Sony Records

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I recall former Ozzy Producer Max Norman once saying to me at a Judas Priest concert in Los Angeles, "What can you say about those guys eh?" Just the ultimate compliment coming from the mister music wizard himself. In their 30 years of ripping up the planet with screaming heavy metal music, Judas Priest have earned the title of the Minister War Lords of Heavy Metal. To grace the Metal Gods is a religious experience. Judas Priest have been flying their battle flag since the mid 1970's and now easily stand beside their Holy Trinity of metal brothers like Iron Maiden, The Scorpions and Black Sabbath.

I have been a dedicated Judas Priest fan since my Unleashed in the East 8 track tape blew up my car stereo in high school. I was 17 years old the first time I saw Judas Priest live in concert in 1980 at the St. Louis Super Jam during the original British Steel Tour. Back in those days Priest was still an opening act in the U.S for bands like Van Halen, Rush and Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush. I can recall the temperature at Busch Stadium that hot June summer day must have been 120 degrees on the field by the time Judas Priest hit the stage. It was one of my ultimate experiences to finally see these guys for the first time decked in full leather head to toe in the blazing mid west sun. The entire show Priest never shed one ounce of leather but they did shred the heads off the entire sold out crowd of 40,000 people and stole the show from headliners Journey and Sammy Hagar. I went out immediately the next day and bought a leather jacket and never took it off!

The Priest are back once again with a newly revised duel 30th Anniversary re-mastered British Steel CD Package containing the most recent Concert Tour on DVD along with the studio version of the CD. The new re-mastered British Steel CD sounds incredible compared to the original version. Vocals are digitally re-mastered. The guitars are much brighter and the drum mix is so much better than the original mix. Original British Steel drummer Dave Holland now sounds as good as Les Binks on Unleashed (Well almost). What a genius idea to go back in and make this record sound better than it was originally recorded at Tittenhurst Park. Before Ringo Starr, this house was also once owned by John Lennon and produced the Imagine Recordings. Priest also recorded Unleased in The East in this big mansion similar to the way Deep Purple set up live and recorded Machine Head. They loved the vibe and returned to record British Steel in April of 1980. The new 30th revised Anniversary CD/DVD package contains a full color booklet with tour photos and the history of this record. Very nicely put together right down to the revised bloody razor blade cover artwork on the front which was originally designed by artist Roslav Szaybo.

The Bonus British Steel DVD concert was filmed live at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood Florida on August 17, 2009 toward the end of the long summer tour with Whitesnake who bailed off the tour due to David Coverdales vocal problems. Tough gig trying to keep up with Rob every night! This DVD is absolutely unreal and a must have for any Priest fan. Another gift from the Metal Gods to rock your summer all over again until the Priest returns! Sound quality and the overall production are totally stellar. This video captures all the energy from the British Steel Tour right down to the last encore. As always, an excellent pro performance from Rob Halford, KK Downing, Glen Tipton, Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis (Racer X). It's so fitting to join together to celebrate a collection of songs that have become rock anthems and classic on what countless people claim to be the iconic album of the 1980's. "British Steel." This was the first time Priest had the pleasure of performing this album live from front to back. It's impossible to convey the excitement, power and energy as the band tore through the set without catching the magic moment live on DVD. As Priest would say "So fasten your seat belts as we blaze through 30 years together as one - And live the Steel live!

Judas Priest 30th Anniversary Tour DVD

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
(Also bonus video and exclusive band interviews of the making of British Steel)