Judas Priest se séparent d'Andy Sneap (sans le remplacer)
Posté : 15 janv. 2022, 19:57
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Le forum francophone dédié au Metal TRADITIONNEL! Ou pas.
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JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford has admitted that it was his idea for the group to announce its plan to embark on the next leg of its 50th-anniversary tour as a quartet. "That all came from me, it didn't come from the band," Halford told Billboard, explaining that he thought since the band was founded as a four-piece it would be appropriate to return to that for a 50th-anniversary celebration. "Of course, that blew up in my face, didn't it? To have done something like a four-piece now would've been just not right, ridiculous, insane, crazy, off my rocker, have a cup of tea and relax. It's kind of water under the bridge now. I think my heart was in the right place, but I'm not the first musician to have a crazy idea."
On January 10, JUDAS PRIEST revealed that it would perform as a four-piece when it returns to the road in early March. A few hours later, the band's touring guitarist Andy Sneap, who co-produced the group's 2018 album "Firepower", released a statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET in which he said that he was "incredibly disappointed" by PRIEST's decision to carry on as a quartet and thanked the Halford-fronted outfit for the "mind-blowing" opportunity to share the stage with one of his favorite bands. Meanwhile, PRIEST fans were understandably upset about the band's decision to forgo its classic twin-guitar attack sound and made their feelings known on social media. Some even called for the return of guitarist K.K. Downing, who joined PRIEST in 1970 and remained in the group until 2011.
On January 15, JUDAS PRIEST released a statement announcing that it was reversing its decision to tour as a four-piece, explaining that the bandmembers "decided unanimously" to continue their live shows "unchanged" with Rob, Ian Hill (bass), Richie Faulkner (guitar), Scott Travis (drums) and Andy.
During an appearance on the "In The Trenches With Ryan Roxie" video podcast, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner spoke about the band's recent announcement that it would embark on the next leg of its 50th-anniversary tour as a quartet. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Rob [Halford, PRIEST singer] called me up and he said, 'Falcon, would you be able to handle all the guitar parts on your own without a second guitar player?' And I said, 'Yeah, I probably would be able to handle them. It would probably take a bit of moving around and doing things a bit differently — a couple of more pedals and stuff like that.' 'Cause he was thinking… I think one time PRIEST were a four-piece and he was thinking about going back to that and Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST's longtime guitarist who is battling Parkinson's disease] coming out when he could. I think that was the idea in his mind. And I said, 'Whatever you wanna do, boss. If that's what you're thinking, if everyone else is on board with it, whatever you wanna do.' So I went and bought… I think I bought three harmonizer pedals to try some stuff out. Long story short, we went back on the decision."
According to Faulkner, PRIEST probably would have been able to pull off most of its material with only one guitarist.
"The set we've got at the moment, apart from the rhythm guitar underneath the solos, there's not a lot of harmony stuff going on," he explained. "'Victim Of Changes'… I've been playing THIN LIZZY in cover bands all my life with one guitar. You work out both parts anyway."
Pour le coup des pedales pour gerer les harmonies, c'est vrai qu'il aurait pu donner l'impression d'avoir 2 guitares sur les parties lead, mais bon c'est le genre de truc qui peut passer dans un bar our une petite salle mais pas en open air ou il aurait vraiment du mal a remplir l'espace sonore (a mon avis on aurait eu droit a du playback pour la guitare rhythmique). Un peu limite ce genre de bricolage pour un groupe de leur statut.
Glenn Tipton has fired back at Kenneth "K.K." Downing, claiming that the former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist has been saying things about him that are "crazy" and "aren't fair."
K.K. left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance.
In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties."
Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Tipton's decision to retire from touring.
In the new issue of Guitar World, Tipton offered his side of the story, saying that he "never wanted to get into a public argument after K.K. left. I never said a word and I stuck to my guns for over 10 years, but there comes a point when you read things that have been said that are just crazy," he said. "It's time to say something, really because he's saying things that he really shouldn't be saying. They aren't fair."
"He's insinuated that he was the driving force of the band," the 74-year-old continued. "It just isn't true. PRIEST [is] made up of five guys working together. [There's] not just one person driving the band. He's said all these things that, I think, are meant to upset us and get us to say something in response and for a long time we didn't. But I've got a lot to say and enough's enough."
The 70-year-old Downing, who wrote about his departure from PRIEST in his 2018 autobiography, "Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest", said last year that he was unhappy with the band's live performances toward the end because Glenn "used to have too many beers before and during the concerts at the time. And I don't know what was going on. We had words about it. But musically, we weren't as footsure as I felt I wanted to be. I wasn't really happy with that. It was rock and roll. It's one of those things — it's rock and roll, or you're a band that really wants to lock it in tight. And that's what I used to get off on musically — was being really solid and locked in with those kick drums. You're either Keith Richards, and he's got a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other but you're still playing the guitar, or you're really digging deep."
In the Guitar World interview, Tipton dismissed Downing's claims as "silly". "Everyone knows it's not true," he said. "Like I said, the fans aren't stupid and they've seen me for 50 years playing around the world. I may have had a couple of beers onstage, but that's all. It's never affected the concert or my performance whatsoever and he knows that."
Tipton went on to say that he "used to piece [Downing's] leads together" in the studio. "I did a lot of editing to make his lead breaks worthwhile," he said.
"I would never have talked about Ken that way," he continued. "It's just that his accusations have gotten sillier and sillier — and I deserve to respond. He left the band. We couldn't convince him to stay. And then he accused me of taking six years off to write two solo albums. I only did the solo albums because we were inactive at the time while Rob [Halford, vocals] was doing his solo things."
Glenn Tipton says that Kenneth "K.K." Downing never approached any the members of JUDAS PRIEST about rejoining the band before the launch of the "Firepower" world tour.
K.K. left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance. In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties." Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Tipton's decision to retire from touring.
In a recent issue of Guitar World, Tipton reflected on Downing's decision to leave PRIEST more than a decade ago, saying: "We spoke about what was probably going to be our farewell tour, and then Ken quit. Nothing could have been worse because after you play for all those years, you plan your farewell tour to sign off in a good way. All of a sudden, Ken quit and we didn't know what to do. It was a nightmare. It was only when we found Richie [Faulkner] that we realized we could go on and play the tour and then more."
Tipton went on to say that he found some of Downing's accusations surprising.
"He left the band," Glenn said. "We couldn't convince him to stay. And then he accused me of taking six years off to write two solo albums. I only did the solo albums because we were inactive at the time while Rob [Halford, vocals] was doing his solo things."
When the interviewer brought up Downing's claim that he was hurt that he wasn't asked to rejoin when Tipton announced his retirement from touring, Glenn said: "He never approached any of the band and asked to rejoin, so for all we knew, he didn't want to rejoin. He said he wanted to leave the band and then leave the music industry. He told us he was desperate for a new kind of life.
"Right before we got Richie, Ian [Hill, PRIEST bassist] said, 'If you really want to come back, you'd better come back now' because we were moving on. But he didn't do anything. He didn't ask to come back. And then after he was out, he said all sorts of ridiculous things. He tried to take credit for just about everything — the stage clothes, the image, the songwriting. He refers to them as his songs.
"He's got to be joking," Tipton added. "Everybody knows who wrote the songs, and that's being kind. But whatever the case was, we've always made it clear that all of the decisions we made were made by the band as a whole, without exception. If anyone doesn't agree with something, it isn't used. That's the way we've always worked."
Downing said: "There was not a position for me in the band until Glenn retired. And when he did, I quickly, obviously, stated that I was shocked and stunned not to receive a phone call [asking me to return to the band]. At that point, previous to that, working backwards, they were all in love with Richie, [as] posted on [BLABBERMOUTH.NET], stating that none of the fans are missing K.K. and Richie has brought a new energy to the band. Also Ian told me directly in person that Richie was a great guy and a great songwriter, despite only achieving two albums in the last 12 years. But that's curious.
"And on top of that, really, what the world doesn't know, really, [is] that the farewell tour [in 2011] that we were all planning to retire on and end the band, the 'Epitaph' tour, that was what I decided to not participate in," he continued. "That was it. That's what I thought I was doing — not leaving the band. Because we were all leaving the band; we were all going to finish the band and retire. So I thought that that's the only thing that I was doing — was not participating in the farewell tour, quite simply because I really didn't think, with everything that was happening, that I was going to enjoy the tour from a musical standpoint. And I didn't want to end my long, credible history and legacy doing a tour for the fans that I wasn't actually enjoying."
Downing added: "What people don't know is in April that year [2011], and I have the e-mails, I was speaking to Ian in April about changing my mind, 'cause all of my friends were encouraging me to just do the tour, saying, 'You started the band. You need to finish it.' So I was talking to Ian, on and off, over a week, and I actually told him that I was reconsidering and asked him to send me over the setlist, which he did. And I called him back and said, 'It looks great,' because setlists were always a bone of contention in the band, really. And the next day they released a press release that I retired from the band. This is what people don't know. So, obviously, I took from that they didn't want to include me. They had already kind of, obviously, anointed themselves and got familiar with Richie and it was a family and I was out. So, really, I consider myself ousted as much as anything else, because no one other than Ian got back to me, called me — no one from the management, nothing. So I felt pretty dejected about all of that, really. So if that was the way it was gonna be, that was the way it was gonna be. But, obviously, Glenn retiring was an ideal opportunity [for me to come back], because the musical thing and everything, the tension between me and Glenn on stage, more so than anything musically, I wasn't happy with. So [this would have been a chance for] me [to] play alongside, obviously, a very competent player like Richie."
According to Downing, he has written to his former bandmates in JUDAS PRIEST "on two or three occasions now — recently, probably since about 2017 — asking to be reinstated. But even when they chose to go as a four-piece [this past January, only to change their minds five days later], they never gave me any consideration, an opportunity to come back into the band," he said. "And I absolutely am totally convinced they never would previously, irrespective of what Glenn says."
K.K. went on to say that several business-related issues have arisen between him and JUDAS PRIEST which have contributed to the increased tension between the two camps.
"Since about 2017… Previously they upheld their promise, even though they never gave my any accounts, they would make disbursements to me for what I was promised — you know, part of what I was entitled to from everything that I was a part of; obviously merchandise, et cetera," he said. "And then that all stopped. I started to get legal letters. And I implored them, 'Don't go down this route. Let me come down. I'm happy to sit around a table and discuss any issues that need to be discussed.' And they said no. And so the legal letters kept coming. They've ousted me as a director [of the PRIEST company Judas Priest Music Limited]. They've kicked me off the board, as it's three of them and one of me. I'm still a 25 percent shareholder, but they said it's worthless, it isn't worth anything, and they don't pay me anything of anything that I was involved with — period. So anyone that goes out and buys the 50th-anniversary box set, I do not get anything from it. I've asked them if I'm gonna get anything from it and they haven't returned my e-mails. And it's the same with any of the merchandise that you see on sale at the venues or in retail or anywhere else."
One year ago today. Less than an hour before my life changed forever. It’s crazy how one minute you’re listening to the crowd singing war pigs- everything normal, everything seemingly fine- the next it turns out that it was almost the last time I ever heard it. Unbeknownst to me there was stuff going on under the surface that was about to literally explode.
I’m fortunate and grateful to be here a year later typing this. My support system at home, the hospitals and of course from all you metal maniacs has been second to none and I thank you all. I’m not completely out of the woods yet.
Just before we toured Europe, scans showed a hole in one of the connections between the synthetic graft and my own aorta that was causing a leak. The blood from the leak was forming an 8cm sack that was surrounding my heart.
The doctors were okay for me to tour Europe, but as soon as I got back I had to go under again for another open-heart surgery. So 3 days after we played Belgium, they went in, removed the sack and fixed the leak.
So I’m now six weeks post the 2nd open heart surgery, feeling well and strong and Looking forward to seeing you all again on the next leg of the US #50heavymetalyears tour starting in a few weeks.
My surgeons were always confident that it was enough time for me to recover and get back out on the road and it seems like they were right.
We had to lose @aftershockfestival in order for me to recover, but it looks like it’s still gonna be a Kick-Ass festival.
Look after yourselves and your loved ones, you never know what’s round the corner. Stay safe and see you all soon.
Much love, Falcon x RHRF DOTF"