"Wild Child" Chris H.O.L.M.E.S. Packs The Rockpile for the 2nd Time in 6 Months

jaybroderick
Sep 28
3 min read

Toronto, Canada

By: Michael Drukarsh - Once again The Rockpile became a portal in time as it brought the packed house on Saturday September 27th back to the 80s with a lineup of incredible hard rock bands that culminated with headliner Chris Holmes.

Gypsy Brydge

Warm up act Gypsy Brydge, out of Caledon Ontario, brought the 70’s rock vibe opening with "Parasite" off Kiss’s 1974’s Hotter than Hell. From there the three piece band delivered a short but energetic set to get the growing crowd off their feet and ready for a kick ass night of music.

Rustik

Rustic perform live at The Rockpile. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh

Next up, Rustik! Hailing from Toronto, Rustik took to the stage to deliver a fantastic set of originals and covers, highlighted by a fantastic mash of Megadeth’s "Symphony of Destruction" and Billy Idol’s "White Wedding". Leading singer Robert De Luca definitely has the voice to carry both tunes as well as some fantastic original material.

Ryder

Hailing from Queens fucking New York, and damn proud of it, Ryder took to the stage next bringing a set of showcase songs off the new album, Menagerie. Lead singer and rhythm guitarist James Ryder, bassist and lead vocalist Rod Viquez, lead guitar Max Knight, and drummer Bill Peluso slammed head on into the night with hard rocker "Walk the Wire". From there they continued the assault with "Queen Viper’s Kiss" and "One Eye Open".

A huge fan of late great Ozzy Osbourne (I mean, who isn’t), James stepped away from Menagerie to deliver a fantastic version of "Children of the Grave" before bringing it back to the album with the epic title track followed by the softer, reflective "If it Were" and ending the set with the first single "Southbound". To quote James Ryder, “We play motherfucking rock and roll”, and they fucking did!

Chris Holmes

The night kept rolling as headliner Chris Holmes took the stage. When I last covered Holmes at the Rockpile he was touring under the moniker 'The Mean Man'. This time, while sharing the stage with the same band as his last time around, the focus was more on his past life as lead guitarist for W.A.S.P. rather than any of his more recent solo efforts. From the banner H.O.L.M.E.S. (mimicking the W.A.S.P. logo), to the advertised “The Sound of W.A.S.P.”, the audience knew what they were in for and the band delivered!

Running through a set list that included W.A.S.P.'s metal standards such as "Love Machine", "Blind in Texas", "I Want to Be Somebody" and "Wild Child", Holmes and the band put on a show worthy of the legacy that was laid before them. Like the last time, Holmes was not very talkative, only addressing the crowd a few times between songs and letting his roaring guitar do most of the talking.

Once again the Prince of Darkness was honored as Holmes and the boys treated the fans to three classic Sabbath songs, "Electric Funeral", "War Pigs", and "Iron Man" before finishing off with their classic take on "Rocking in the Free World", with a little AC/DC thrown into the mix for good measure and special guest Ryder joining on vocals.

Chris Holmes Rockin' in the Free World of Toronto! Photo By: Michael Drukarsh

Horns were up, backpatches were on display and once again The Rockpile delivered an amazing night of headbanging, heavy metal music. Shout out to soundman extraordinaire Jake Disman for his role in helping to create the sound that drives the fans wild!

Concert Photo Gallery (All Photos by: Michael Drukarsh)