Andy Sneap says he is “incredibly disappointed” over Judas Priest‘s decision to tour as a quartet on their upcoming trek.

In a statement issued on Monday, the rock band said they were planning to resume their 50 Heavy Metal Years tour as “an even more powerful, relentless four-piece heavy metal band” in March.

The band also expressed gratitude to Sneap for all he has “done and continuing to be in the production team” for Judas Priest’s next studio album.

In an apparent reply, Sneap released a statement saying, “Rob 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,” the Judas Priest touring guitarist added.

Sneap revealed that the band’s next album, a follow-up to Firepower, will come out in February.

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