(Rated this album with 8 out of 10) Reviewed by
A.J. Taylor
from Sparta, NJ United States
and the resulkts are mostly good. New drummer Dave Holland is no Les Binks to be sure, but at this point he could lay down some competent beats. The writing triverite of Halford, KK, and Glen is firmly established on Steel. The music itself is pretty good, though the road to lyrical self-parody(as well as instrumental greatness-which is apparent on almost all Priest albums). The excellent Metal Gods, The Rage, Steeler,United, and Breaking the Law(although the latter can get very annoying after too many listens) are mixed in with the average Rapid Fire(nice drums though), YDHTBOTBW, and Living After Midnight. The worst song to be found here would be the rather silly Grinder. As for the bonus tranks, Red White& Blue is a somewhat silly anthem, but still comes off as a pretty good song. The live version of Grinder is acceptable, though it may be noted that it was NOT recorded on the British STell tour like the packaging says(note the "Long Beach, California" line from Rob is the same as the one at the end of Jawbreaker on Sin After Sin). This album is not the best by Judas Priest, its more of an 'average' album. However, its also the definitive album due to the fact that the band's most enduring songs(Breaking the Law, Living After Midnight) can be found here. If you're new to the band this should probably be your second album, after "Unleashed..."
