‘Grinder’, ‘Metal Gods’, ‘Living After Midnight’’, ‘Breaking The Law’: all staples of the Judas Priest live set for more than a generation. All from the same album! Hands up, all those who were already born when British Steel was initially released. Fewer still were actually listening to metal at the time, the music about to undergo its most prolific spell, coming on the mainstream listeners’ erosion of short-lived flings with disco and new wave.

Unlike many contemporary albums-played-in-their-entirety offerings, JP give fans the original configuration, plus a DVD of last year’s tour (Seminole, FL stop at the Hard Rock Casino), where they began the show with a run through "British Steel", then added a couple of indispensible oldies. A pair of "bonuses" (the umpteenth live version of ‘Grinder’ and ‘Red, White & Blue’, an outtake from the "Turbo" sessions?) now augment the studio effort. So aside from this historic piece of metaldom, there’s a new (’09) interview with the four originals, all seated together in a living (after midnight) room. Soft spoken and articulate (no "F-ing A, dude!" verbosity), they share a few laughs, discussing the band’s creation, longevity and the album at hand (interspersed with footage from ’09 show and clips from the campy, pre-MTV videos). The four progress chronologically through the track listing. Similar to the one witnessed in person, the concert (indoors, while most of the dates were in amphitheatres) begins with the album material and tacks on a few classics (16 songs all told). Lasers, and at the beginning, a variety of cinematic techniques (black and white vs. color, overlays, split screens), break the "you-are-there" voyeurism.

The twelve page booklet lifts four pages of montage images off the DVD and contains a two page overview from English writer Dave Shack. A special three disc version is available via the band’s website (where a second audio disc captures the entire concert, minus ‘Prophecy’. Sorry Jim Nostradamus Bartek). If you don’t already own a digital copy of "British Steel", they’ve made it very difficult NOT to pick one up and for those that do, there might just be enough new stuff (especially on the tri-disc option) to make you get this one too.

Reviewed By: Jack Mangan
Rating: 9/ 10

It's classic Judas Priest. I should end the review right there, 'nuff said. The 30th Anniversary British Steel edition CD + DVD is a fitting celebration of the highly-influential album that helped Judas Priest and British Metal to rise and conquer the 80s. The world knows "British Steel" for the Classic Rock/Metal/Beavis and Butthead staples ‘Breaking the Law’ and ‘Living After Midnight’, but anyone who's heard the album knows how solid it is, straight through from ‘Rapid Fire’ to ‘Steeler’. Sure the material is a little bit dated, but it's aged well - - a little bit like cheese, or better yet, like fine leather. The remastering is a nice volume boost that doesn't subtract grit and notes and analog truth in favor of loudness, so all of the songs sound as crisp and alive as ever. The guitar riffs and core melodies are simplistic by today's metal standards, but they still work. If anything, they've grown more accessible, for a wider audience. The instruments still cut with that trademark Downing/Tipton double-edge. Halford's lyrics were at their defiant, tongue-in-cheek best on "British Steel". His vocals began to set the Metal standard here, and would continue to get even better as his career progressed.

This edition also contains a DVD with an excellent making-of documentary interview, plus concert footage of their 2009 "British Steel" tour. I was fortunate enough to see a show from that tour, where they played the album in its entirety. Without a doubt, the best song of the night (and the concert portion of the DVD) was/is ‘Steeler’. Scott Travis's double-bass drum attack really enlivens and invigorates the song. Don't miss it.

"British Steel" is actually not my personal favorite Judas Priest album ("Defenders of the Faith"), but its place in history is uncontested and undeniable. This is classic metal greatness that influenced everyone who followed. There can be no denying that when the pop metal bands of the late 80s tried to sound legit, they went back and emulated Priest's "British Steel"-era sound, along with AC/DC and Zeppelin. If you already own a copy of the album its worth re-buying for the DVD, and enjoy an important slice of Metal history.