Christopher John Holmes (born June 23, 1958) is an American heavy metal guitarist and songwriter. Holmes started his musical career in the Pasadena, California area in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is best known as the lead guitarist of heavy metal band W.A.S.P. Together with Blackie Lawless and Randy Piper he was one of the founding members of the band. Holmes was a member of W.A.S.P. first from 1983 to 1990, and again from 1996 to 2001. Career W.A.S.P. Prior to meeting Blackie Lawless and Randy Piper, and joining W.A.S.P., Holmes played guitar with Los Angeles bands Buster Savage, LAX, and Slave. Holmes joined W.A.S.P. from 1983 to 1990, playing on the first four studio albums and the first live album. In 1996, Holmes rejoined W.A.S.P., and remained lead guitarist until 2001. Holmes has not played with W.A.S.P. since. Randy Piper’s Animal Holmes was contacted by friend and former bandmate Randy Piper to join Piper's new project, Animal. Holmes quickly relocated to Ohio to prepare for Animal's upcoming "900 lb Steam" tour. The tour was considered successful, and after its conclusion, Animal recorded tracks for a new album. After Animal After Holmes returned to Los Angeles in late 2003, he began working with several Southern California-based metal groups, producing and contributing guitar tracks. In 2007, Holmes was involved in the filming of a Randy Rhoads documentary directed by Peter M. Margolis, which is yet to be released. Holmes appears briefly in a 2009 episode of VH1's Rock Docs, "Do It For The Band: The Women of Sunset Strip." In the Summer of 2009 Holmes released Secret Society's "Death by Misadventure." Where Angels Suffer and solo career In 2010, he joined Where Angels Suffer with Randy Piper on guitar, Steve Unger (Metal Church) on bass, Rich Lewis (Animal), on vocals, and Stet Howland on drums (Blackfoot, Lita Ford, Killing Machine, Belladonna, Impellitteri, Sister and W.A.S.P.). Ira Black has since replaced Piper. The band toured Europe for the first time in 2011. On November 26, 2012, Chris Holmes released his first solo album Nothing to Lose and decided to produce, manage and distribute it himself along with his wife Catherine Holmes. After his first album, Chris started recording his second solo album, Shitting Bricks. On May 2, 2015, that album was released worldwide and on the same day Chris Holmes played his first concert in Nantes, France, with his new