This is probably Priest's smartest album. Throughout the 1970's they were transforming from a denim-clad rock band into a leather-clad metal band. British Steel officially completes that transformation, the last progressive inclinations removed with the departure of Les "Beyond the Realms of Death" Binks.
Notice I say smartest and not best album. I'm inclined to reserve judgement as to which album should receive those hallowed accolades. British Steel pulls no punches. It's a taut mixture of huge hits, patriotism of the kind usually only heard in country music on this side of the ocean, and the foundations of a new style of metal that would ultimately scrub out of the older NWOBHM sound that Judas Priest grew up with. They also timed the transition perfectly, jumping off one musical trend right at the top and catching the next phase of metal progression at the ground floor.
The road to this album was quite unlikely. They were hardly unique in the early 1970's, when Black Sabbath was causing an entirely new scene to rise. Unlike their peers though they were not poached by the larger band, refusing to serve as the farm system for the big leaguers like Atomic Rooster, Deep Purple, Rainbow, and Uriah Heep (Black Sabbath themselves arrived a bit late to this particular shopping spree). In fact, they were among these bands by this time, lifting drummer Dave Holland from Trapeze shortly before cutting this album.
I've pretty much filled in the gaps in my early Judas Priest collection, with only first album Rocka Rolla still missing in action. In good time I'll continue to forge my way through the 1980's albums, which pack a lot more power, but lack the adventure of their early material.
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