Judas Priest revealed that they’ll be hitting the road as a four piece this time out, according to Loudersound.com. The band’s touring guitarist and co-producer Andy Sneap will sit things out to focus on studio work. Guitarist Glenn Tipton, who’s retired from the road due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease, will make periodic appearances with the band. The upcoming dates mark the first time the band has tour as a quartet since 1974.
Amazingly, guitarist Richie Faulkner, who suffered an acute cardiac aortic dissection while playing onstage last year during Kentucky’s Louder Than Life festival is back in top shape on set to be on board when Priest launches its North American trek on March 4th in Peoria, Illinois with Queensryche.
Judas Priest said in a statement:
Hello maniacs! We are chomping at the British Steel bit to return to world touring… celebrating 50 years of Judas Priest as an an even more powerful, relentless four piece heavy metal band – with Glenn coming out on stage with us here and there as before. Big thanks to Andy for all you’ve done and continuing to be in the production team for our new album… See you all soon headbangers!
Andy Sneap told Blabbermouth the decision for the band to tour without him came out of the blue: “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 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 went on to say, “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.” (Blabbermouth)
- Judas Priest / Queensryche 2022 North American tour dates (subject to change):
March 4 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center
March 6 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom
March 7 – West Valley City, UT – Maverik Center
March 9 – Everett, WA – Angel Of The Winds Arena
March 10 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
March 12 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
March 15 – Los Angeles, CA – Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall
March 16 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre
March 13 – Las Vegas, NV – Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood
March 18 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
March 20 – Cedar Park, TX – H-E-B Center at Cedar Park
March 21 – San Antonio, TX – Freeman Coliseum
March 23 – Nashville, TN – Nashville Municipal Auditorium
March 25 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
March 27 – Charleston, WV – Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center
March 29 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia
March 30 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
March 31 – National Harbor, MD – The Theater at MGM National Harbor
April 2 – Mashantucket, CT – Foxwoods Resort Casino
April 4 – Lowell, MA – Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell
April 7 – Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre
April 10 – Ville de Québec, QC – Videotron Centre|
April 11 – Laval, QC – Place Bell
April 13 – Hamilton, ON – First Ontario Centre
SIDE NOTES
Out now is Judas Priest – 50 Heavy Metal Years Of Music, a new limited edition box set, which includes every official live and studio album to date, plus 13 unreleased discs.
The ‘Judas Priest – 50 Heavy Metal Years Of Music’ box set includes:
- CDs housed in mini-LP Japanese-style wallets.
- Box set designed by long-time Judas Priest collaborator Mark Wilkinson.
- Includes Ross Halfin photos signed by each band member: Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Richie Faulkner, Scott Travis.
- Numbered British Steel metal razor blade (blunt)
- Memorabilia book featuring rare photos, posters, adverts and passes.
- Replica British Steel tour program.
- Two replica tour posters from:
- British Steel 1980 German Tour.
- Defenders Of The Faith 1984 European Tour.
CHECK IT OUT: Judas Pries on September 8th, 2021 performing “A Touch Of Evil & Rocka Rolla” live in Reading, Pennsylvania: