Anthology (Alien Ant Farm album)

Vocalist Dryden Mitchell, guitarist Terry Corso, bassist Tye Zamora, and drummer Mike Cosgrove formed Alien Ant Farm in 1996.[1] Zamora and Cosgrove previously played in a Primus cover band.[2] That same year, the band released their debut EP $100 EP, and followed it up with their second EP Love Songs in 1998.[3][4] The band self-released their debut studio album Greatest Hits (1999) through their own label Chick Music Records.[2] It later won the award for Best Independent Album at the 1999 LA Music Awards.[1] The band promoted it with a tour in Europe, appearances at various festivals,[5] and played several showcases in Los Angeles, California, in an attempt to secure a record deal.[6]

By the end of 2000, Alien Ant Farm were recording their next album at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California, with producer Jay Baumgardner.[7][8] The band's label had suggested Baumgardner; the band liked his work with the likes of Orgy and Papa Roach. They recorded two songs with him, before letting him work on the rest of the album.[9] James Murray acted as engineer and operated Pro Tools assisted by Justin Harvey. John Ewing and Brian Viture did additional Pro Tools work. Baumgardner mixed the recordings at NRG, with help from Daniel Certa, before Tom Baker mastered the recordings at Precision Mastering in Hollywood.[8]

Musically, critics have described the sound of Anthology alternative metal[10] and nu metal,[11] drawing comparisons to Make Yourself (1999) by Incubus and Mer de Noms (2000) by A Perfect Circle.[12] Discussing the album's title, Mitchell said: "We called our first independent record Greatest Hits. And in a sense, a lot of bands' first record is their greatest hits because they are soon gone. ... So we thought it would be funny to do ANThology for our second record since we already did our greatest hits."[13] The band attempted vocal harmonies in the vein of Electric Light Orchestra, Steely Dan, and Queen.[14] Mitchell wrote many of the tracks following a breakup.[2]

The opening track "Courage" details a relationship which had reached its breaking point.[15] "Movies" uses staccato guitar parts against a funk-esque bassline.[16] Mitchell said the song was about comparing a relationship to cinema.[17] "Flesh and Bone" recalled the Police with Cosgrove's reggae-esque drum rhythms; Tye Zamora's brother Jon contributed additional background vocals to the song.[8][15] At the suggestion of Zamora, Mitchell wrote the lyrics around religion, asking questions about people's beliefs.[9] "Whisper" is an attack on the music industry.[15]

"Attitude" has a Latin beat, with percussion by Toto member Lenny Castro.[8][14] The song is from the perspective of a girl expressing her anger, with the narrator explaining that her boyfriend is worse off.[9] "Stranded" includes slide guitar by Dredg vocalist Gavin Hayes, and is followed by "Wish", the first-ever song the band wrote.[8][9] "Smooth Criminal" (1987), a Michael Jackson cover, is done in the nu metal style.[18] The closing track "Universe" features a string arrangement by David Campbell. The hidden track "Orange Appeal" incorporates slide guitar by Hayes and flute by Yanick Vincent.[8]

After playing several shows together, Alien Ant Farm became well-acquainted with Papa Roach. When Papa Roach achieved commercial success, they were given ownership of the New Noize record label. Alien Ant Farm was shopping around for a record deal and an A&R person from New Noize eventually found them.[17] The band toured the US west coast in January and February 2001, followed by a cross-country trek with Linkin Park and Taproot.[19] Anthology was released on March 6, 2001, on New Noize and DreamWorks Records.[8][20] Around this time, they were supporting Orgy on the Vapr Transmission Tour.[6][12] The music video for "Movies" premiered on MTV2 on March 17.[21]

The band was due to support Papa Roach on a US headliner, however, it was canceled. Instead, they went on a club tour on the US west coast, and supported Papa Roach on their European tour for two weeks.[13] "Movies" was released as the lead single on June 18, 2001.[16] The CD version includes "Pink Tea", a live acoustic version of "Movies" along with the music video for "Movies".[22] Alien Ant Farm appeared on the 2001 Warped Tour between June and August.[13][23] Afterwards, the band performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK.[17] "Smooth Criminal" was released as a single on August 27, 2001.[24] The European CD version featured "Orange Appeal", "Denigrate", and the "Smooth Criminal" music video; the UK version swapped "Orange Appeal" for "Movies".[25][26]

The band took a few weeks off for the Christmas holidays, before touring Australia and New Zealand in early 2002.[14] "Movies" was re-released as a single on February 4, 2002.[27] They decided to reissue "Movies", after the success of "Smooth Criminal", in an attempt to get the song to chart, .[14] The CD version included live versions of "Movies" and "Smooth Criminal", along with the music video for "Movies".[28] After a two-week stint in Europe, the band returned to the US, and toured as part of the 2002 SnoCore Tour.[14] "Attitude" was released as a UK single on May 13, to coincide with a tour there in the same month.[29] The CD version included a remix and live acoustic versions of "Attitude", alongside live versions of "Universe" and "Stranded", and the music videos for "Attitude" and "Universe".[30]

While traveling to a show, the band was involved in a road accident. Initial reporting said that the bus driver was killed, and Mitchell and Zamora ended up in hospital.[31] The following day, the band explained they had been involved in a head-on collision, leaving their driver dead, and their security guard in critical condition. Six of the band's crew members were also injured and taken to hospital with the band's members. Mitchell Had sustained back injuries, and Cosgrove suffered a broken ankle. Zamora had foot injuries, while Cosgrove had cuts and bruises.[32] A week after the incident, the band canceled all of their shows for the rest of the month, and into June.[33] They returned to performing in December as part of the charity showcase Drum Day in Los Angeles.[34]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	65/100[35]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[20]
Dotmusic	Favorable[36]
E! Online	B[37]
Drowned in Sound	10/10[38]
Melodic	[39]
NME	6/10[40]
Rolling Stone	[41]
Wall of Sound	62/100[15]

Anthology was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 65, based on six reviews.[35]

Drowned in Sound writer Terry Bezer wrote Alien Ant Farm "offer a widely diverse set of tunes and [sic] all of which are of the highest standard", with Anthology containing "all you could ever want from a debut album and a whole lot more". He cited the band's "[l]ive-wire energy, powerful tunes from start to finish and, most importantly, a sense of unpredictability".[38] Dotmusic's Chris Heath wrote the band broke "new ground ... by exploring far more than the quiet-loud-rage-quiet formula with real singing and everything and a fair [dose] of pop melody".[36] AllMusic reviewer Mario Mesquita Borges noted the album displays "the band's alternate dexterity, not only due to ... Mitchell's revealing vocals, but also by virtue of their deliverance of full-blooded melodies".[20] The staff at E! Online called the album "[m]ore diverse than you might think ... mak[ing] this one Ant Farm that'll keep your attention".[37]

Rolling Stone reviewer Barry Walters wrote that the band "boasts the mosh power of Papa Roach, but with a lot more ingenuity, tunes and chops, as if Korn had half-morphed into Cheap Trick".[41] Wall of Sound's Daniel Durchholz considered the band to be showing "some real potential. They're pissed, sure — who isn't these days? But the important thing is that the members of the band have a talent for songcraft."[15] Kitty Empire of NME found Mitchell to be "over-emot[ing] at every turn ... further slickening 'ANThology's pomp rock gloss." She added the band are "trying to make a mountain of an ant hill, where we'd be content with a record that just rocks."[40] Melodic webmaster Johan Wippsson singled out "Movies" and "Smooth Criminal", before then noting that "the rest of the album isn't that special". He added, "[i]t's not bad at all, just a little bit uninteresting".[39]

Anthology peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard 200.[42] Outside of the US, it charted at number 11 in the UK,[43] number 13 in Finland,[44] number 18 in Australia,[45] number 20 in Germany,[46] number 21 in Ireland,[47] number 22 in Belgium,[48] number 24 in New Zealand,[49] number 32 in Austria,[50] number 40 in Scotland,[51] number 44 in the Netherlands,[52] number 45 in Switzerland,[53] and number 58 in Sweden.[54] The album was later certified platinum in Canada,[55] the UK,[56] and the US,[57] and gold in Australia.[58]

"Smooth Criminal" reached number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[59] It also appeared on several Billboard component charts: number 1 on Alternative Airplay,[60] number 12 on Mainstream Top 40,[61] number 17 on Active Rock,[62] number 18 on Mainstream Rock Songs,[63] number 23 on Radio Songs,[64] and number 27 on Heritage Rock.[65] Outside of the US, it peaked at number 1 in Australia,[66] number 2 in Finland,[67] number 3 in the UK,[43] number 4 in New Zealand and Switzerland,[68][69] number 5 in Sweden,[70] and number 6 in Austria.[71] The song was certified 2× platinum in Australia,[72] and platinum in the UK.[73]

"Movies" appeared on several Billboard component charts: number 18 on Alternative Airplay,[60] number 35 on the Active Rock,[62] and number 38 on Mainstream Rock Songs.[63] It also charted at number 5 in the UK,[43] number 29 in Australia,[66] number 35 in New Zealand,[68] and number 62 in Switzerland.[69] "Movies" was certified silver in the UK.[73] "Attitude" reached number 66 in the UK.[43]

Track listing per booklet. All recordings produced by Jay Baumgardner.[8]

Personnel per booklet.[8]

• Anthology at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)