The Best of the Rest Vol. I: Alien Ant Farm

Colin Sik

6 months ago

Ranking the catalogue of Alt-Metal class clowns, Alien Ant Farm.

Not unlike popular music magazine, Rolling Stone, Buffaloretro.com also has a bizarre obsession with not only cramming our opinions down readers throats but also covering obscure bands that we think you may have missed or don’t “truly appreciate.”

Also, not unlike a Rolling Stone feature, this list will more than likely not change your opinion on anything. You might not even read it and give the article a like out of some sort of sad sympathy. (Sympathy likes and reads are still always appreciated.)

So anyways, if you’re a long time reader you know I get into OCD-ish habits, micro obsessions, and hyper fixate on whatever it is currently rockin’ my boat that week. These subjects of obsession surprise even me at times. so long story short, lets touch base with oft-misunderstood So-Cal stooges, Alien Ant Farm and their overlooked discography.

Lead singer, Dryden Mitchell’s bullshit charge aside (Jan. 2023) here is the official biography for the band from Wikipedia:

Alien Ant Farm is an American rock band that formed in Riverside, California in 1996. They have released five studio albums and sold over 5 million units worldwide. The band’s cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” topped the Billboard Alternative songs charts in 2001 and was featured in the film American Pie 2.

They released their debut album Greatest Hits independently in 1999, then signed to DreamWorks Records in 2000. Their second album ANThology was released in 2001 and has been certified platinum by the RIAA, selling over one million copies and reaching number 11 on the Billboard 200. Following up that was their third album, TruANT, released in 2003. The album was produced by brothers Robert and Dean DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots, and made it to number 42 on the Billboard 200. In 2005 the band recorded their next album 3rd Draft, however its release was denied by the label after Geffen bought out DreamWorks. It was eventually released in 2006 as Up in the Attic, charting at number 114 on the Billboard 200. After several years of sporadic touring, the band’s fifth studio album Always and Forever was released in February 2015.
WIKI

Formed: 1996

From: Riverside, California

Other noteworthy people/groups from Riverside:

Barry Bonds (MLB Legend)
Reggie Miller (NBA Legend)
Etta James
Amy Lee (of Evanescence)
Voodoo Glow Skulls

Genre: Alternative, Hard Rock, Metal

Releases: 5* **( 4 studio, 1 live)

* Their independently released album, Greatest Hits will be omitted from this list. *

** I will be omitting all live albums unless of paramount importance to a group’s catalogue or culture**

Last thing to note before I begin this list is that my intentions are not to highlight a band I feel is, “less than” by any stretch. In fact, it’s very much the opposite of that. Trying to highlight bands I enjoy who I feel have fallen out of the spotlight.