Tantric

Tantric came together in 1998, fusing post-grunge, modern rock, and alternative metal into an aggressive sound. The group unveiled its self-titled debut album in 2001, which earned gold certification. Three former members of the commercially successful post-grunge act Days of the New—guitarist Todd Whitener, bassist Jesse Vest, and drummer Matt Taul—formed the core, enabling Tantric to issue multiple Billboard-charting albums and singles throughout the 2000s. Personnel shifts also plagued Tantric, prompting co-founder and lead singer Hugo Ferreira to rebuild the entire lineup in 2007; he has served as the only continuous member since that point. Later releases, notably 37 Channels in 2013 and Mercury Retrograde in 2018, maintained a presence on the hard rock charts.

Days of the New achieved rapid prominence in 1998 through their major-label debut album and the singles “Solitude” and “Touch, Peel and Stand,” earning both commercial traction and MTV recognition for the Louisville, Kentucky outfit. Creative disagreements and the intensity of sudden fame led Whitener, Vest, and Taul to depart shortly afterward. The trio continued performing together two years later, now under the name Tantric. After signing with Madonna’s Maverick imprint, they added vocalist Hugo Ferreira and delivered a self-titled album that proved more energetic and assertive than their prior work. The record achieved gold status, led by “Breakdown,” which reached number one on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and entered the Top Five of the Modern Rock chart. Follow-up single “Astounded” peaked inside the Top Ten on Mainstream Rock and also appeared on Modern Rock, while “Mourning” registered on both tallies. Three years later Tantric returned with After We Go, which entered the Billboard Top 100 and yielded the Top Ten Mainstream Rock hit “Hey Now,” plus charting tracks that included a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” and the album’s title song.

In late 2007 Whitener, Vest, and Taul again left the group. Ferreira kept ownership of the Tantric name and assembled a new roster featuring guitarist Joe Pessia, bassist Erik Leonhardt, and former Fuel drummer Kevin Miller. This configuration recorded the third album, The End Begins, issued April 22, 2008, on the Silent Majority Group label; lead single “Down and Out” climbed to the Top Five of the Mainstream Rock chart. By the August 4, 2009 release of the fourth album, Mind Control, Miller had been succeeded by Richie Monica, and violinist Marcus Ratzenboeck had joined to expand the band to a quintet.

Tantric shifted to Pavement Entertainment for 37 Channels in 2013, an album on which Ferreira handled most songwriting and production duties while also contributing rhythm guitar, bass, and piano; it debuted at number 24 on Billboard’s Hard Rock Albums chart. The 2014 collection Blue Room Archives compiled unreleased recordings, remixes, and fresh acoustic renditions of earlier songs such as “Breakdown” and “Mourning.” In 2018 the band issued its seventh studio album, Mercury Retrograde, supporting the release with a tour alongside Puddle of Mudd.