Chris Holmes Makes Triumphant Return to the Canadian Stage at Toronto's Rockpile

By: Michael Drukarsh

Toronto, Canada - Friday March 21 was the first of two shows at Toronto’s infamous Rockpile for the lineup of Skeleton Lake, Twisted Sista and headliner Chris Holmes making his triumphant return to the Canadian stage.

Skeleton Lake

Taking the stage first, Skeleton Lake, a stoner, doom metal band out of Oshawa, Ontario, did their best to get the small crowd warmed up for the rest of the night’s festivities. Opening with the first few notes of "War Pigs", I was excited to hear the classic Sabbath tune, but a rather disjointed transition into their first song “Deal with Devil” left me a little disappointed. I was quickly brought around as the band, led by Geoff Thompson on bass and corps painted guitarist Shawn Stoneman, exchanged singing duties on songs including “Street Corner Prophet” and “She’s My Witch”. The band decided to bring the crowd back to 1974 with a unique and unexpected cover of Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy”. I’m not sure if it was the toned down sludge metal treatment or the fact that it was sung by a man wearing corps paint, but it worked and the crowd came alive, singing the famous chorus and raising the devil's horns in appreciation.

Twisted Sista

In 1984, I had the opportunity to see Twisted Sister open for Iron Maiden at Maple Leaf Gardens. Though the crowd was made up almost entirely of denim and leather, there was something very dangerous about the opening band on stage despite them being dressed in neon and garish makeup. 41 years later, the appeal of four men dressed in neon and wearing makeup didn’t seem to hold that same feeling and the crowd, having the same rough and gritty feel as 1984, appeared to agree. Hailing from Montreal, Quebec, Twisted Sista tried to get the audience riled up right from the start, encouraging them to raise their firsts in the air as lead singer “Dee Snider” asked them “What do you want to do with your life?” before breaking into “I Wanna Rock”. Definitely a nostalgic trip back to the glory days of hair metal, the band did a decent job of recreating the best of Twisted Sister while throwing in some great deep cuts like “Fire Stills Burns” and the “The Kids are Back”. The band was tight and despite having only one guitarist, recreated the classic tunes in a way that eventually won the audience over. Highlights included a fantastic version of "Burn in Hell", a song that reminded you of why Twisted Sister originally shared the stage with bands like Iron Maiden and of course, the show closer, “We’re Not Going to Take It” which finally had the whole bar singing along.

Chris Holmes

Any heavy metal rock star who lived through the 80s has a story to tell that could never ever be replicated today. Featured in 1988’s 'Decline of the Western Civilization Part 2', Chris Holms, then lead guitarist for up and coming band W.A.S.P., was seen floating in a swimming pool dressed in his best leather and studs downing bottles of vodka while his mother sat on the deck watching. Today, he was taking center stage at the Rockpile, and along with the “Mean Man” delivered a down and dirty set to the fans in attendance .

Not much for stage banter, the “Mean Man” tore right into the first song, “On Your Knees” and it was evident that Holmes was where he was supposed to be. With flying fingers, Holmes shredded his fretboard while trading vocals on hits from his solo work such as “Get With It” and “Born, Work, Die” as well as W.A.S.P. classics such as “L.O.V.E. Machine” and “Wild Child”.

Chris Holmes performs live in Toronto. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh

On the rare occasion that Holmes did address the audience, it was with much humility and appreciation along with a little bitterness of getting fucked over in many aspects of his musical career. Referencing the 'Decline of the Western Civilization Part 2' scene mentioned above, Chris spoke about how that one scene inspired not only the title of his third solo album “Unbearable Influence” but the context of the song “Devil Make Me Do It”, a track of the album. At another point, he very proudly pointed out the message “Touch Me and Die” inscribed along the body of his guitar before breaking into the song of the same name.

Set List

On Your Knees

Get With It

Let It Roar

L.O.V.E. Machine

Sleeping (In the Fire)

Devil Make Me Do It

Touch Me and Die

Blind in Texas

Had Enough

Born Work Die

Wild Child

Animal

Born to be Wild

I Don't Need No Doctor

Rockin' in the Free World

With an almost balanced set list of solo and W.A.S.P. classics, along with a couple of cover tunes, Holmes and the Mean Man band gave the audience exactly what they wanted, a no holds barred, down a dirty set that paid homage to the early days of Chris’s career but showed that he still is a Wild Child that can certainly hold his own in 2025.