m not a heavy metal fan. But ok.

Pretty good, love some good rock.

Twas pretty good! I definitely preferred the more fast-paced "thrashy" tracks such as Rapid Fire and Steeler, but I also enjoyed Grinder. I'd probably listen to this album again.

Great rock album. Starting feeling a little repetitive/samey after a while but I still enjoyed it.

There are some elements I like. But hair band music repels me and this is far too close for my liking

It’s was alright Fav songs: rapid fire, breaking the law, grinder, the rage

Das ist wahrlich ein Meilenstein und Meisterwerk in der Heavy Rock Geschichte: gradlinig, melodisch, durchdachte Arrangements mit Überraschungen auf höchstem Niveau.

Meh...2/5

Brittibändin heavy-metal -klassikko vuodelta 1980.

4 rips hard

Classic british heavy metal.

Groupe connu, essentiellement par le morceau 'Breaking the Law', mais je n'avais pas accroché dans les années 80. Iron Maiden avait sorti plusieurs morceaux (et albums) qu j'avais trouvé bien plus intéressants à l'époque. C'est la première fois que j'écoute un album complet. Il commence bien avec Rapid Fire (++) très dynamique. Mais le rythme diminue dès le second morceau. Le riff de Breaking the Law (+) est plutôt pas mal, et on retrouve n peu de dynamisme avec le dernier morceau Steeler (+), mais aucun autre morceau n'a retenu mon attention. =>2/5

One song I love on here

Heard one, heard ‘em all

'United' was my favourite track. Quite enjoyable, once I got into it.

It was interesting to hear such a foundational metal album. I'm not really a metal fan though.

Sometimes you have to let your inner Bevis take over and just enjoy stuff that is dumb as hell but indisputably rocks hard as hell. These are pretty basic essential thrills: big distorted riffs played at a medium-high tempo with some guitar heroics, a machine of a drummer, and an incredible vocal performance that really pushes into the high end extremely forcefully. The more time passes the more the distinction between metal and classic rock fades away and the idea that this is an especially hard, loud, or aggressive sound or a distinct genre seems kind of absurd.

Enjoyed this a lot - I've never listened to much Priest but have a lot of respect for Rob Halford. I was a big Iron Maiden fan as a teenager, and this is very adjacent to some of their best work

I quite enjoyed this on my 2nd listen. It has an extremely random composition called Red, White & Blue. 3.5

Not the biggest fan of JP, but nevertheless a fuckin banger

The stadium pop rock tracks pulled it down for me.

Liked that, played it while training, not bad at all.

This is a nostalgia trip from my days as a longhaired NWOBHM fanatic. I was more keen on Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, but I was slightly familiar with JP. Back then I only listened to the singles, and listening to this as a whole make me realize how good it is! The playing is brilliant, Halford is a true Heavy Metal God, and they have more variety in this album than most metal bands in their career. The glorious anthem of United, the groove of The Rage, and the majestic light-prog of Red, White and Blue. And that is excluding the bangers Living After Midnight and Breakin' the Law. Didn't think this would get 5 stars, but here we are.

Disliked very much. Guy's voice is intolerable.

Hell yeah. Too bad about the perversions though...

Horrible!! Could be worse

Not for me

Judas Priest indeed.

Hair metal. Was okay, if that's what you're going for. Very standard.

Compared to what metal would become (even a few years later) this album is pretty tame. I consider it more hard rock than metal. There are some good songs, and there are some stinkers. 3.5 (rounding up because of how influential this album is)

Classic heavy metal. I was 7 years old. My dad didn’t have this one, but our cousins did. I thought they were so cool!

A lot more fun than I expected and didn't realize some of these songs were by this band...

This album is full of bangers that I found enjoyable.

Probably the first really great Priest album. Bangers all the way through. There is a reason it comes up on greatest metal album lists all the time.

Classic British heavy metal. Simple really.

Discazo. Puro poder metalero. Me deja prendidísimo para escuchar más de los Judas.

Metal Gods Breaking the Law Living After Midnight

This didn't do it for me in the same way that, say, Black Sabbath did. I found it a little plodding.

I went into this only knowing (and despising) the track “Breaking the Law”. Most of the album confirmed my assumption that Judas Priest was a pretty generic metal band, even for the late 70s early 80s. Their slower tracks felt like AC/DC stadium rock but without the heart (with the rock ballad “Red, White, and Blue” being downright bad). The two faster tracks “Rapid Fire” and “Steeler” were the only two tracks that felt better than okay, and even those felt like boring versions of Iron Maiden songs. Oh and I still hate “Breaking the Law”.

Didn't expect to like this album. Great pick me up on a Tuesday afternoon.

Sounds stereotypical… probably because they defined the heavy metal sound. Wasn’t convinced at first but it grew on me 3.6

Great album loved it. 8/10

Man, I just realized that all these new bands are just ripping off Judas Priest...

I thought it would go harder. Breaking the Law was iconic, but the rest wasn’t my favorite.

4 му давам само защото на 2 от песните съм си откачал главата, като тийнейджър иначе е за 3

I warmed up to this more after a second listen. It's still not a 4 or 5 for me but I at least wouldn't mind listening to again.

🎧solid heavy metal. Highlights: Breaking the Law and Living After Midnight

No me interesan y no me han atrapado

I know they’re hugely influential on the metal scene blah blah blah but I didn’t enjoy this album. It felt so over produced but maybe that’s their point…

This may have been influential on thrash metal bands, but I wish it hadn't been. Not a genre I care for, and I didn't like this album. I'll give it a point for the sleeve design and a point for influence.

The lyrics to grinder retrospectively make it sound like they're looking for dick. The other songs are pretty decent but not really our genre.

Must be the first album by Judas Priest that I ever have listened to straight through without other music in the mix. Old school Judas for sure, and I still am unsure how big of a fan I truly am. I appreciate them in the music history and they earned that place. For me, Judas Priest has some really really really good songs, and some others that I care nothing for. In an album like this, some songs really do fall in the back as just noise when my mind wander elsewhere. As a result, I believe Judas works best in mix settings to not get uninspiring where everything sounds the same.

LAM bom

This is the most Beavis and Butthead record ever.

Breaking the Law 3.2 Rapid Fire 3 Metal Gods 3.1 Grinder 3.3 United 2.8 Living After Midnight 3 You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise 3.4 The Rage 3.5 Steeler 2.8 Score: 3.122222222

Hell yeah

Although this is a heavy metal band, according to the Spotify 'About the Artist' section, I hear the punk rock elements that I can appreciate. The distorted guitar and riffs are pretty good. Despite this however I could not really get into any of the tracks. I am convinced this is more about me as a listener than it is about the band.

Beyond amazing!!!

7/10 I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. some tracks were flavorless but I felt the beat on more than a few. 7-15-2024

Cheesy.

First day of the 80’s and it sounds like it. There’s a little bit of AC/DC sound in there too.

I have never actually listened to this album, it's really good. Not just the hit songs but most of the songs really rock. Excellent guitar and vocals. Great beats, I think the lyrics are good but I wasn't paying super close attention. Definitely going to listen to this one again.

Not my thing, but wasn't terrible.

Another band I've heard plenty about but never actually sat down and listened to. This is fun and chunky in the way that good metal often is; I wasn't surprised when I read that Judas Priest had been touring with AC/DC and adjusted their sound accordingly for this record. It does get a bit samey as it continues, a pitfall of its genre, but I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected and am now actually interested in Judas Priest. I hope Rob Halford is having a great day. Highlights: Metal Gods, Breaking the Law, Living After Midnight, The Rage

I might’ve been happy in the 80s

Classic British metal with some classic tunes

An absolute classic slice of British metal - I was always more of a maiden fan but you can see their influences are the same.

I thought I hated metal, but I enjoyed this.

The music is still damned good. Some of the lyrics are preposterous. Still fun.

this is just a fun album, and no two ways about it. the combination of - to the 2025 sensibility - innocence and sincerity is almost quaint, especially when you consider that this would've been aggressive and heavy in its time, where for the most part, now it just sounds like sorta cheesy rock. i love it

legal, mas as músicas desceram que nem água: sem gosto. generiquinho do metal.

Pretty good, probably the first album of theirs that I’ve listened all the way

When I tell people I like metal I feel like it is misconstrued due to the variety within the genre. Stuff like this, Sabbath, Dio, and Maiden is what I mean. Fair play to all the heavier and more intense things that have followed, but this is the level I vibe with the most.

Big. Just really, really big!

More listenable than I expected but also more goofy

Not for me

I wasn't too optimistic about this one, I prefer more of a Lemmy type growl to the the clean singing and high pitched tones you get from a vocalist like Rob Halford. But I have to admit, this album won me over. Living After Midnight is far from the high point of the album, though it is as renowned as Breaking the Law.

This is exactly the type of stuff I like listening to - but for some reason it just wasn't clicking for me Wasn't bad at all, just couldn't get into it 3 ⭐️

In my younger self I listened to some metal, now, not so much. If I had to endure a Heavy Metal band and album, Judas Priest's, British Steel is a solid bet. They continue to be the gold standard of what metal should sound like and British Steel delivers the goods, if this is what you're into. I tolerated it, guilty pleasured it briefly, but I'm fine to move on. It's good to bang your head once in a while! Right?

Felt like a short album, but in a good way, not to much or to little. Enjoyed it alot, great sound and all. Last song was a live performance but a strong last song.

Troede ikke jeg kunne lide JP, men det her er faktisk helt ok - Breaking the law er en klassisker! United kan også noget. Ellers ikke de helt store numre, men højt bundniveau og det skal anerkendes 3/5

Breaking the law. 4* A live version of a song -1* Ill be nice for once 1* I could have lived without hearing the album, but alot of good songs, so not gonna penalize that today. Result: 4*

Turn up the tempo, let's go! Classic trash metal at its roots. It almost feels like this album is a sort of precursor to what would later become power metal. Very bombastic sound that . And some of the tracks are almost anthemic like 'United''. The lyrics are quite silly at times, but they are delivered exactly how they needed to be for exactly this moment in time and to inspire all the future albums. 'Red White & Blue' feels out of place on the album Standouts: Breaking The Law Living After Midnight "Broke The Law"/5 (4/5)

I never realized that I like Judas Priest before, but this was a great album. It definitely helped set a template for heavy metal going forward. Hearing about Rob Halford's struggles with his identity and alcohol during this period definitely made it more interesting, but let's not dismiss the solid performances here.

Your good, ol' British 80s metal. Can't go wrong with it.

Incredibly annoying. Very dated

I set my expectations a little too high. It grew on me, and definitely has some bright spots, but it doesn't quite have the bite or weirdness I enjoy from early metal/hard rock. At least a possible invite to dig deeper into their catalog.

6/10 Yup, this style of route-one 80s-ish metal is the area of the genre I like. Totally competent and listenable album. Nothing clever: chugging riffs, metal singing style at the non-annoying end, and some genuinely good melodies “Breaking the Law” makes me think of Beavis & Butthead Best: Rapid Fire

I have the 1980 US release with Breaking the Law as the first track, but honestly prefer the wider release with Rapid Fire starting things off. This is a top 3 album by a top 2 artist for me personally, so yeah, I was a little excited. There's so much power and commitment in the songs and no slacking. Rapid Fire is the metal song, and Metal Gods and United are the metal anthems. Living After Midnight has gotten stale from me just in seeing them live but I can still recognize that it's a party song. You Don't Have to be Old to be Wise? Heck, that's just something to keep in mind. Also to keep in mind, JUDAS PRIEST FUCKING RULES.

Favorite album by one of my favorite metal gods. This is a perfect album, not a single bad track. Halford at his pinnacle!

80s dad rock

Normalito. Es completamente dsitinto a todo lo que escucho pero no se me hzio pesado en ningun momento.

This album ripped! Almost listened to it a second time as it played again right after and it was even more enjoyable. Only familiar with the singles but the deeper cuts were just as strong if not stronger. Will definitely revisit in the future.

3.5

I love Rob Halford's voice and know the band's major hits, but I had never listened to a full Judas Priest album before this. This is my kind of metal — hard hitting but still melodic. It's metal, so while there's variation in the songs, they definitely blend together a bit. But the pace is pretty relentless and moves quickly. What I like about this kind of metal is that even though the sound is heavy and some of the themes can be dark, it still has an upbeat feeling to it. It makes you want to move or drive fast, and because Halford is such an insane vocalist, belt along with him. Halford was/is a huge fan of Freddy Mercury, and there are definitely similarities to some of Queen's harder songs. There are times where the lyrics get a bit cheesy. And the weirdly patriotic songs "United" and "Red, White and Blue" are odd and a little cringe. Not a huge fan of those. But the album is overall really good, and it's hard to overstate how influential Judas Priest was (and is) to metal. 4/5 (probably a 4.5) - really good but not perfect

It's not terrible I guess - I just don't like it. Probably cooler in the 80s

This record was a ton of fun to listen to, but it never felt great enough to wow me. There were a lot of tracks I liked and I loved the overall sound that they captured here. It feels powerful and influential. Favorites were Metal God, Breaking the Law, and Steeler

Some slappers but some songs that were just corny as hell from a modern perspective. I can definitely see how it was influential. From looking at the Wikipedia page I learned that Red, White, and Blue was not on the original track list and so I will ignore it. Thank god, that song is not good. Favorites were Breaking The Law, Grinder, and Steeler.

Solid riffs, several super popular songs that are still good despite overplay.

Good

Grinder

Classic Heavy Metal album.

It is a classic from the band that made leather lads metal.

Like a lot of metal bands that seem to take themselves very seriously and whose image seemed to be based on acting like tough guys and writing songs about scary things and being intimidating, and who like to make Christianity seem scary (which, I mean, it can be), I never quite took Judas Priest seriously. So all of that being said, I was ready to not take this album seriously. But that’s the thing I’ve learned about metal - you aren’t really supposed to take it super seriously. Sure if there’s a message, hear it. Understand it. But sometimes things can just be fun or expressive and not be so self important. There was some good stuff here. It all kind of hits the same note with very little variety (that’s my main criticism of metal in general), but for that it is, it’s a good time. The album cover is badass, too. I was a little suspicious of this album’s selection for this project because it contains one of their most recognizable hits in “Breaking the Law.” Whenever this happens, I just kind of assume an album made the list/book because of that one song. I can safely say that I don’t think that was the case here. Obviously some very talented musicians who just love to play some hard, loud metal and have a good time doing it. Not at all my favorite album but solid nonetheless. Three stars. Standout Tracks: Rapid Fire, Metal Gods, Breaking the Law, Steeler

Thoughts before listening: Judas Priest is a big deal in the metal world, but it I've never paid much attention other than their hits. I think this will be my first time listening to one of their albums all the way through. I'm sure I'll enjoy it. Review: Its always interesting to me how tame early metal sounds when compared to more modern bands. This is basically just faster paced rock n roll that bares little resemblance to the death metal and hardcore music of today. This is a good thing to my ears. Judas Priest songs have great riffs with catchy melodies, fast tempos, and a lead singer in Rob Halford that helped define a certain style of metal singer with his voice that can go from menacing to high pitched screech sometimes in the same song. This album contains a couple certified classics in "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight", as well as some deeper cuts I'm enjoying like "Rapid Fire", "Grinder", and "Steeler". Overall this is a very fun album that I'm glad that I had an excuse to listen to. 4-stars

It’s was fine. Music was pretty fun though his voice was the worst part for me.

This mostly sounds, to a non-metal fan, like decent metal songs sung by a man attempting to sing while smoking a cigarette and being strangled. It does have Living After Midnight and Breaking the Law. If you think I have to like another Judad Priest song, then You've Got Another Thing Coming.

Never listened to Judas Priest before and it was better than I expected. Kind of corny but fun and they did a decent job of bending the hard rock/heavy metal style. Living After Midnight was my fave.

Fine metal but not as good as the Iron Maiden albums on the list.

Not at all what I wanted to hear today but I can’t fault Judas Priest for that. What I can fault them for however is how freaking corny this sounds today. Maybe it didnt at the time so it was cool, but it’s not timeless like The Rolling Stones or Black Sabbath to me.

One of the great albums from JP. unleashed in the east is IMO the pinnacle but in fairness this album isn't far off it.

Yo he escuchado Judas Priest antes pero esperaba algo mejor... Painkiller es una canción que es muy thrashera, pesada y con uno de los solos de bateria más icónicos y reconocibles del mundo y en este proyecto no me sentí de esa forma con ninguna canción. Sentí que escuchaba un disco de Bon Jovi. I felt disappointed. It's a good record, but i was expecting way more. 5/10

Not my cup of tea.

Not my musical style, but it’s a worthwhile listen.

enjoyed every song on the album

Ahhh I'm not a huge metal guy. I guess these guys were Pioneers of some sort. Rob Halford can sure scream though.

good metal. Old school. didn't need the LIVE redo

1. meh/bra, 2. bra/banger, 3. bra, 4. banger, 5. meh, 6. meh, 7. meh, 8. banger, 9. bra, 10. lame Overall: 7

Battle Toads soundtrack. Favourite track: Breaking the Law.

Better than expected

I don’t like metal but it’s good

Even as a slightly gormless and tragic teenager when getting into comic-book metal bands like Iron Maiden, and even thinking Def Leppard was rock music I though Judas Priest were just silly and cringeworthy. You will not be surprised to hear that in the intervening 30 plus years this situation has not improved. Who listens to this bollocks? I don't care how well played it is. It sounds silly. It is silly. Even the most credible sounding tracks on here are just copying Motorhead except the singer, instead of gargling gravel, apparently got his knacks caught in a pasta press.

Me parece una buena banda, y un buen disco, a pesar de ser metal. Musicalmente es lo más parecido a AC/DC que escuché y la voz es agradable.

Ordentlicher Heavy Metal.

Well all right! Thank you album club for kicking off my morning.

I enjoyed this one ok.

I enjoyed this one pretty well, doesn't have the super iconic tracks like some of the later metal albums it inspired, but I can see where those were influenced by this one.

I'll admit to having heard of Judas Priest, and indeed this album, but I can't claim to have known anything at all about it. Turns out to be heavy metal, and pretty bloody good heavy metal at that. I don't know enough to talk authoritatively on the subject, but I'd speculate that it was a directional change away from the rock-derived heavy metal of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zep and set itself on a path towards the more mentally metal sounds. I enjoyed it.

This was a fun listen. Cheesy, yes...but still pretty rockin' and didn't overstay its welcome.

I've heard a lot about these guys, but never really listened to them. They seem like legends in the metal scene. It says on Wikipedia that Metallica was likely influenced by this album which checks out. Lot of great shredding all over this thing. The vocals are a little too over-dramatic for my taste, but I can't help but respect them. Rob Halford sang his heart out. Overall, this rocks.

Not a huge fan. Breaking the law is a good track, kind of a reason it was a one hit wonder.

Okay, um I’m not sure what the deal is with this album? Like the good songs are really good and the rest is not. Fav Songs: Breaking the Law, Living After Midnight, and The Rage.

Judas Priest has never been my style, but I respect them. They clearly shared and have a great time doing it. Probably not an album I’ll get back into a ton, but always glad to have a Judas Priest album come across my desk

peak feelgoodsiness

Never really listened to a Judas Priest album in its whole before. Enjoyable. I love how this metal band has the most wholesome and moral songs on its album... we stand united... you don't have to be old to be wise... lovely.

Fun.

hell yeah gonna draw the anarchy a on my notebook and flip off the teacher could i write poetry to this? y

The hits from this album are true classics, no doubt about it. However, Judas Priest always seemed to me to be kinda...fake. Not necessarily posers, but there is definitely an element of cosplay in what they do. Nice guys pretending to be mean, violent, and angry dudes. Heck, "Red, White, and Blue" sounds like they are protesting the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" with a soaring, patriotic anthem. Four stars. Originally a three-star album, with a half-star for the Beavis and Butthead thing. Another half-star is added for Pride Month, which (as with the Madonna album) will be revoked in July.

Every song is a banger. This is one of the greatest metal albums of all time.

I think Painkiller is actually Priest's best album (and I also might prefer Screaming for Vengeance and Stained Class, but I reserve the right to revise that opinion), but this album is still not only one of their best but one of the greatest Metal albums of all time.

usual music preference towards metal, classical, electronic, and rap. 6. Judas Priest - British Steel: I've heard Painkiller plenty of times but this is my first listen to British Steel. Love the solos, nice driving rhythm. 7/10.

Sick sounds, don’t know if this has much replay value though

Sparse yet striking riffs Support shout along anthems And wicked solos

Started out a bit ho-hum, but Breaking the Law got my attention and everything after that was able to hold it. I think I would have loved them in concert.

Listening in 2024 it sounds cliched and hack, but in the context of when this was released, it is a superb metal album. The solos are the highlight for me

Before I started the 1001 Album project, I thought that heavy metal was all about hyper masculinity, dark symbolism and just loud in-your-face aggression. But now I understand that all of that is just a way of compensating for some of the cheesiest music you can imagine.

This album wasn't good. It felt really cheesy and overly dramatic. I didn't hate it enough to give it a "1", but it was a close call.

Pretty rocking overall. Enjoying this. I was expecting more hair-band theatrics. This is more groove-based. I will revisit this, liked it a lot

One of the best heavy metal albums with industrial sound ever!

This surprised me, I anticipated just another 80s rock album but it was actually pretty entertaining throughout.

Definitely not for me.

Good album, some of the songs seem like they would be better if they were live, or if I could play them on a louder speaker.

Judas Priest já é uma banda conhecida, tendo isto em conta julgo que este não seja dos álbuns mais fortes deles. De um ponto de vista pessoal julgo o Painkiller ser o melhor álbum destes senhores britânicos, tendo outros álbuns que também considero melhores como o Sad Wings of Destiny e o Screaming for Vengeance. Mas falando mais concretamente deste álbum, é um álbum mais pacato e até melodico em músicas como o United. O álbum ouve-se bem as guitarras são um mimo e a abertura do baixo no The Rage é espetacular. Mas o grande problema do álbum são as músicas não serem tão marcantes, não me conseguirei certamente lembrar do grinder, mesmo sendo uma boa canção. Contudo, poré, todavia quando alguma música é memorável, ela é e não é pouco. Impossivel ficar indiferente ao clássico Breaking the Law e ao menos épico mas bastante bom Living After Midnight. O próprio Metal Gods é uma música famosa que deu a alcunha a banda mas não sei se esta nas 20 melhores músicas deles. Em suma, um álbum agradável, não muito pesado, tendo em conta a epoca, com algumas músicas muitos memoráveis. Destaco o The Rage por não conhecer, mas a melhor música todos sabemos qual é, You Don't Know What It's Like. Nota 7/10 29/05/2024

Hair metal genesis. This band thrashes and rocks on this record. Never been a big Judas fan, but I can appreciate what they did for music. This record is what I thought it would be, and that’s okay. No other strong emotions about this one.

Background classic metal which to background music to. 5/10

Not a big priest guy, but this is fun.

I'm more of a Screaming for Vengeance fan but British Steel is damn good.

Awesome old school metal. Classic

This is enjoyable. Don't know if it's legendary.

Classic metal foundations. Not my personal preference, but Hanford can sing. Definitely deserves a spot on this list, but not one I’m likely to listen to much again.

Not a bad song on this album. Punk influence engaged.

I am giving this a 4. For this music genre, I could understand the words and the songs were not negative. Vocalist is good with solid guitar and drums.

The guitar is very solid and it is very well built and structured throughout

I really enjoyed this which I was not expecting. They can play really well and don’t just rely on playing some boring riff or progression over and over again for an entire song. The lyrics were interesting and solid. It sounded a lot like Metallica which was cool with me cause I like Metallica. I think the fact I had just had to endure another Public Image album before this one made this sound even better.

normally I'm not a fan of early 80's metal. maybe it's because we've had 2 other absolutely wretched albums to listen to, so this one was a (comparatively) huge improvement. it's not my normal sound, but since they had lyrics, and could play instruments it was fine. it's the stereotype 80's metal sound but what would you expect from them

This is a fun album. I love hearing how British metal evolves from the late 70s to early 80s. It's upbeat, heavy, melodic. I enjoyed it from start to finish and listened twice.

Classic rock album. Not bad for 1 listen

Judas Priest, another band just made for the MTV era when they played videos! Shoot, I can still see the videos for Breaking The Law and Living After Midnight in my head. Can't say I was ever a big fan of Priest, but I cam imagine their concerts were pretty entertaining. Shout out to Curt from High School who always seemed too have Priest on when he was working on his car. Me, Jim and Brian would hang out in his garage, smoke pot, watch him work on his car and most times there would be Priest cranking in the background. This album is pretty good from beginning to end. Again, not my cup of tea, but this was an enjoyable listen. Favorites included the opening tunes of Rapid Fire and Metal Gods. Also enjoyed Grinder. For those who are a fan of the early Motley Crue era, tell me you don't hear Knock em Dead Kid, from the Shout at the Devil album, in Grinder. Hear it? A quick side note, Album title is British Steel and Them Dirty Roses just released a new song called Birmingham Steel. Just though I'd throw that out there. Another album I can say I probably won't revisit, but enjoyed for the memories it stirred up. Hell, I think every time I do something not quite legal, I'm humming in my head, breaking the law, breaking the law. A good, fun listen. Good memories. Musically a 3 to 3.5, add the memories of early high school and Ill go with a 4 here. 4

4 The third 80s rock album we’ve had in the past week, and I was somewhat expecting this to be in the same vein, but holy cow, does Judas Priest blow Aerosmith and Def Leppard out of the water. I’ve never claimed to be the biggest fan of the group, but I was rocking my ass off here, to the point that I couldn’t point to a single unenjoyable moment if I tried. I was even prepared to give some shit to Living After Midnight, the most radio-friendly and overplayed track of the bunch, but I still ended up really enjoying it as I was listening - like it or not, you have to admit it fits really well within the context of this album. However, the highlight of this album far and away is the trio of Rapid Fire, Metal Gods, and Breaking the Law - what a hell of a way to open an album. Now, there IS one pretty corny track to be found here in Red, White & Blue, but thankfully, it’s not a part of the official release, and so I don’t have to factor it in my review. Patriotic or not, these guys are from the UK… what are they on about? A short but sweet blast of loud, high-speed rock - what more could you want out of an album? If you’re someone looking to write and perform heavy metal, the blueprint is right here. I actually had my review for this album finished and still chose to give it another listen at the gym - I mean, there wasn’t any way I was allowing Duke Ellington to be a gym listen and not Judas Priest. Also, a few days early, but what a good way to kick off pride month, with a rock icon we probably should have picked up as gay wayyy earlier (no disrespect meant, Rob Halford is a badass - fuck anyone who stopped listening because of it).

Surprised to check the listens and see it's so popular. Though it could make sense as it seems quite accessible for metal, didn't impress me too much in terms of originality/uniqueness compared to other metal albums.

Pillar of the genre. Clean, heavy studio work. Good song craft. No real filler. One iconic classic in Breaking the Law. Rock the Hell on!🤘

I can't... I can put this kind of music at the same level of rap expression...

Classic album from the Metal Gods !

Not my style. All the songs sound the same.

Not for me 2/5

Classic head banger metal album. You can hear all the hard rock bands this album has inspired

Cool/cheesy 80s metal. Think I should just give in and listen to this all the time.

I know and love Grinder and Breaking the Law, but otherwise the vocals are a bit too cheesy for me. The Rage had a great 80s bassline though.

Four-stars seems generous, but it is better than 3

United is fun.

I've listened to Breaking the Law before, but hadn't listened to really anything else by Judas Priest. It was ok, but nothing that I'd actively seek out again.

This was more enjoyable than I expected, not usually my type of music but it wasn’t as heavy as I’d thought it would be. Will probably revisit in the future.

Not bad, but got fairly boring in the second half of the album. I wouldn't turn it off, but I wouldn't pick it out and put it on either.

New listen for me. Okay

Thought it would be worse, lol.

Classic metal album. Loved it!

Yep, I still bang my head to this one.

I wouldn't listen again, but I wasn't unhappy listening to it.

It's Priest. You know what you're getting when you sign up. Dual-guitar riffage, three or four different tempos of metal, lyrics you can scream along with. (I mean, how did people pretend that Rob Halford *wasn't* gay with a song like "Grinder.") Straight up and straightforward. If you're a metalhead, this is a touchstone. If you're not -- at least there's "Living After Midnight." Unexpected banger -- Steeler.

Mildly entertaining.

I mean its a rock album. Nothing crazy imo

solid overall.

Good fun, wouldn't listen to a whole album by choice.

You can really hear the super-lame hair metal like Poison or Motley Crue lurking just around the corner from this super-lame whatever-the-fuck-kind-of-shitty-metal-this-is. I know some idiots think they are discerning music fans who just hate, for example, country music, but really they are just prejudiced and haven’t heard good country music and hopefully a list like this could broaden their horizons and educate them a bit. But the thing about metal is that there is no good metal. It is all shit. There are no metal albums that anyone needs to hear because the genre as a whole is completely without value unless you are a 15 year old boy or a moron. I am neither of those, so I have no interest in ever hearing any metal albums of whatever type. They are all absolute garbage.

Such a meat and potatoes rock album lol. I kinda wanted it to be more metal but I think the corny 80s rock works in the right moments. The guitar solos are indulgent and sloppy and fun. Some of the tunes do sound very dated, and the perfect kinda stuff for my ready unsalted playlist, but there is certain kind of fun to it too. Best Track: United Worst Track: Red, White & Blue

DNF - Sorry not for me

Couple of songs that I knew but never will I be a heavy metal fan.

Did not expect to like this. Was more musical and listenable than expected

You certainly can hear where 80s-era metal went after this album.

No thanks.

I expected this to be worse than it was. I know the band but it was just never my jam. Turns out to be not too bad.

No

Not bad, got a bit repetitive though

Good rock noise. Loved hearing Breaking the Law but as ever, the rest didn’t do much for me

I was never one of those people, a fan of Judas Priest. Having said that, I thought I'd give this a try over 40 years later with fresh ears. One thing I'll say is that lead guitarist absolutely SHREDS! His leads are consistently impressive (assuming it's one guy). Living After Midnight still holds up as a solid (pop) rock song, solid from the very first beat. Steeler is definitely a head banger! I think 3-stars is well deserved from someone who couldn't stand this band. You can tell that this album is well produced. From a sonic perspective, it still holds up. Having said all of this, I'm still not a fan!

A bit overhyped.

I've always been meh about Judas Priest. Ill hear the songs and rock out but never search them out. Are there die hard Judas priest fans or just fans that go to Judas Priest concerts? I think if they came to town I'd say "Hey look Judas Priest is playing" then go about my day. It's basically how I approached this album. I have no real feelings.

Very solid metal album. Dave Holland is fantastic on the drums. Tracks like “Living After Midnight” and “Grinder” are timeless, but others, like “Rapid Fire” and “The Rage,” are a more forgettable.

It's kind of edgy but also some of the lyrics are pretty stupid. Guitar is pretty fire though. Although it's good, Black Sabbath is way better.

Still good but not as good as I remember.

Very good. The tracks that are going to stay in public memory (living after midnight) really exemplify what classic metal is. However, there are a couple of filler tracks that weigh down an otherwise perfect album (red white and blue)

To me it was fine. Fun to break the law, but everything else didn’t really grab my attention. No hate to JP, though, it was still good.

Venga, un 4. Así soy de generosa, aunque no sea mi estilo.

What a great classic heavy metal album. Classic sleeve, classic tune. Now it gets 5 stars without the bonus songs. I loved the production and the songs. Great album

3.8 - I really enjoyed this, nice foray into heavy metal. Didn't find it too bad, maybe it's gonna be a lovely journey

Not my bag - I don't think its horrible, but I also don't really find anything redeeming in this. 2.3/5

Breaking the law is like an old friend you've lost touch with over the years. You make plans to meet up again. You're unsure how it's going to go and the very first rift you start lifting like you use to. Your friendship is just as fun as you remember it and you promise to meet again, but for real this time.

Heavy Metal…it has its moment(s) for me as does this album…but I’m not going to add it to my playlists any time soon. Much respect to Halford.

Not my kind of thing but I enjoy the guitar solos and driving drums.

Of it's time, clearly influential but now very dated. Sounds like iron maiden, which is a bad thing. 2*

Una verga

I’m not big on Metal as in I never really got very into it but sometimes it really just hits and I really enjoy some of it. This for me is a great record of the genre. The band noted that their producer helped them cutaway all the fluff and this really elevates the album for me (many albums I rated poorly and prior to this made this more apparent). I was familiar with the hits like Breaking the Law but never listened to less popular tracks. Some songs had patriotic vibes that I did not like. Halford’s voice really gives it a recognizable signature.

A great big steel plate of rock. A very appropriately titled album and a lot of fun. Rating: 4/5 Playlist track: Rapid Fire Date listened: 22/04/24