Judas Priest: Andy Sneap Will Play Guitar on Upcoming Tour, Glenn Tipton Writing for New Album
2018 brought sad news for Judas Priest fans, as the band’s longtime guitarist, Glenn Tipton, announced he had Parkinson’s Disease and would be stepping down from touring. Tipton continued writing with the band — contributing to Firepower, released that same year — and even joined the band live for a few cuts on select dates. Andy Sneap, producer of Firepower and a hundred other metal albums you own, filled in for Tipton on the band’s touring commitments that year and in 2019.
2020 was obviously a wash, but Priest have a whole bunch of touring planned for this year and next, and it’s Sneap who will once again take Tipton’s place live (Richie Faulkner filled the other guitar slot when K.K. Downing quit the band in 2011).
Speaking with Metal Pilgrim, Priest frontman Rob Halford revealed that the band have been busy writing a new album. Tipton is once again contributing, and Sneap “is still standing in that spot” for Glenn live.
He explained:
“I remember that month [of writing sessions] that we had [in February 2020] at Glenn’s studio. It was incredible. I love the start of any process of making a record, because anything can happen. We’ve always said, with Priest, is that we never really have an agenda or have an idea. The closest we got to that philosophy was the ‘Firepower’ album. We really wanted to focus on the classic elements of Priest, and I think we got the job done. So this next one will have its own legs, like they all do, its own character. Yeah, just talking now, I can hear the songs in my head, and they’re great. You think you can only go so far, but this proves that that’s a disputed idea. You can go as far as you wanna go, as long as you’re channeling all the proper ingredients, and the proper ingredients of Priest have always been the energy of metal, the power of metal, the endless opportunities. And all of that is embedded in the fact that myself and Richie and Glenn are still as hungry for writing new Priest material as we ever were. Particularly Glenn and myself have been doing it forever, but since Richie’s been with us, even more so. Richie’s like this endless well of riffs and ideas. It’s just, like, ‘Oh my God. We need to stop now. We need to digest everything that you’ve just played us.”
“So, we’re gonna be having probably two or three more writing sessions. We feel we’ve got an album [written], pretty much, but we’re very self-critical and self-analytical of the work that we do, because we know we have a treasure trove of metal behind us, and we don’t want to drop the heavy metal world; we want to make sure that this has the same essence, the same characteristics, the same class and quality that all of the Priest albums have had. And so it’ll be ready when it’s ready — I say that all the time. But I think we’re close. It’s gonna be sooner rather than later — that’s the best thing to say.”
Asked specifically if Tipton is contributing to the songwriting process, Halford replied enthusiastically that he is, as well as clarifying Sneap’s role:
“Oh, yeah. He’s still a guitar player. Obviously, he plays guitar differently now because he’s got this thing in his life — Parkinson’s — that he battles daily. But he’s never let that diminish him. He’s able to construct songs in a way that makes his input as valuable as it ever was. And so I know for a fact, because we stay in touch, he’s been building his own bunches of ideas, and Richie’s up in Nashville doing the same thing. So we’re gonna be getting together soon — obviously because we’ve got Bloodstock [Open Air festival in the U.K.] coming up [in August]. But before Bloodstock, we’ll be seeing each other in the studio, and we’re gonna listen to all of the new stuff that we’ve all been compiling, as well as what we already have. And it’s gonna be a great day, man. It’s gonna take a couple of days to go through everything.
“So, again, Glenn is still actively involved with Judas Priest, a hundred percent. Andy [Sneap] is still standing in that spot for Glenn with Glenn’s blessing… It’s pretty much a given [that Andy will be going out on tour with us again]. And my gratitude to Andy. It couldn’t have happened in a better way, if you wanna try and make something good out of it. It was a really important day when Glenn said, ‘I think it’s probably best if I step to the side and maybe we should let Andy come in.’ That was just a really beautiful act of selflessness. That’s Glenn treasuring Priest and Priest’s reputation, particularly in live concert more than anything else. So bless Glenn for that. And as a result, Andy stepped in and did amazing work on the ‘Firepower’ tour, and we’re looking forward to doing the same thing with him on this 50th-anniversary [tour]. And don’t discount the fact that Glenn *can* show up. He plays the guitar differently, but there’s no reason why Glenn can’t show up and do some work. I mean, I’ve said to Glenn, ‘Just walk out on stage and do that to everybody [flashes devil horns], and the people will just go fucking crazy, ’cause you are loved so much.’ But I’ve got a feeling that Glenn’s gonna be making the occasional appearance on this 50th-anniversary [tour].”
Here are those 50th anniversary U.S. dates:
9/8/2021 Reading PA Santander Arena* [Tickets]
9/9/2021 Virginia Beach VA Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater*+ [Tickets]
9/11/2021 Orlando FL Central Florida Fairgrounds# [Tickets]
9/13/2021 Charlotte NC PNC Music Pavilion [Tickets]
9/14/2021 Raleigh NC Red Hat Amphitheater* [Tickets]
9/16/2021 Grand Rapids MI Van Andel Arena* [Tickets]
9/17/2021 Youngstown OH Covelli Centre [Tickets]
9/19/2021 Detroit MI Fox Theatre* [Tickets]
9/20/2021 Rosemont IL Rosemont Theatre* [Tickets]
9/22/2021 Milwaukee WI Miller High Life Theatre [Tickets]
9/23/2021 Minneapolis MN The Armory* [Tickets]
9/25/2021 Maryland Heights MO Saint Louis Music Park [Tickets]
9/26/2021 Louisville KY Louder Than Life Festival# [Tickets]
9/29/2021 Denver CO The Mission Ballroom [Tickets]
9/30/2021 West Valley City UT Maverik Center* [Tickets]
10/2/2021 Everett WA Angel Of The Winds Arena* [Tickets]
10/3/2021 Portland OR Moda Center* [Tickets]
10/5/2021 Oakland CA Fox Theater [Tickets]
10/6/2021 Los Angeles CA Microsoft Theater [Tickets]
10/8/2021 Las Vegas NV Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood [Tickets]
10/9/2021 Phoenix AZ Arizona Federal Theatre [Tickets]
10/12/2021 San Antonio TX Freeman Coliseum [Tickets]
10/13/2021 Cedar Park TX HEB Center Cedar Park [Tickets]
10/15/2021 Irving TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory [Tickets]
10/16/2021 Oklahoma City OK The Zoo Amphitheatre [Tickets]
10/19/2021 Independence MO Cable Dahmer Arena* [Tickets]
10/21/2021 Nashville TN Nashville Municipal Auditorium* [Tickets]
10/22/2021 Alpharetta GA Ameris Bank Amphitheatre* [Tickets]
10/24/2021 Charleston WV Charleston Civic Center Coliseum* [Tickets]
10/25/2021 Philadelphia PA The Met* [Tickets]
10/27/2021 Newark NJ Prudential Center* [Tickets]
10/28/2021 Oxon Hill MD The Theater at MGM National Harbor [Tickets]
10/30/2021 Mashantucket CT Foxwoods Resort Casino – Grand Theater [Tickets]
10/31/2021 Lowell MA Tsongas Center At UMass Lowell* [Tickets]
11/2/2021 Halifax NS Scotiabank Centre* [Tickets]
11/4/2021 Laval QC Place Bell* [Tickets]
11/5/2021 Hamilton ON FirstOntario Centre* [Tickets]
And here are Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell tour dates for Europe, on which Priest will be the openers:
Jan. 26 – Germany – Berlin Mercedes-Benz Arena [Tickets]
Jan. 28 – Czech Republic – Prague O2 Arena [Tickets]
Jan. 31 – Switzerland – Zurich Hallenstadion [Tickets]
Feb. 02 – Hungary – Budapest Budapest Arena (no Judas Priest) [Tickets]
Feb. 05 – Spain – Madrid WiZink Center [Tickets]
Feb. 08 – Italy – Bologna Unipol Arena [Tickets]
Feb. 11 – Germany – Mannheim SAP Arena [Tickets]
Feb. 14 – Germany – Hamburg Barclaycard Arena [Tickets]
Feb. 17 – Finland – Helsinki Hartwall Arena [Tickets]
Feb. 19 – Sweden – Stockholm Friends Arena [Tickets]
Feb. 21 – Germany – Dortmund Westfalenhalle [Tickets]
Feb. 24 – Germany – Munich Olympiahalle [Tickets]
Feb. 27 – UK – Nottingham Motorpoint Arena [Tickets]
Mar. 01 – Ireland – Dublin 3Arena [Tickets]
Mar. 04 – UK – Birmingham Resorts World Arena [Tickets]
Mar. 07 – UK – London The O2 [Tickets]
Mar. 09 – UK – Manchester AO Arena [Tickets]
Mar. 12 – UK – Newcastle Utilita Arena [Tickets]
Mar. 14 – UK – Glasgow The SSE Hydro [Tickets]
[via Blabbermouth]
