CHRIS HOLMES – Unbearable Influences (2021)
Best known as the ‘Mean Man’ of W.A.S.P., CHRIS HOLMES made his name as the iconic blonde bomber who not only provided the ripping leads to, but co-wrote such 1980s’ classics as ‘Wild Child’ and ‘L.O.V.E. Machine’. Anyone who needs convincing on just how fantastic Holmes was back in the day, need look no further than ‘Thunderhead’; a high-water mark from his former outfit’s 1988 release ‘The Headless Children’, it remains an awe-inspiring piece of metal melodrama, filled with guitar licks that burst with skill, polish, refinement and finesse.
Now he’s back solo with a new full length album after many years releasing singles or EP’s. On “Unbearable Influences“, we have 11 tracks of pure Holmes: with songs titles like ‘Won’t Take Shit’, ‘I ‘Am What I Am’, or ‘Devil Make Me Do It’ you’ll guess what to expect… uncompromising f@ck n’ roll.
As heard in his solo material appeared during the last decade, Holmes is not easy to get: you love it or you hate it. Some of the songs are deliberately ‘jammin’, with the man playing endless solos. Other’s are plain hard rockers / metallic tunes, however not in the regular formula verse / chorus / verse.
And then there’s Holmes’ barking vocals. On some songs these work well, on others Chris seems to do them gravelly on purpose, for some listeners resulting utterly hilarious, for others hard to digest.
On the guitar side, Holmes does attempt to retain his instantly identifiable heavily chorused guitar sound and his soloing on the thundering ‘Land of The Free, Home of The Braves’, ‘In Gods Hands’, the great riff of ‘Devil Make Me Do It’, and the hot solos on ‘Had Enough’.
The man makes the music he wants, recorded and produced by himself sometimes with disparate results. As said, you love it or you hate it.
It’s Chris Holmes, the ‘kamikaze man’.
01 – Land of The Free, Home of The Braves
02 – Won’t Take Shit
03 – Playing With The Fire
04 – Under The Influence
05 – In Gods Hands
06 – Devil Make Me Do It
07 – I Am What I Am
08 – The Truth
09 – Had Enough
10 – Touch Me And Die
11 – Unbearable Influences
Christopher John Holmes (vocals, guitar)
Oliver Tindall (vocals, guitar)
Lex Gifford, Pascal Bei (bass)
Stephen Jackson, Christian Borello (drums)
Pre order:
chrisholmes1.bandcamp.com/merch/new-chris-holmes-album-pre-order-unbearable-influencesigned
