British Steel [Video/DVD]

Judas Priest

Overview

"Judas Priest was one of the toughest and most bombastic British metal bands of the late '70s and early '80s, and most fans agree that their 1980 album British Steel stands as the group's masterpiece. This documentary, which examines the making of this heavy metal classic, has been transferred to DVD in 1.85:1 letterboxed format (it is also enhanced for playback on widescreen sets), and the audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo. The documentary (which runs a healthy 110 minutes) hasn't been gussied up with any bonus material, but the presence of the band's music in DVD-quality audio should be inducement enough for most fans to give this a spin."

Product Details

Release Date:	11/06/2001
UPC:	0801213900299
Original Release:	2001
Rating:	NR
Source:	Eagle Rock Ent
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[stereo, Dolby Digital]
Language:	English
Time:	1:50:00
Sales rank:	7,935

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Judas Priest	Primary Artist,Actor
Ringo Starr	Host

Technical Credits

Terry Shand	Executive Producer
Bous De Jong	Executive Producer
Jamie Rugge-Price	Executive Producer
Geoff Kempin	Executive Producer
Tim Kirkby	Director

Editorial Reviews

Judas Priest is responsible for some of the finest metal albums of the '80s, but their best recording is arguably 1980's British Steel, which is the subject of a Classic Album documentary in 2001. Featuring interviews with guitarists K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, bassist Ian Hill, former singer Rob Halford, and the album's producer, Tom Allom, the 50-minute video/DVD examines nearly all of the album's tracks in great detail, while archival live material and photographs are added to mix, as well as Downing and Tipton breaking down and examining their guitar riffs for the viewer (also included are short clips of fan interviews taken from the hilarious underground video Heavy Metal Parking Lot). Interesting tidbits include a discussion about creating unorthodox sound effects for the anthem "Metal God" and recording the album at a mansion/studio that at different times belonged to John Lennon and Ringo Starr. British Steel helped signal the arrival of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, subsequently opening the door for other English bands to take the world by storm (Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, etc.), and this documentary does a good job of explaining the album's origins. ~ Greg Prato