After realising that fans weren’t on board with the decision, Judas Priest have quickly reintroduced Andy Sneap to their touring lineup.
The guitarist and co-producer of the band’s latest album Firepower joined their live lineup in 2018. He was brought in as the replacement for longtime guitarist Glenn Tipton after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
However, his time with the band seemed to come to an end last week when the metal legends stated their intention to tour as “an even more powerful, relentless four-piece heavy metal band”, signalling Sneap’s departure from the lineup.
Sneap himself released his own statement regarding the decision, explaining that his removal was “incredibly disappointing.” “Rob (Halford) called me last Monday and said they wanted to move on as a four-piece, which I find incredibly disappointing after this amount of time but I respect his decision as they obviously have a vision (of) how they want this to play out,” he said.
“This always was a temporary situation, and like I’ve said before, I’ll always help the band any way I can, and that applies going forward also.”
Just five days after the announcement, though, and Halford and co. have confirmed that Sneap will remain in the touring lineup as Judas Priest continue as a live five-piece.
“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 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!” they stated.
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The decision was met with almost unanimous approval from fans online. “Thank you for making the right decision as I was considering not seeing priest on this tour for this reason. Andy was gracious enough to fill in on the last tour when Glenn got ill and for him to be fired would have been pathetic,” commented someone on Instagram. “Thank you so much for listening to us!! We care about your legacy too,” said another.
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