JUDAS PRIEST touring guitarist and producer Andy Sneap says that he is “incredibly” disappointed by the band’s decision to perform as a quartet on their upcoming tour.
Sneap has been playing guitar with the band during their live performances for the last four years since longtime guitarist Glenn Tipton announced in early 2018 that he would be sitting out of JUDAS PRIEST’s touring due to his worsening Parkinson’s disease.
Earlier today, JUDAS PRIEST released a statement saying that they would return to the road as “an even more powerful, relentless four-piece heavy metal band.” They also thanked Andy for all he has “done and continuing to be in the production team” for the group’s next studio album.
Since then, Andy released a statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET in which he said that he wasn’t involved in the band’s decision to continue on without him yet still thanked the legendary metal act for the “mind-blowing” opportunity to share the stage with one of his favorite bands.
Andy said: “Rob 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 how they want this to play out.
“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,” he continued.
“I’ve been a huge fan of the band since the early ’80s and it was mind-blowing to play onstage with the guys and quite frankly terrifying in the beginning at such short notice.
“We are moving forward with the new album next month and look forward to making a killer follow-up to ‘Firepower’,” he added.