Judas Priest — A Touch Of Evil: Live

A Touch Of Evil: Live

Sony

Bianca Marcus (CHARTattack)

07/30/2009 3:12pm

A Touch Of Evil: Live, Judas Priest's fifth live album and the follow-up to last year's Nostradamus, is exemplary of the band's incredible staying power and talent. Fans who weren't lucky enough to score tickets to the metal act's 2009 summer tour can live vicariously through the audience members who heard the tracks on this album firsthand during the Priest world tours in 2005 and 2008.

This triumphant record sees Rob Halford back at the helm of the British band — the last two Priest live albums featured Tim "Ripper" Owens as lead singer — his trademark operatic vocals rivaling those of fellow metal god Ronnie James Dio. The album opens with "Judas Rising," from 2005's Angel Of Retribution, followed by the equally forceful "Hellrider" from the same record.

There's no slowing Halford and company until "Death," the grinding ballad which allows the frontman complete freedom to showcase his nearly four-octave range. Hearing the audience shout in unison on the title track is enough to give anyone — metalhead or not — the urge to don a pair of studded leather pants and cheer along.

Halford's banter, particularly his introduction to "Eat Me Alive," reaffirms Priest's reputation for upholding a dying tradition of showmanship; there's a reason the Birmingham band are still around.

Forget the stigma surrounding live recordings — A Touch Of Evil: Live is a superior audio experience that puts the listener front row centre at the concert of a lifetime. Once again demonstrating the band's exceptional abilities as performers and pioneers of an entire sonic movement, A Touch Of Evil isn't a supplementary record; it's a necessary addition to any Priest devotee's collection.

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