A bit of unfortunate news here. Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. For those who are unaware, this is a degenerative central nervous system disorder.

This being the case, Gleen will be unable to continue touring in his legendary role with the band. He will be replaced by Andy Sneap in this capacity. However, he is still an official member of the band.

JP had the following to say of this through a statement:

Ten years ago Glenn was diagnosed to have the onset of the early stages of Parkinson’s – from then until recently Glenn has lived his life as the great heavy metal guitar player he has always been, maintaining by his own definition a standard of quality and performance that is incredibly important.

Right now Glenn is able to play and perform some of the Priest songs that are less challenging but due to the nature of Parkinson’s progression he wants to let you all know that he won’t be be touring as such –

True to the metal spirit of ‘the show must go on’ Glenn has requested Andy Sneap to fly the flag on stage for him

“I want everyone to know that it’s vital that the Judas Priest tour go ahead and that I am not leaving the band – it’s simply that my role has changed. I don’t rule out the chance to go on stage as and when I feel able to blast out some Priest! So at some point in the not too distant future I’m really looking forward to seeing all of our wonderful metal maniacs once again”

Rob, Richie, Ian and Scott have this to say: “We have been privileged to witness Glenn’s determination and steadfast commitment over the years, showing his passion and self belief through the writing, recording and performing sessions with Priest – he is a true metal hero! We are not surprised by Glenn’s insistence that we complete the Firepower tour and thank Andy for joining us to make Glenn’s wishes become real – As Glenn has said we also can’t wait to have him with us at any time any place on the road…We love you Glenn!”

In other news, a new Judas Priest album by the name of “Firepower” will see the light of day on March 9th through Columbia Records! Pre-orders are now available to those who CLICK HERE. It shows Glenn Tipton in all of his continued majesty. We wish all the best to him and the band moving forward.

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