Judas Priest A Touch of Evil: Live

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by John Kindred
Staff Writer

Shredding their skin: By releasing a live album of fan favorites and obscure songs, Judas Priest return with their latest release A Touch of Evil: Live. Captured live during the band’s tours from ’05 and ’08, Martin Walker and Brian Thorene have captured unique performances of one of metal’s most metallic bands of all time. In fact, the term “heavy metal” truly earned its meaning when Priest arrived, decked in black leather, metal-studded belts and wrist bands.

Produced by Tom Allom, who worked with Priest from ‘79’s Unleashed in the East up to their release of Ram It Down in ’88, the live album comprises 11 songs. The metal masters tackle music from ‘09’s metal opera Nostradamus and ‘05’s Angel of Retribution. Priest dug in the vaults and performs music from ‘78’s Stained Glass, ‘82’s Screaming for Vengeance, ‘84’s Defender of the Faith and ‘90’s Painkillers that were ignored on previous live DVD and CD compilations.

How many bands have benefited from the castoffs of the band Racer X? Paul Gilbert formed Mr. Big with Billy Sheehan. Jeff Martin has lent his talent to Jake E. Lee’s Badlands, George Lynch and Leatherwolf. John Alderete and Bruce Bouillet moved on to form The Scream with John Corabi. Scott Travis went on to join one the biggest metal bands of all time, Judas Priest. With that said, the soaring vocal of Halford and the searing guitars of Tipton and Downing would fail considerably flat without the pulsating rhythms of Ian Hill and the prominent drum work of Scott Travis.

Naysayers be damned. This live metal compilation delivers. No longer 20-something, Priest has matured and gelled into a well-oiled metal machine. Travis brings the fire with his double-bass-ferocious skin-bashing, allowing Tipton, Downing and Halford to explode into scorching, if not searing, metal fury.

Those that want to compare the live tracks to the original studio releases should take a long look in the mirror. Don’t judge lest you be judged. Do you truly maintain that youthful appearance of your high school days? Or maybe you’re just a little out of shape? Are you a little winded, or are there bags and dark circles under your eyes? Halford may not be producing the same decibel of piercing screams from early works, but you can’t say that he can no longer sing. C’mon.

Actually, with Travis on drums and the advancement of technology, Judas Priest manages to remake those older songs into new breathing, living monsters. The heavily distorted overtones give the guitars harmonic nuances not found on the original recordings. The guitars have a heaviness that basement guitar heroes can only dream of.

Highlights include Angels of Retribution, opening song “Judas Rising,” which also opens A Touch of Evil: Live. Both songs from Nostradamus “Death” and “Prophecy” fit well within Priest’s catalog of music and sound magnificent in the live setting. Who doesn’t love “A Touch of Evil?” Man, what a great song! This dark overtone and heavy rhythmic pulse is alive with power. If you had never heard the album closer, in the song “Painkiller,” you would never place emphasis on the ability of Halford to deliver his trade mark screams. There have been negative comments about this song and the vocals. His gutsy, almost raspy vocal is perfect on this classic track.

Tom Allom has done a fairly decent job of maintaining the continuity of A Touch of Evil: Live. The compilation is a collection of songs recorded at different periods of time. As such each track closes with a fade out. But this doesn’t lessen the impact of the overall presentation as the power and energy of the music remain strong and forceful.

It is easy to be critical of a live album. Especially when comparing the effort to the original studio recordings. A Touch of Evil: Live is as perfect a live CD as you can get. The musicianship, overall mix and production set a high standard for other artists to strive for.

Label: Epic Records

Band:
Rob Halford – lead vocals
Glenn Tipton – guitars, backing vocals
K. K. Downing – guitars, backing vocals
Ian Hill – bass guitar, backing vocals
Scott Travis – drums, percussion

Track Listing:
01. Judas Rising (from the album Angel of Retribution)
02. Hellrider (from the album Angel of Retribution)
03. Between The Hammer & The Anvil (from the album Defenders of the Faith)
04. Riding On The Wind (from the album Screaming for Vengeance)
05. Death (from the album Nostradamus)
06. Beyond The Realms Of Death (from the album Stained Glass)
07. Dissident Aggressor (from the album Sin After Sin)
08. A Touch Of Evil (from the album Painkillers)
09. Eat Me Alive (from the album Defenders of the Faith)
10. Prophecy (from the album Nostradamus)
11. Painkiller (from the album Painkillers)

HRH Rating: 9/10