The band's sophomore effort, "After We Go", again produced by Wright, was released in February 2004, preceded by the single "Hey Now". Described as heavier than their first record, "After We Go" debuted at #56 on the Billboard 200. Unfortunately, the album did not match the success of their debut, in part due to the poor reception of follow-up singles (the title track "After We Go," and their cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain"). Nevertheless, Tantric soldiered on, touring with Three Doors Down and Shinedown for much of 2004.
In 2005, it was announced that Jesse Vest had left the band to spend time with his family. He was replaced by Bruce LaFrance. For much of that year, Tantric worked on their third record. Some of the songs tracked for the record include "Letting Go", "People", "Worth Waiting For", "Fall Down", "The One", "July", "Locked Out", and "Stay With You". Todd Whitener recorded the bass guitar parts for the album, and also contributed lead vocals to a number of songs.
In January, 2006 Tantric traveled with hard rock group Drowning Pool to Seoul, South Korea to play several shows for U.S. troops currently stationed along the DMZ. Highly appreciative of this, the troops gave members of the band a plaque with actual barbed wire from the 38th parallel barrier.
In March, 2006, Tantric was dropped from Maverick Records, which was collapsing. In 2007, Matt Taul was arrested on drug-related charges, which would further complicate the band's obtaining a new label. Finally, on May 8, 2007, the release of three songs from Tantric III on the band's MySpace was largely overshadowed by Todd Whitener's farewell announcement on the band's website, which cited a feeling of stagnation that caused him to grow tired of the band's struggle to succeed. Ferreira later said in interviews that Whitener, as well as other members of the band had grown frustrated with the band's record label complications. Taul was sent to prison in later months, but has since been released. Bruce LaFrance was replaced.
Hugo Ferreira began searching for a new band, enlisting former Fuel drummer Kevin Miller, Joe Pessia (guitarist Dramagods) through mutual friend Nuno Bettencourt, Erik Leonhardt (bassist), and Marcus Ratzenboeck (electric violin) as new members of the band. Shortly thereafter, Tantric announced their deal with the Silent Majority Group record label, and their new management company, JHMP.
Because Ferreira remained the only original member of Tantric, Tantric III has been shelved for the time being. Ferreira has said the reasoning for this, other than the logical label complications, was he did not want to produce an album under the Tantric name that was partially written by Whitener and Taul. However, in recent interviews, Ferreira's comments increased the likelihood of Tantric III's release. He has stated that although he did not plan to release it in grand style he would have liked to leak it out to the fans as a potential Christmas 2008 gift for their support. With the indefinite shelving of "T3," Ferreira and his new mates recorded 10 new songs, in addition to a totally revamped version of "The One," featuring Kevin Martin of Candlebox, and finally released the band's third album, The End Begins, on April 22, 2008.
On March 9 2009, Tantric announced through MySpace that their new album will be entitled Mind Control and that the band were in the process of recording the album. Produced by Brett Hestla (Creed), they announced a release date of August 4, and it was released in stores, as well as all digital retailers.
Awake
Tantric Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the people, places
We've left behind
What others want you are a struggling it
Second chances are the hardest things to find
Another day, another sun is gone
And everything around us
So you pleasantly distract yourself
Time is passing
Don't forget to look around
What if the life we knew wasn't dead
It's only been forgotten 'cause we fought and lost again
I'm tired of always stumbling through it
That's not the way to be
Pay attention 'cause it goes away
And don't be bothered
By the things you can't control
Very few things never fade away
Let the petty things
That dwell go where they go
What if the life we knew wasn't dead
It's only been forgotten 'cause we fought and lost again
I'm tired of always stumbling through it
That's not the way to be
This is how I have to clear my mind
This is how to take the blindfold off to find
What I see an image of my life
Then awake to find that everything was fine.
What if the life we knew wasn't dead
It's only been forgotten 'cause we fought and lost again
I'm tired of always stumbling through it
That's not the way to be
What if the life we knew wasn't dead
It's only been forgotten 'cause we fought and lost again
I'm tired of always stumbling through it
That's not the way to be
The lyrics of Tantric's Awake are about struggling through life and trying to find a sense of purpose and direction. The first verse speaks about leaving behind people and places in order to move forward, and how difficult it is to find a second chance. The second verse talks about how time passes quickly and how easy it is to become distracted by everyday life. It emphasizes the importance of paying attention to what is going on around oneself and not being bothered by things that cannot be controlled. The chorus asks the question "what if the life we knew wasn't dead?" and reminds us that we have the power to take the blindfold off and see our lives for what they truly are.
The overall message of the song is that life is full of struggles, but it is important to stay present and not let ourselves get lost in the day-to-day grind. The lyrics encourage us to take control of our lives and not let our problems define us. The chorus repeats the phrase "what if the life we knew wasn't dead" to remind listeners that it is never too late to find meaning and purpose in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Thinking back we were a struggling
Reflecting on the past, we remember a time when we were struggling
All the people, places
We recall all of the people and places we encountered
We've left behind
Realizing that we have moved on from those times and left those people and places behind
What others want you are a struggling it
Sometimes it can be difficult to balance our own desires with the expectations of others
Second chances are the hardest things to find
It can be tough to come across opportunities for a second chance in life
Another day, another sun is gone
Each day passes quickly and before we know it, another day is gone
And everything around us
Our surroundings and circumstances have an effect on us
Slowly wears us down
Over time, these effects can wear us down
So you pleasantly distract yourself
To cope with this weariness, we may distract ourselves with more pleasant things
Time is passing
The passage of time is inevitable
Don't forget to look around
We shouldn't forget to take a moment and observe our surroundings
Pay attention 'cause it goes away
We should pay attention to the things we have in the moment because they can quickly disappear
And don't be bothered
We shouldn't let the things we can't control bother us
By the things you can't control
We should accept that there are things we can't control
Very few things never fade away
There are only a few things in life that never fade away
Let the petty things
We should let go of the small, insignificant things
That dwell go where they go
We should allow these petty things to fade away and move on
This is how I have to clear my mind
For the singer, clearing their mind involves the following actions
This is how to take the blindfold off to find
Further, they need to take off their metaphorical blindfold to see clearly
What I see an image of my life
Through this process, the artist sees a clear image of their life
Then awake to find that everything was fine
Finally, they awaken to find that everything is okay
What if the life we knew wasn't dead
The artist imagines what life would be like if they could regain the happiness they once knew
It's only been forgotten 'cause we fought and lost again
They believe that they have lost that happiness because they fought for it and were unsuccessful
I'm tired of always stumbling through it
The artist is tired of constantly struggling and stumbling in their search for happiness
That's not the way to be
They acknowledge that this isn't the way they want to live their life
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HUGO FERREIRA, HUGO FERNANDO DA SILVA FERREIRA, JESSE VEST, JESSE DOUGLAS VEST, MATT TAUL, MATT ALVIN TAUL, TODD WHITENER, TODD ANDREW WHITENER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind