''Mind Control'' is the fourth album by American rock band Tantric, released on August 4, 2009. It is the band's second album under

Silent Majority Group Silent Majority Group is a record label founded in 2006 by former Creed, Alter Bridge, and Sevendust artist manager Jeff Hanson that concentrates on finding and developing up-and-coming alternative, rock and pop acts such as Framing Hanley, Para ...

and was produced by

Brett Hestla Brett Adam Hestla (born February 4, 1973) is an American musician. Career In the late 1990s, Hestla's band Virgos Merlot was signed to Atlantic Records. After their first release, ''Signs of a Vacant Soul'', he became the touring bassist for ...

, marking Tantric's departure from mainstay producer

Toby Wright Toby Wright is an American record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with artists such as Alice in Chains, Metallica, Sevendust and Korn. Credits Producer * 3rd Strike - '' Lost Angel'' * 8stops7 - '' In Moderation'' *Alice in Chains ...

. ''Mind Control'' retains the band's 2008 lineup with the exception of drummer Kevin Miller who was replaced by Richie Monica.Ryan
"Tantric Release New Album ''Mind Control''"
''Alternative Addiction''. August 4, 2009.

Background and recording

On March 9, 2009 via MySpace, Tantric announced that they were recording a new album entitled ''Mind Control''. The band's fourth album would be produced by

, former touring bassist for Creed, and initially given a July 21 release date. Singer Hugo Ferreira noted that ''Mind Control'' was more collaborative than previous releases and called it "really, really heavy for Tantric, twice as heavy as the last record at least." However, as all Tantric band members live in different cities across the United States, ''Mind Control'' was written piecemeal. The band would send each other compositions via email for others to build on. In an interview with ''The Flint Journal'', Hugo Ferreira discussed the album's production: :"It was all like via e-mail. Basically Joe would send me a guitar

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompanim ...

on the e-mail and I would dump it into my home studio and kind of slice it up and put it together, and maybe add a

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

. It was put together like a puzzle. But with the instrumentation, I think that the guys, in my mind, really stepped up to the plate and gave me a lot of great stuff to work with. I never really wrote a record like this. But, to me, I think it's the best one we've ever done. It was crazy because it was really effortless. It's great." Ferreira also elaborated on performing for the US military in Korea and the meaning behind ''Mind Control'' and its title track: :"This record is a lot darker than anything we have ever done. Basically, I wrote the song about the media kind of controlling people's opinions and thoughts and stuff like that. Just from being on the side of the viewer of me watching television and seeing the news and flying out to Korea and talking with troops out there and getting their take on it and being completely different. That's what the song was about. The song, even musically, and with the video we already shot, it sets up the whole tone of the record. I thought it would be a cool name." Within a few months of sharing and developing songs separately, the bandmates had written nearly thirty songs. They finally reconvened for one week in a secluded studio in Poconos to perform the songs together and refine them. Bassist Erik Leonhardt explained how the album developed further with the band together: :"We had written the whole record over the computer, so a lot of it changed once we got into the studio. When you have everyone in the same room the ideas start changing. 'What if we do this? What if we do that?' We definitely went heavier on this record, too. I think it has a lot to do with having all new members. This is the new band, full on and writing together. We never said 'let's write a heavier record,' this is just what happened."TANTRIC MOVES RELEASE DATE FOR 'MIND CONTROL' ALBUM TO AUGUST 4
HardRockHideout.com (July 14, 2009). Retrieved on 10-05-09. With ''Mind Control'' having been released merely a year after Tantric's prior album, Ferreira justified the hastiness by explaining "We had the material written. We didn't want to be off the radar. We were off the radar from 2004-2008 and we didn't want people to have to wait for us. It's already not a very loyal business, so if you're not constantly at it you can be easily forgotten."

Promotion and tour

The album's title track served as its

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release ...

, being introduced to radio in August. After two weeks, it entered the Top 40 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

for "Mind Control" was shot in Nashville with director Mason Dixon, who previously directed " Down and Out". It debuted nationwide via

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to shift its programmin ...

's ''Unleashed'' on August 4.TANTRIC'S 'MIND CONTROL' ALBUM OUT TODAY
HardRockHideout.com (August 4, 2009). Retrieved on 8-24-09. Tantric's first tour for ''Mind Control'' was scheduled from August to September 2009 with guests Aranda and Vayden.

Critical reception

''Mind Control'' gained largely positive feedback from critics. Michael Mueller of ''Guitar Edge'' gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars. Praising guitarist Joe Pessia's acoustic performances on "The Past Is the Past" and "What are You Waiting For", he declared that one of the two "is almost certain to be a radio smash." Mueller also considered the song "Let's Start" "

Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...

meets

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...

with an E-Bow. However, there is no E-BOW used on the album. Tantric has an actual violin player in the band. "

Track listing

All lyrics written by Hugo Ferreira.

Personnel

* Hugo Ferreira – lead vocals and keyboard * Joe Pessia – guitar * Erik Leonhardt – bass and vocals * Marcus Ratzenboeck – violin * Richie Monica – drums

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums Tantric (band) albums