Judas Priest - 'A Touch Of Evil Live'

Judas Priest has always been an exceptional live band, and they've released several live albums over the years. The first was 1979's Unleashed In The East. 30 years later, Priest is still selling out arenas all over the world, and their fifth live release is A Touch Of Evil Live.

They took a different approach in selecting the songs for A Touch Of Evil Live. After recording shows on their 2005 and 2008 tours, they realized there were several songs they played on those tours that had never appeared on a live release. For this CD they decided to include only songs that hadn't previously been on a live album.

These aren't obscure album tracks. Songs like "Judas Rising" and "Painkiller" are very well known to Priest fans. Both new and old material is featured on A Touch Of Evil Live. It runs the gamut from their latest studio CD Nostradamus to 1977's Sin After Sin.

Even though there's a wide time span of music, the continuity is still pretty good. The early material sounds more polished now, which is no surprise given they've had a couple of decades to perfect those songs. The audio quality of the recordings is excellent, with just enough crowd noise.

Rob Halford's voice is still one of the best in heavy metal, and the whole band's energy and enthusiasm haven't waned, even as some of them are in their sixties. To do what they've done so long and so well is a truly remarkable accomplishment, and Priest don't show any signs of slowing down. Is A Touch Of Evil Live essential? No, but it's still another enjoyable collection of live material that fans of the band will appreciate.

(released July 14, 2009 on Epic Records)