We looked at Touched’s debut album – Back Alley Vices – in the previous post. Here’s their follow up released in 1986 titled Death Row which, like the debut, has had a re-issue by Cult Metal Classics in limited CD runs of 500 copies each.
As per my review of Back Alley Vices, that album suffered from a shockingly poor production and whilst having its moments was a somewhat generic musically.
Two years passed between the debut and Death Row. It seems that the band used that time to up their game a bit as this second album is in my opinion a more refined effort with a more mature and varied approach overall and a much better production job. The artwork is terrible however.
No changes in the line-up and the flashy guitar of Jon Hull remained to the fore. His playing is a bit more refined here. Rather than the sameyness of his soloing on the debut, here on Death Row the riffs are more varied and his solos, whilst quite spectacular, are shorter, varied and more to the point.
Power Point is a big, pounding opener. A short, sharp shock. Night Attacker follows with a huge cutting riff, scorching solo and big chorus which all together one has to compare with Judas Priest whilst listening. The song could have fitted well on Killing Machine.
Moving on chugs along quite well. Then When I Call Your Name springs a surprise being something of a slower paced ballad with the gentle acoustic intro and hints of some keyboards being used. It smoulders nicely when the big stuff comes in and varying back to quieter passages along the way.
Back Alley Vices takes things back to the “metal by numbers” genericness of the debut album. I’m guessing it was intended to be the title track of the debut.
Night of the Halloween is a bit cheesy tho0ugh tries hard and has some nice flourishes from Hull’s guitar.
Then it’s back to generics with the cringeworthy Street Cred. If I can take a couple of lines from the lyrics which say it all: “No one can stop us, we got street cred. You may find us in your ladies bed.”
Through the Night tries to up the ante without quite managing it. Then comes the title track. A strong pacey song with some gut wrenching riffage and one of those flashy solos from Hull. Here it is:
There are three bonus tracks which are taken from a demo the band cut in 1987.
Touched would be no more shortly after Death Row. A third album to be titled Waste Yourself was penned but not released. A falling out with Ebony Records didn’t help and the booklet notes then outline a tale of Touched attempting to carry on though what we’ll say was falling victim to the excesses of the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle.
This second album better than the first. Steady if not spectacular. Would be interesting to hear what that third album would have sounded like. The bonus tracks here give a hint.
As usual with these old NWOBHM albums/bands from Cult Metal Classics, Death Row is a limited edition run of 500 CDs. At time of posting, Sonic Age Records have availability and you may find it via other outlets if you look around.
Touched Back Alley Vices on Sonic Age Records:
https://www.sonicagerecords.com/_shop/touched-death-row-cd
As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.