“I’m ready to get back on the horse,” says Tantric frontman Hugo Ferriera. Tantric is back and back with a vengeance. In April, the newly rebuilt, Louisville, Kentucky-based rock outfit will release The End Begins, which is technically the band’s third formal installment, but seemingly their first as the lineup surrounding Ferriera is completely new.
In 2001 Tantric appeared to be unstoppable. Their self-titled release debuted at #193 on the Billboard Top 200, but their single “Breakdown” catapulted to #1 on the rock charts, driving their self-titled release to a platinum level in sales. The success landed the band tours with Kid Rock and Creed followed by other tours with 3 Doors Down and Shinedown. Tantric pressed on with their sophomore release After We Go, saw some mainstream success, but never quite garnered the numbers the first record did. In 2005 Tantric began recording their third record entitled Tantric 3. During the midst of recording internal struggles within the original lineup ensued. “It was a career and financial rollercoaster,” notes Ferriera.
Part of that rollercoaster was largely induced by the band’s label, Maverick Records, which was home to artists ranging from Alanis Morissette to the Deftones. Maverick, partly owned by Madonna, filed suit against Warner Music Group and Time Warner, Inc. claiming Maverick had lost millions of dollars due to misuse of resources and poor bookkeeping. Warner filed a countersuit alleging that Maverick’s turmoil was self induced. In June of 2004 the dispute was put to rest when Warner Bros. purchased the majority of the shares owned by Madonna and Ronnie Dashev, the other co-owner. This effectively gave Warner Bros. full control of the label, which came along with a change of focus for many of the bands that called Maverick home. Tantric was one of them.
“The guys in the band got tired of the bullshit,” Ferriera says. “The bottom fell out when the label went under.” Ferriera, now alone, was not about to give up on his passion. “I worked so hard to get it to the point it was, doing something else wasn’t an option,” Ferriera explains. So he began to rebuild the band first engaging ex-Fuel drummer Kevin Miller. “I had seen that he left Fuel and he’s a rock solid drummer,” Ferriera explains. Miller then enlisted Erik Leonhardt on bass and Joe Pessia just fell into place as the guitarist. “It wasn’t as difficult as I thought,” Ferriera insists regarding the rebuilding process. Then to add the frosting on the cake, Ferriera got his long-time friend and classically trained violinist Marcus Ratzenboek to jump on board as well. “I wasn’t thinking about adding a violin player,” Ferriera says. In fact all of the arrangements were written specifically for the violin, not just added to be cliché.
Tantric’s newest endeavor, The End Begins, is a fresh look at rock and roll. Ferriera’s voice has the signature low-toned growl, while the violin sounds symphonic, throaty and often taking on guitar-like harmonics. Overall, the new record is thick, heavy and completely rock and roll. There’s an obvious sense of anger to the record, which is largely based on Ferriera’s career journey. “It’s about the experience between the last record and this record,” Ferriera says. There are tones of frustration, but also indications of optimism. Song titles like “Down & Out,” “Something Better” and “Monopoly” all hint toward the displeasure of what Tantric battled just a few years ago.
Ferriera says that the new record is fresh, different and intelligent without losing sight of what Tantric’s roots are, which is good old rock n’ roll. The band looked to Toby Wright to produce The End Begins. Wright had previously worked on their largely successful first album and Ferriera was excited to have him at the helm again. “We considered him another member of the band,” Ferriera says. “He brought unity in our sound.”
There’s no doubt that Ferriera is excited about the new chapter of Tantric. “Artistically, we made the record we were aiming to make,” he says. “I’d like the record to be the biggest surprise of the year and do better than any record we’ve ever done.” He adds that he would like to see their new music be embraced by the fans and the radio world.
Ferriera has obviously seen his fair share of trials, but in the case of The End Begins those trials have proved to be high-octane fuel for a stellar new record, which could easily land Tantric back in the arena tour circuit. Where will Tantric be a year from now? “I’d like to see hard work grow some fruit,” Ferriera says of Tantric’s future. “And I want to have a big basket of fruit!”
By: Adam K. Zakroczymski III - Senior Editor / Founder
