A few weeks back, we were blown away by the decibel shower presented to us courtesy of the new Chris Holmes track, "Let It Roar." Turns out we weren't the only ones. Chris Holmes trended on social media! Noisey scored a new interview with Holmes discussing his new "relevance" and there is a lot to love about the interview.
Holmes, who previously has stated black culture ruined heavy metal, was once again walking the fine line between commentary and potential racism:
About two years ago I pulled into a 7-11, and this kid got out of his car. He wasn’t listening to rock. When I was his age, that’s all I listened to. That made me realize the kind of music I do just doesn’t work here anymore.
What was he listening to?
Hip-hop. And I just don’t play that kind of music. I was talking to one of my friend’s kids—he’s in high school, and I asked him, “Why don’t you listen to rock, like Deep Purple or something?” And he said, “Man, that’s pussy music.” This is a white kid.
Why does he need to point out that the kid was white? Because back in his day, white kids only listened to rock.
We also learned what the songs on his new album are about, and Holmes proves to be a modern day poet:
Well, the song “Shittin’ Bricks” is about getting chased by the cops. You’re in the moment of running from them, but they haven’t caught you yet.
“Two-Faced Motherfucker.” It’s about people I’ve been around in my life. Not just one person… but I don’t like saying names. If you listen to the lyrics, you can tell who it’s about.
There’s one called “In Your Mouth”… [Laughs] Yeah, it’s a funny song. You gotta listen to the lyrics. A friend of mine, a girl, is singing backups on it, going “In my mouth…” And there’s another one called “Don’t Care” which is about not paying the rent to the landlord and having cockroaches on the walls. It goes, “I rub my balls and I smash them on the walls.” Like, rubbing my eyeballs and smashing cockroaches.
There’s another song on the record called “502.” It’s about getting a 502, driving under the influence. They pull you over and read you your Miranda rights. It’s been done to me so many times I know them by heart.
These tracks sound like absolute masterpieces. Holmes was also asked what he thought of the mixed response to his new music video:
You know, once it gets on [metal sites], they start talking about how crappy it is. They’re always gonna compare everything I do to W.A.S.P., no matter what. So they start bad-mouthing it. That’s probably why it’s gotten so viral. But you know, [the video] is just what I do in Cannes here. It’s a beautiful city. You see me fishing and stuff. I think one part of the video shows a wave hit the rocks and almost knock me off. [Laughs] It’s a neat town. You can’t do the same things in L.A.
Yes, we think it's crappy because we're comparing it to W.A.S.P.. Actually, I have to admit, I've grown fond of the new video. It's silly but Chris Holmes proves he has no fucks to give, and there is something admirable about that. Definitely check the whole interview out on Noisey.
