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By GREG MAKI
A little background information is necessary before I get into this review. Tantric formed in 1999 when former Days of the New members Todd Whitener (guitar), Jesse Vest (bass) and Matt Taul (drums) hooked up with singer Huge Ferreira. Quickly signed by Maverick Records, they released their self-titled debut in 2001. The disc spawned the hit single “Breakdown” and sold more than a million copies. The follow-up, After We Go, released in 2004, was less successful. The years since have seen the band split from Maverick and the departures of Whitener, Vest and Taul. Ferreira, though, has persevered, continuing the Tantric name with a new group of musicians.
Nothing I heard from the first two Tantric albums—which admittedly wasn’t much—did anything for me. Little distinguished them from anything else on rock radio, which at the time was dominated by the likes of Creed and Nickelback. Imagine my surprise, then, to find that The End Begins, the first release from the new incarnation of Tantric, is one of the more diverse and creative rock albums I’ve heard recently.
The disc will start to raise eyebrows with track number two, “Down & Out.” Is that a violin playing the main riff? Indeed it is and it’s not a special guest musician. Violinist Marcus Ratzenboeck is in the band, adding an entirely new dimension to their sound. I’ve never heard a violin used in a rock song quite like this. From here, we head into the piano- and acoustic-guitar-laden “The One,” featuring Candelbox singer Kevin Martin, his voice a nice contrast to Ferreira’s deep tones. Then it’s on to my second favorite, “Love Song,” which opens with a funky bass riff from Eric Leonhardt. With lyrics like “I hope you’re really happy and you choke on it,” the title surely is meant in jest.
For all its strengths, The End Begins is far from perfect. Much of the album lacks the energy of “Down & Out” and my attention wandered during some of the softer selections. I would rather hear more rockers like “Lucky One” and “Monopoly,” and fewer slow songs like “Something Better.” But even with these criticisms, this effort far exceeds any expectation I ever had for Tantric.
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