By Mike Fordham
You’ve heard this one before. The leader of the band goes on a maniacal power trip, and the rest of the band quits, forming a new group. This was the case with the moody grunge rockers of Days of the New. The rest of the band broke away from singer/leader Travis Meeks after the act hit it big. Drummer Matt Taul, guitarist Todd Whitener and bassist Jesse Vest later brought on vocalist Hugo Ferreira and formed Tantric. The foursome had a minor hit in 2001 from their self-titled debut with “Breakdown.” Tantric return with After We Go, a disc packed with more moody (sometimes angry) grunge rockers.
To play off the cliché “the apple never falls far from the tree,” Tantric never did stray too far from Days of the New territory. The major difference is that Tantric has a more mainstream sound and isn’t overly bogged down in emotion. The group instead mixes hard rock and grunge with a copious amount of hooks that produces a commercially appealing sound. This isn’t a bad thing. As witnessed by “Hey Now,” “Before, “Awake,” and “After We Go,” Tantric are quite capable of producing well-polished and engaging rock ‘n’ roll. “The Chain” respectfully channels Alice In Chains by fusing grunge and dark acoustic guitar/banjo parts for a bizarre and satisfying head-trip. Tantric even makes an indulgence-free guitar solo fit in “Just Once,” which is a feat in itself. The acoustic based “Hero” also does not falter. Song-wise, Tantric is worlds apart from Creed’s bloated tunes or Nickelback’s weak grunge rip-offs.
Although grunge influenced hard rock is a cluttered field, Tantric are ahead of the pack. They know the formula, but add some much needed style. In fact, Tantric very well might have the means to “overtake” their former group in terms of popularity and recognition. The band is much better off without Meeks and Days of the New. Tantric successfully built off of their debut disc and improve on After We Go. As the title suggests, Tantric are preparing for the long run, and rightfully so – they’ll be around for it.