Judas Priest, "British Steel"

CJ puts the pedal to the metal

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Jan 12, 2022

CJ’s Pitch:

Nobody wanted to be called heavy metal. It was the music world’s dirty word, its scarlet letter. Despite the fact that there were millions of metal fans across the world, emerging bands would take great pains to distance themselves from the heavy metal moniker. You could call them hard rock or, if they were feeling charitable, heavy rock. But don’t tag us as metal, they all said. We don’t truck with that kind.

As a young metal fan in the early ‘80s, it made me sad. I bought all the records, read all the magazines and hung giant posters in my room. I had an emotional attachment to the music. It was brash and empowering and there was a community aspect to it all. An Us vs. Them mentality. Any time you spotted another metal head you would flash him the devil horns in the same way Jeep Wrangler drivers acknowledge each other with that casual two-fingered wave.

So, with all that going for it, what was wrong with being called heavy metal?

“Absolutely nothing!” declared Judas Priest with their 1980 category-defining album British Steel.

Rising from the slag heaps of Birmingham, England around the same time as genre progenitors Black Sabbath, Judas Priest embraced the heavy metal label and celebrated it.

“Do you like soaring, histrionic vocals?” they asked. Say hello to Rob Halford, whose voice and fashion choices became the model for future metal front men.

“Do you favor crunchy power chords and bombastic solos?” they wondered aloud. Enter K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, because why settle for one lead guitarist when you can have two?

“How about a rhythm section that keeps the whole operation from going off the rails?” they prodded. Here’s Ian Hill and Dave Holland to keep the train a’ rollin’.

(Side Note: Priest has gone through a Spinal Tap-ian number of drummers. Although, to the best of my knowledge, none of them has exploded or choked on someone else’s vomit. Though it is funny to note that Rob Reiner used Priest as a model for David St. Hubbins et al.)

British Steel wastes no time in seizing the metal mantle. “Rapid Fire” opens at 100mph and picks up speed from there, hammering you with a relentless guitar attack underneath spitfire lyrics from Halford.

“Metal Gods” is a dystopian treatise about robots taking over, but it also became the band’s de facto anthem. Priest had become the Metal Gods, kings of the metal universe.

There’s not much more I can say to hype “Breaking the Law”. It belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of heavy metal songs along with “Paranoid”, “Run to the Hills” and “Crazy Train”. “Breaking the Law” was the first video I ever played for my son, who was five at the time. My wife was worried that the clip would be too violent for him and I was, like, “The members of the band are robbing a bank with electric guitars instead of machine guns. I think he’ll come through it okay.”

“Grinder” and “United” are classic Priest song constructions. One is a metaphor for how the ruling class treats people like meat. The other is a concert staple that codifies the “Metal against The World” ethos I mentioned earlier.

“You Don’t Have to be Old” is a teen affirmation that you are, indeed, smarter than your parents. (Note to 15-year-old CJ: You are not.) “Living After Midnight” is the other song you probably know from the album and it’s the closest thing to a dance track that Priest ever did.

The funky intro to “Rage” belies the frustration with the world that runs through the song. And “Steeler” is, of course, about Pittsburgh football legend “Mean” Joe Greene. (Kidding). “Steeler” is a warning to watch out for the sweet-talking frauds who want to bring you down.

One final note on Judas Priest and their importance beyond enshrinement in the Newbury St. Collection. In 1998, nearly two decades after British Steel was released, Rob Halford came out publicly as a gay man. He was terrified of what the response would be and the backlash he and the band might have to endure.

Instead, the metal world shrugged its collective denim-clad shoulders and said:

“Yeah, so what? Doesn’t change anything for us.”

This man had stood up for us year after year, album after album. We weren’t about to abandon him when he was at his most vulnerable.

Made me even prouder to be a metal head.

Ken’s Response:

I was watching a little Saturday morning television this weekend, specifically the long-running Massachusetts institution known as The Phantom Gourmet. It’s a great show reviewing New England’s best restaurants, and it’s always fun to go find the spots they’ve covered and taste for yourself. But while I’ll drive anywhere for a top-notch lobster roll or some authentic poutine, they periodically cover one ingredient that I just don’t understand. Truffles.

Mitch wrote an essay years ago about truffles so I’ll tread gently so as not to plagiarize his “work”, but he and I have agreed on this forever…truffles are disgusting! Having said that, I totally know that ours is an unpopular opinion, and that people with far more sophisticated palates than mine eat those filthy little things every chance they get. It’s a phenomenon I can’t understand and most likely never will.

Enter Judas Priest. Aw fuck it, bring on the whole genre of heavy metal. I don’t get it. It’s basic, it’s raw, the lyrics seem ridiculously stupid, the outfits are insane, and yet there are millions of people out there that are wildly entertained by it. Music is entertainment and it doesn’t need to be important, profound, heartfelt, or anything else. It just needs to be entertaining. Unfortunately, I have a predisposition to hating heavy metal for lacking everything I just said it doesn’t need to have.

I give up! Heavy metal is just not for me but my lack of “getting it” shouldn’t be the test of whether or not something gets to the Newbury St Collection. So welcome to the collection British Steel.

Pitch Successful (you don’t have to be old to be wise)

Mitch’s Response:

As America’s youngest (and most oblivious) Village People superfan, Little Mitchy found two metal bands absolutely terrifying: Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.

At least Iron Maiden had the good sense to make their skeleton mascot Eddie kind of cute, in a creepy way. It was fun to see him in different scenarios: now he’s on a pyramid! Now he’s in space! Now he’s Jo in Little Women! It certainly took the fear factor down to quite manageable KISS-levels.

But Judas Priest was legitimately scary, with way too much leather and studs and chains. It was like a whole band of bikers, with no policemen, construction workers, Native Americans, cowboys, or soldiers to be found. I hated everything about them: their name, their image, and most especially, their music.

Okay, maybe I didn’t really hate all of their music. “Living After Midnight” was a killer tune. “Breaking the Law” was pretty good, too. “United” was catchy hair metal without the Mutt Lange magic. “Grinder” had those crunchy guitars. “Metal Gods” was hilarious. And they could always play. Two solid guitarists and an unbelievable singer. But I just couldn’t handle the uber-macho image of the band. It totally turned me off.

The irony, of course, is that Rob Halford’s look was directly inspired by Glenn Hughes of the Village People. So if you’re following along at home, I loved an overtly gay band while having no idea that they were gay, but at the same time was terrified of a secretly gay frontman who took his look from the very same gay band I loved. All of which is to say…

Pitch Successful (I always liked Fire Island)

CJ’s pitch was successful and Judas Priest’s British Steel has been added to the Newbury St. Collection. No word on Frankie Lee, though.

You’ve got another thing coming - namely, the comments section. Do you agree with us giving the metal gods one shot at glory, or should Judas Priest be left out in the cold? Stop by and let us know.

Exile on Newbury St.

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