2014
Blind Race is a Toronto, Ontario hard rock/alternative metal band that was co-founded by brother's
Costas and Stelio Kentros (guitars & drums/percussion respectively). Officially this band came into being in 2007 although prior to that (2005 to be exact) there was already demo material recorded. In fact there was enough music recorded for two EPs which is how this Canadian act evolved from a studio-only project into a full-pledged band that has already shared the stage with the likes of Breached, West Memphis Suicide, Left Turn City, Rise For Order, All But Over, Down In Ashes, Last Bullet, Polarity, Affinity, Kodessa, Revmatic, The Standstills, Rebel Hero, On The Verge, Sumo Cyco, Raised Emotionally Dead, Burning The Day, The Joy Arson, The Rabid Whole, Asleep Behind The Flame, Fallen Heirs and The Unchained! And that's just to name some of the group's that Blind Race has performed with since stepping out of the studio and onto the stage! The upcoming "Come And Get It" is actually the group's second overall EP and Blind Race's third release since first appearing on the scene with the 2008 LP "Seeing Red". Initially starting out as a four-piece, "Come And Get It" is the first recording to feature Blind Race's expanded line-up. Besides Costas and Stelio Kentros the new EP "Come And Get It", which incidentally is due out November 18th and can be pre-ordered at the bandcamp link below, features lead vocalist Tommy Geraldes, bass guitarist Mike Ferraro and keyboardist Joannie Cotten. If I had to take a stab in the dark I would say that Joannie Cotten is the latest musician to join Blind Race. But, seeing as this is my first sampling of this Canadian band such information is really neither here nor there when it comes to the 5-track EP on hand. If you are curious though here's what this bunch looks like:
OK, now the we have that out of the way let's tackle this 16 + minute release. Produced by Mike Langford (Evans Blue, Parabelle, Charlie Hope, Rains, Hawksley Workman, Sloan, Ian Thornley, Jeff Martin, Crash Karma, Art Of Dying, Shiloh, Dane Hartsell, Rex Goudie, and Tupelo Honey) and mastered by Chris Crerar at Toronto's Metalwork Studios, "Come And Get It" isn't exactly what it appears to be at first. Very much in tone with the kind of great movies where a twist comes from out of nowhere to wrap everything up perfectly this EP starts out one way before going BANG! and turning the tables on you. Without giving away too many "spoilers" here opening track "Hypocrite" and then it's follow-up, "Come And Get It" are straight out of the playbooks of bands like Godsmack, Pantera, Slipknot, Disturbed and Five Finger Death Punch. So much so in fact that I swore I had this album pegged for what it was and that the track "Hopeless" would live up to it's name! But then "Hopeless" actually started and it showed a completely different side of Blind Race. The thing is "Hopeless" has a real Pearl Jam vibe going for it and while that would normally be a bad thing for me (as I honestly loathe Pearl Jam and all!) here on this EP it is amazing! "Truth Or Dare" is next where the band tackles "Black"-era Metallica by way of Stone Sour and while lead vocalist Tommy Geraldes shows off his versatility on the mic Costas Kentros shows off his solid skills as a guitarist. The pair even goes acoustic on the short, but sweet "Gone"! And here I was thinking that I could easily pigeonhole this band! Silly me! In closing this is one "new" band worth checking out and you can do that by heading either here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blind-Race/7691919182 or over here: http://www.blindrace.net/online/ And if I haven't already said it then I must do it now. Collectively the members of Blind Race do a bang up job of complementing each other on their latest release and if they can continue to grow as a band and mature as songwriters then who knows just how far they could get! It's going to be interesting seeing what comes next for Blind Race, but in the meantime you can pre-view and pre-order this EP at this location:
http://blindrace.bandcamp.com/album/come-and-get-it
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