Featured review by:
UG Team, on august 04, 2009
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Sound: Tantric had initially formed in Kentucky as an offshoot band featuring of all the members of neo-grunge act Days of the New, sans frontman Travis Meeks, only with a new singer. In a twist of irony, the only remaining original member of Tantric is singer Hugo Ferreira. The singer the only member of Tantric who wasn’t in Days of the New and he’s the last man standing. Regardless, the new turks in this band known how to turn up the dial on gloomy, grungy and radio-ready rock. After all, this is a band that achieved a modicum of mainstream radio success in the earlier part of the current decade. However, with Tantric, it’s like its 1992 all over again! Somebody get me a flannel work shirt and jeans with holes in the knees! Tantric, despite the lineup changes and label shifting, stabilized their sound, which is a heavy and head- down style. Grittier than Pearl Jam yet not quite as polished as, say, Candlebox, Tantric and Mind Control are grunge for the new millennium. The title track is textbook grunge, while “Fall to the Ground” is hookier than a tackle box and will shake the floor with its deep grooves. The overall vibe of Mind Control is reaaallllyy gloomy, especially on “Coming Undone,” and like Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, Tantric concentrate mostly on driving riffs that are best complemented by assertive, well-sung vocals. There’s some intense solo’ing on “Coming Undone” that might even attract a few metal fans to Tantric’s lair. The band avoids falling into the trap of being too bland or too vanilla, thanks to the sharp, jagged edges implicit in the music. // 7
Lyrics and Singing: Ferreira is speaking to the masses. If you’ve clocked out and headed to the watering hole, all the while cursing that blue collar job you hate, Mind Control is certainly the album that should be blaring from the speakers of your pickup truck. We can all relate to the lyrical sentiments that Ferreira broaches. But what’s most comforting is the bellow of his voice. He emotes and sings from the pit of his guts, which lends a sincerity to this album. // 7
Impression: Grunge’s heyday is decidedly in the rear view, but that’s not stopping Tantric from forging a path. There’s a tension that surrounds Mind Control, and the band is certainly paying homage to an era gone by. So if you were in high school or college, or even grade school, for that matter, when Nirvana were taking the music world by storm, then Tantric and Mind Control will remind you of that period of your life and that time in music history. Tantric know how to crank the knobs to 11 and how to blow the subwoofer in your speakers, but there’s real emotion teeming from these rowdy riffs. // 7
- Amy Sciarretto (c) 2009
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