"A Touch of Evil" is a song by British heavy metal band Judas Priest, from their 1990 album Painkiller. It is the only song on the album that was co-written by producer Chris Tsangarides who wrote the song's guitar riff, while the rest of the song was written by the main songwriting team of Rob Halford, K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton. Tsangarides would team up again with Tipton for songwriting eleven years later, for Judas Priest's album Demolition, released in 2001, on which the two of them wrote the songs "Subterfuge" and "Metal Messiah".
It is the only song on the album on which the synthesizers (which had originally been featured on several songs, but had been removed) remained part of the song. These synthesizers were played by rock veteran keyboardist Don Airey. Between the slow drums and the eerie keyboards, the song was given a chilling sound, making it a sort of pseudo-ballad. However, when played live, the keyboard intro is replaced by a guitar riff.
The song's lyrics deal with demonic possession, black magic, and temptation to commit acts of evil. However, according to Halford himself, as cited in Metal Hammer in January 2004, the lyrics deal with a love-related theme, although metaphorically.
The song features a classically-inspired guitar solo by Glenn Tipton.
Read more about A Touch Of Evil: Cover Versions, Personnel, Music Video
Famous quotes containing the words touch and/or evil:
“I believe in the flesh and the appetites,
Seeing, hearing, feeling, are miracles, and each part and tag of me
is a miracle.
Divine am I inside and out, and I make holy whatever I touch or am touch’d from,
The scent of these arm-pits aroma finer than prayer,
This head more than churches, bibles, and all the creeds.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“Evil passions and evil inclinations are much more dangerous than evil books. The sensualist will extract poison from the purest page, the modest can blush without being corrupted.”
—“Colimetis,” U.S. women’s magazine contributor. American Ladies Magazine, pp. 145-7 (April, 1828)