It appears that JUDAS PRIEST have reversed their decision to continue touring as a four-piece for their upcoming run of dates.
Just last Monday (January 10), JUDAS PRIEST announced that they would be continuing their touring activities as a quartet, which saw the band’s second touring guitarist (and producer) Andy Sneap release a statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET which said that he was “incredibly disappointed” by PRIEST’s decision to carry on as a four-piece and thanked the Rob Halford-fronted outfit for the “mind-blowing” opportunity to share the stage with one of his favorite bands.
After a rather significant backlash from fans, just earlier today (Saturday, January 15), JUDAS PRIEST released the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET: “Hello metal maniacs…given all that has recently evolved and transpired we have decided unanimously as a band to continue our live shows unchanged with Rob, Ian [Hill, bass], Richie [Faulkner, guitar], Scott [Travis, drums], Andy and Glenn [Tipton, guitar] joining us whenever he’s able…so see you all soon as we forge ahead celebrating 50 massive heavy metal years of JUDAS PRIEST together!”
Sneap began touring with JUDAS PRIEST four years ago after longtime guitarist Glenn Tipton announced that he was going to sit out hitting the road with the band in a full time capacity.