Three decades later, what more can be said about Judas Priest’s landmark album? It is one of the true classics that quite simply changed the game for metal, infiltrating the mainstream and establishing Priest as international superstars. With nine songs running 36 minutes, it is a powerful, concise musical statement. It might seem simple now, but metal as it is today wasn’t around in 1980. The genre then was built around the blues-based sound of Black Sabbath. There’s nothing bluesy about Priest, and the sound they perfected with British Steel opened the floodgates to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which helped give rise to Metallica and the other thrash bands of the ‘80s, and essentially the vast majority of the metal that has come since then.

Priest played British Steel from front to back on a U.S. tour in summer 2009, showing those nine songs are as fresh and relevant today as they were 30 years ago. Album tracks such as “Grinder” and “You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise” hold up just as well as fan favorites “Metal Gods,” “Breaking the Law” and “Living After Midnight,” both onstage and on record. Fortunately, they captured a show at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood , Fla. , for inclusion on both a DVD and CD in the 30th anniversary package. I attended a show on the tour and it was one of the best concerts I have seen in recent years. The DVD also includes an extensive interview with the band on the making of British Steel. (For more cost-conscious fans, there is a two-disc version that omits the live CD.)

If you are a metal fan who does not own British Steel, you must rectify that unfortunate situation immediately. But even if you are a longtime Priest fan, this 30th anniversary edition is well worth your time and money.