Sea Of Tranquility



The Web Source for Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal & Jazz-Fusion
  Search   in       
Main Menu




Judas Priest: British Steel- 30th Anniversary Special Edition 2CD + DVD Set (remaster)

It is heard to believe that it has already been 30 years since the groundbreaking release of Judas Priest's classic record, British Steel. And fittingly, Columbia Records is celebrating this monumental album with a 30th Anniversary "Special Edition" package featuring a 3 Disc set; the remastered CD of the original 9-song album plus 2 bonus tracks, a DVD of 16-song set from the 2009 British Steel tour, filmed live at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena, Hollywood, Florida on August 17, 2009, plus the "Making of British Steel" documentary and a 15 song Live CD set from the 2009 British Steel tour, also recorded live at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena, Hollywood, Florida. 2010 has shaped up to be the year of the Priest and the celebration of a landmark Heavy Metal record!

The remastered British Steel sounds even better than you remember with the opening staccato riff of "Rapid Fire" never sounding so awesome. This has long been a favorite of mine and it still sounds as good as it did 30 years ago. The entire remastered British Steel record sounds refreshed and sonically on point and for those who didn't pick up the original 2001 remastered version of the disc, here is your chance once again, and it still comes complete with the bonus tracks of "Grinder" live from 1984 and the unreleased "Red, White & Blue" written during the time of the Turbo recording sessions.

Recorded live at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, Florida, and captured on DVD and CD, Priest storms through the entire British Steel album and sound simply killer. The drums get a much needed kick in the ass by the amazing Scott Travis and breaths a new dimension to the already iconic record. Rob Halford displays an excellent vocal performance as do guitar heroes Tipton & Downing. Another video highlight is seeing bass player, Ian Hill, step into the spotlight for the cool bass intro of "The Rage". A song long ago retired and recently revived into the live set. Both the CD and DVD feature more than just British Steel in its entirety. Priest classic's like "The Ripper", "Hell Patrol", "Victim of Changes" and "Freewheel Burning" are included on both releases, with the song "Prophecy" being included on the DVD version. The packaging of this British Steel CD/DVD set is also one that will make Priest fans happy. The CD cover features the familiar razor blade art work of the original record, but now with that razor blade drawing a stream of blood from its blade. Much more Metal for 2010 and a nice touch to a much revered album cover. Packaged in a Digipak, gatefold, 3 CD package, it is as stunning to look at as it is to watch and hear the DVD and CD's contained within.

The CD and DVD's sound were once again handled by longtime producer, Tom Allom, who was responsible for the stereo and 5.1 SurroundSound mixes of both live recordings. They both look and sound excellent with The Priest turning in a great show for the sold out crowd in Florida.

These new releases of British Steel are pretty much essential for any Priest fan. Being able to witness the modern Priest tear through all of British Steel both on CD and DVD is just simply cool. What a great idea to tour playing a classic record in its entirety, an idea that more and more bands are now doing to celebrate their classic albums and why not?! These new releases come in a couple of different packages, as well. You can pick up the original remastered "British Steel" on CD with 2 bonus tracks and the live DVD or the remastered CD with 2 bonus tracks, live DVD and an additional live CD of the same show all in a package, as well. This is all a nice way to celebrate the Heavy Metal legends that are Judas Priest and their classic, break through record, British Steel. Long Live The Priest!


BRITISH STEEL 30TH Anniversary Special Edition
Disc One: CD - BRITISH STEEL
1. Rapid Fire
2. Metal Gods
3. Breaking The Law
4. Grinder
5. United
6. You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise
7. Living After Midnight
8. The Rage
9. Steeler
Bonus tracks:
10. Red, White & Blue
11. Grinder (live version)


Disc Two: DVD - THE BRITISH STEEL 2009 TOUR (Filmed live at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena, Hollywood, Florida, August 17, 2009)
1. Rapid Fire
2. Metal Gods
3. Breaking The Law
4. Grinder
5. United
6. You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise
7. Living After Midnight
8. The Rage
9. Steeler
10. The Ripper
11. Prophecy
12. Hell Patrol
13. Victim Of Changes
14. Freewheel Burning
15. Diamonds And Rust
16. You've Got Another Thing Coming
"Making Of British Steel" documentary


Disc Three: CD - THE BRITISH STEEL 2009 TOUR (Recorded live at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena, Hollywood, Florida, August 17, 2009)
1. Rapid Fire
2. Metal Gods
3. Breaking The Law
4. Grinder
5. United
6. You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise
7. Living After Midnight
8. The Rage
9. Steeler
10. The Ripper
11. Hell Patrol
12. Victim Of Changes
13. Freewheel Burning
14. Diamonds And Rust
15. You've Got Another Thing Coming

Added: May 25th 2010
Reviewer: Butch Jones
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 4113
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend Send to a Friend ]

  

[ Back to the Reviews Index | Post Comment ]

» SoT Staff Roundtable Reviews:

Judas Priest: British Steel- 30th Anniversary Special Edition 2CD + DVD Set (remaster)
Posted by Pete Pardo, SoT Staff Writer on 2010-05-25 19:39:47
My Score:

It's a shame that for myself personally, I've lumped British Steel into the 'overrated' and 'played out' pile for so many years. Most of that is due to the fact that I'll probably never need to hear "Livin' After Midnight" and "Breaking the Law" again, two of the most overplayed metal anthems of all time that wore out their welcome with me years ago.

That being said, British Steel is without a doubt one of the most important and influential heavy metal albums of all time. This was an album that, in 1980, proved that heavy metal could be, well, 'heavy', and still sell tons of albums and get played on the radio. But it's not all about those two 'hits', no, not by a long shot. "Rapid Fire", "Metal Gods", "Grinder", "The Rage", "Steeler", and "United" are all memorable numbers that mix commercial sounds with raging metal mania. Rob Halford was probably near the peak of his powers here, and the twin guitar mastery of Glenn Tipton & KK Downing was in fine form. There's a slickness here that was not evident on their earlier albums (and let's be frank, Stained Class, Hell Bent for Leather, Sin After Sin, and Sad Wings of Destiny are darker, and arguably better records), but it paved the way for many heavy metal acts to finally break through to the mainstream.

Though I'm not a fan of changing the cover of British Steel for this 30th Anniversary reissue (no matter how cool it actually looks), this is a pretty impressive package. The booklet contains a host of great live photos, though sadly all from the recent tours and nothing vintage at all. Overall this seems more like a reminder of the recent tour the band did in celebration of British Steel than an actual look back at 1980 and the time period when the album was originally released.

Speaking of the recent tour, you get a great live DVD of a show from the US tour, with the British Steel album played in its entirety plus some other classics. The band shows they still have it and can deliver the goods just as well as they did 30 years ago.

Overall, there's no reason in the world not to check out this anniversary edition of one of the most important albums in heavy metal history. If you already have the British Steel remaster from a few years ago, you might want to consider holding off on this in hopes that they release the live set as a stand alone item, but in all honesty, this collection is priced just right to be able to take the plunge now and get it all in one shot.



© 2004 Sea Of Tranquility
For information regarding where to send CD promos and advertising, please see our FAQ page.
If you have questions or comments, please Contact Us.
Please see our Policies Page for Site Usage, Privacy, and Copyright Policies.

All logos and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. The comments are property of their posters, all other content © Sea of Tranquility

SoT is Hosted by SpeedSoft.com