Chris Holmes has once again made it clear that a return to W.A.S.P. is off the table — and, according to him, that stance isn’t changing anytime soon.
Speaking in a new interview with Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of the Rock Interview Series, Holmes was asked if he would ever consider rejoining the band should W.A.S.P. leader Blackie Lawless personally ask him back. Chris didn’t hesitate with his response.
Holmes responded (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “No. No. Do you know what happened with my publishing? Why would I play with [Blackie] again? It’d be pretty stupid, wouldn’t it? He’d have to pay me my publishing [before I would even consider going back], and he’s not gonna do that. I’d be an idiot. I’d be an idiot to go back.”
Holmes then went into detail about the financial frustrations and personal resentment that have shaped his feelings toward his former bandmate over the years.
He said: “Listen, we’re on the road, and [then-W.A.S.P. drummer] Frankie Banali‘s not gonna tour unless he gets $1,850 [a week], okay? And I’m getting $500 a week, okay? I went to Blackie, ‘Well, it doesn’t seem right. I’m one of the guys, main guys that people come to see, and Banali‘s not. But he’s getting $1,850. I get five [hundred]? That’s almost four times as much.’ Blackie grabs me and puts his arm around me and he goes, ‘You’re gonna make more off your publishing. What are you worried about?’ When he knew he was taking my money. When he knew they already wrote me down as a session player. What kind of person is that? You think I’d ever wanna even sit in a room with that guy? No. No. No.
“So it’s not worth it; it’s not worth it to me. And plus — how can you say it? He’s a malignant narcissist, and I don’t wanna be around people like that anymore. There’s no money in the world that’s [gonna make wanna be around people like that]. I wanna be happy. I wanna be around people I enjoy being with, that make me smile, that crack jokes. I don’t need to be around people like that. Plus, from [1997’s] Kill F**k Die on, W.A.S.P. was nothing but a depression to play with live because they were sampling, and it’s not live to me. And it hurt me in my heart to be playing, knowing that I was faking it to p[eople] — or the band was faking it. I wasn’t. But knowing that it was faking it. I really hated myself doing that.”
Holmes made it clear that the bitterness surrounding his time in W.A.S.P. still runs deep, particularly when it comes to the band’s catalog and the publishing disputes he says were never resolved.
“Why do you think I don’t like signing the [W.A.S.P. records]? I never got a penny of my publishing,” he explained. “I can’t stand that band. I can’t stand the band. I can’t stand what he’s done. So, that’s the way it is. And that’s why I wanna play with people I enjoy.”
During a 2024 interview with Cassius Morris, Lawless was asked about Mean Man: The Story Of Chris Holmes, the documentary directed by Antoine De Montremy and Laurent Hart that focuses on Holmes’s life and career.
Lawless didn’t hide his lack of interest: “I have no desire to see anything that has to do with that. First of all, you wanna base anything you’re gonna do in life on truth. And you know what? It may be his truth, but your truth doesn’t necessarily make it fact. Anybody can have their own truth, but that doesn’t make it real. And when somebody’s spewing a bunch of hate because they can’t create on their own… Listen, if the guy had genuine creativity, he wouldn’t give two hoots about what I do. So, that’s the yardstick on how you judge those things. And if somebody’s coming from a perspective where they’re not telling the truth, I’m not gonna waste my time on that.”
When asked why he didn’t appear in the documentary, Blackie replied: “Well, I don’t recall being invited, but if I would have, I wouldn’t have done it. Like I said, I’ve got no desire to do something… I mean, if it’s based on truth, then I might have taken a look at it. But for a guy to do a tutorial for an hour, or however long it was, to sit and give just their side of the story that’s not based on truth, why do I wanna be part of that?”
Holmes originally joined W.A.S.P. in 1982 and remained with the band until 1990. He later returned in 1996 before departing again in 2001. More than two decades later, it’s clear that any possibility of another reunion remains firmly off the table.
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.