Judas Priest originally announced their intention to hit the road as a four-piece back in January, making Richie Faulkner the band's only guitarist. Live fill-in guitarist Andy Sneap (alongside fans) expressed their disappointment in the decision, which was eventually reversed and owned by vocalist Rob Halford. Now in an interview with The Metal Voice, Faulkner said the pushback from fans has been great, if only because it showed the band how much fans truly care.
"I think it's a really powerful indication of how much Priest still means, really. I don't think we expected that much [pushback from the fans]. 'Cause we all thought — for good or bad — we made a decision because we thought it would be a good idea; that's the real crux of the matter. Otherwise we wouldn't have made the decision. We knew there would be some voices raised, because that's the brand of Judas Priest and it has been for 50 years.
"And the fans, boy, did they let us know. And that's fan-fucking-tastic. And we listened. And no harm, no foul. It's all back to as it was and we're going out as it was gonna be. It's a big thank you, really, to the fans for caring and letting us know what they felt. And boy, did they let us know what they felt about it. So, yeah, all good. All's well that ends well, really."
Faulkner later added that "the guys have been doing this for 50 years — they know better than I do, if you know what I mean. And if that's what they wanna do, that's what we do" regarding Halford's decision.
Judas Priest will hit the road with Queensrÿche this March with TWO GUITARISTS. Not one. Two.
3/4 – Peoria Civic Theatre – Peoria, IL [Tickets]
3/6 – Mission Ballroom – Denver, CO [Tickets]
3/7 – Maverik Center – West Valley City, UT [Tickets]
3/9 – Angel Of The Winds Arena – Everett, WA [Tickets]
3/10 – Moda Center – Portland, OR [Tickets]
3/12 – Fox Theater – Oakland – Oakland, CA [Tickets]
3/13 – Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood – Las Vegas, NV [Tickets]
3/15 – The Shrine – Los Angeles, CA [Tickets]
3/16 – Arizona Federal Theatre – Phoenix, AZ [Tickets]
3/18 – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory – Irving, TX [Tickets]
3/20 – H-E-B Center at Cedar Park – Cedar Park, TX [Tickets]
3/21 – Freeman Coliseum – San Antonio, TX [Tickets]
3/23 – Nashville Municipal Auditorium – Nashville, TN [Tickets]
3/25 – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre – Alpharetta, GA [Tickets]
3/27 – Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center – Charleston, WV [Tickets]
3/29 – The Met Philadelphia – Philadelphia, PA [Tickets]
3/30 – Prudential Center – Newark, NJ [Tickets]
3/31 – The Theater at MGM National Harbor – National Harbor, MD [Tickets]
4/2 – Foxwoods Resort Casino – Mashantucket, CT [Tickets]
4/4 – Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell – Lowell, MA [Tickets]
4/7 – Scotiabank Centre – Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada [Tickets]
4/10 – Videotron Center – Quebec City, Quebec, Canada [Tickets]
4/11 – Place Bell – Laval, Quebec, Canada [Tickets]
4/13 – FirstOntario Centre – Hamilton, Ontario, Canada [Tickets]
