Richie Faulkner says the band listened to their fans in their decision to continue as a five-piece: “We would have been crazy not to take that on board”

Fans of metal band Judas Priest were disappointed by the band’s recent decision to sack Andy Sneap as the band’s second guitarist on tour. The band had planned to play future tours as a four-piece with only one guitarist.

However, fan reaction soon led the band and its staff to reconsider the decision, and the band eventually cancelled its intention to continue to tour as a four-piece.

Now, in an interview with the Herald-Whig, the band’s guitarist Richie Faulkner comments on the reason behind the band’s decision to reverse their decision to play as a quartet:

“Yeah, about a week later, we readdressed that announcement and we’ve gone back to a five-piece. But I did get that impression initially. It’s was, like, well, I’ve just had this issue; maybe they’re just test in my mettle, so to speak. But the fans voiced their opinion on that and we listened. We would have been crazy not to take that on board, really. So we addressed it and we’re coming back as a five-piece. We will go back to normal, basically. It’s going to be that five-piece, that twin-guitar attack Priest is known and loved for. So all’s well there.”

Judas Priest’s latest album “Firepower” was released in 2018.