Judas Priest have reintroduced Andy Sneap to their touring line-up, just five days after announcing the guitarist would not be joining them on the road.
Sneap, who co-produced the bandās latest album āFirepowerā, joined Priestās live set-up after their longtime guitarist Glenn Tipton announced heād been diagnosed with Parkinsonās disease in 2018.
However, last week, the bandĀ issued a statement to announce that ahead of their upcoming North American tour they would be returning as “an even more powerful, relentless four-piece heavy metal band”, signalling Sneap’s departure.
Sneap later released a separate statement, explainingĀ that the bandās decision to remove him was āincredibly disappointingā.
“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 wrote.
“This always was a temporary situation, and like Iāve said before, Iāll always help the band any way I can, and that applies going forward also.”
Now, making a U-turn five days after the initial announcement, Judas Priest have confirmed they will continue touring as a five-piece with Sneap remaining as touring guitarist and Tipton making appearances when he can.
“Hello metal maniacsā¦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!”
Back in December, frontmanĀ Halford shared a photograph of him reuniting with Tipton over the festive period. “Merry metal motivational,ā Halford captioned the image, which saw the pair posing in front of a Christmas tree.
Halford recently celebrated 36 years of sobriety, and he sharedĀ how heās managed to evade theĀ urge to relapse in a new interview.
“I think about it all the time,ā the frontman told Spainās Mariskal Rock. “Itās an addiction. When Iām watching the Phoenix Cardinals play on TV the other day, thereās constantly adverts for beer and for alcohol and stuff. And I know itās there. And itās a temptation. So you have to have all of the mental tools ready to get you through that instance. āCause itās all about instances.”
“And I live one day at a time,” he continued. “Iāve lived one day at a time for 35 years now. And thatās all that matters. Itās the moment. You live in the moment ā not yesterday, not tomorrow; itās now. And you have to be ready for when that little beer devil comes on your shoulder and goes, āCome on, Rob. Have a little drink of beer.ā āFuck off.ā [Laughs] Because I donāt wanna feel that way again, man.”
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