1980 - British steel

Released 14 april 1980

British Steel will always have a special place in my heart because it was my first Priest cassette.  
Naturally I became a huge fan of Priest because of British Steel and eventually devoured their entire back catalogue
like Oprah devours a gallon of ice cream.  
Years later, I have come to realize that British Steel was a bit of a step backwards for the band music-wise
(although it was their commercial breakthrough).  
Their five previous albums, Sad Wings Of Destiny, Sin After Sin, Stained Class, Hell Bent For Leather (a.k.a. Killing Machine),
and Unleashed In The East were dark, creative, groundbreaking metal albums.  
British Steel, however, was a calculated attempt by Priest to make a more accessible, simple metal record (and it worked).  
Such was the beginning of Priest’s somewhat uneven ’80s run, a run that was commercially succesful yet not nearly as trailblazing
(or consistent) as their ’70s masterworks.  
But I digress… taken for what it is, ignoring the context of their previous releases, British Steel is still a great heavy metal record,
and one of the best of 1980 for sure.  
Indeed, without this album, I wouldn’t have been introduced to Sad Wings Of Destiny or Hell Bent For Leather, and for that I’m thankful.

The ripper:
As for me, my first listening to Judas Priest was the LP "unleashed in the east" in 1979 and what a slap!