2 days ago
‘Coming to a pinnacle at Cowboy's Ranch': Legendary Canadian metal band Helix set to play London later this month
Helix frontman Brian Vollmer is pictured with a poster for the band's show at Cowboy's Ranch in London on June 11, 2025. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)
He's known as an elder statesman of Canadian heavy metal. Now, London, Ont.'s Brian Vollmer is getting set to take his legendary band Helix on a retirement tour, of sorts. It includes a stop in the band's hometown of London later this month.
'We always had that huge, grassroots following. We spent time with our fans, we partied with our fans,' explained Vollmer in an interview from his London home.
Vollmer and his band Helix have surpassed five decades in the music business, with the Listowel born, London-based front man now the only original member. Last month, Helix released a new version of their 1984 Canadian hit Rock You, and a new 50th anniversary album to boot.
'We laid down Rock You in an afternoon. We had a photographer came in, did a video. We have a new song too called Stand Up. And that got something like 10,000, 20,000 views in the first week,' said Vollmer.
But what keeps fans tuned in after five decades? It's Vollmer himself, says music promoter and Helix superfan Jay Panaseiko. The founder of Studio 73 Digital Media, Panaseiko managed to land Vollmer and company to headline last summer's Good for the Sol festival in Ingersoll.
'I know he talked many times in stories about giving up, at one point. And he didn't. And he just doesn't. He's always looking for new ways to get the band out there. And I mean, the music has just stood the test of time. The songs are just as good then as they are now,' said Panaseiko.
Vollmer is about to turn 70, and the band is winding down their days on the road. They're set to play Cowboy's Ranch in London on June 27, with special guests London's Howzat and Chicago-based Enuf Znuff.
Vollmer said it may be the last chance for fans to see the legendary band in London.
'Basically, that's what people are coming to see. To see the band and everything that's accumulated over the years coming to a pinnacle at Cowboy's ranch,' Vollmer said.
